Tony Tighe
AS time counted down to throw-in at Ruislip yesterday the downstairs bar boomed with banter.
Tea, coffee and the occasional pint of stout are supped down between predictions of who will edge the meeting between two evenly matched sides are fired across the room.
The National League has returned to northwest London and a healthy crowd have braved the elements to travel to the Emerald Grounds. The wind is of the bitter, biting variety but that isn’t going to stop them getting their football fix. The season is officially up and running.
But when the throw-in takes place there are less than 100 hardy souls on the bank at the Emerald Grounds; the bar remains full. You see the crowd isn’t here to watch London face fellow strugglers Kilkenny; they’re here to catch the All-Ireland champions’ trip to Tralee to face their old rivals, sandwiched between some Old Firm vitriol and the dull debut of a £50m Spaniard down at Stamford Bridge.
“Sure why would I be bothered with that out there?” replies one of Ruislip’s regulars when questioned about his decision to stay indoors. “Here I can sit down and watch two of the best teams in the country lock horns, instead of perishing outside watching two poor teams playing on a bog of a pitch. Anyway, there isn’t anywhere to sit out there.”
The lack of any seating, or even a covered stand, is a source of much frustration for London’s Gaels. The old-timers aren’t able to stand up for an hour and a half, and there is no protection whatsoever from the elements. Therefore they prefer to stay inside, catching updates of anyone who comes in for a refreshment; those who head for the bank regardless of the weather are either fervent supporters or on the brink of bonkers.
But, for once, those long suffering London fans were treated to a resounding win, their first on home soil since 2008. By the interval the Exiles led by 0-13 to no score with Kilkenny looking both clueless and uninterested. Roscommon native Paul Coggins could not have asked for an easier debut in inter-county management.
Coggins had stated heading into the game that the days of a player landing into London and immediately getting a starting berth are over, and he was true to his word. Instead he has placed his trust in those with at least one season of London club football under their belts.
Another positive sign for the hosts was their two debutants. Both Liam Gavaghan and Oisin Paterson are London-born players who came through the underage system in the British capital. Still in their teens, the pair looked comfortable in their new surroundings, although they will experience much tougher outings than this.
So after one round of games London find themselves top of Division Four. Realistically, they will again finish second-bottom unless they can claim the scalp of Leitrim or perhaps Longford at home, which isn’t unthinkable.
Back in the clubhouse after the final whistle the diehards defrost with a mug of scald.
“That was some result, wasn’t it?” says a man to our Ruislip regular, still perched in his chair in front of the telly.
“It was indeed. I though Paul Geaney had won it for Kerry but Goulding showed some nerve there at the end,” is the reply. Looks like London will have to record a few more resounding wins before they can convince the public house patrons to walk those extra 10 yards.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/lepWBcxXB2Q/post.aspx
Local politics La Liga Food and drink Wigan Athletic Gabriel Agbonlahor US supreme court
No comments:
Post a Comment