(31 Dec 2008)
Christmas time is always a time for family and friends to get together,
put the feet up, and take time off from worrying about the dreaded R
word. It is also a time for families to remember loved ones that have
passed away. Sadly, we have lost members of the club this year, and
they will be a great loss.
It is with this in mind that there will be a
match on St.Stephens Day in remembrance of the great Jim Coughlan. Jim
was a much loved member of St.Judes and we could use players of his
caliber nowadays. With this in mind, on St Stephen's Day there was a match between
Married versus Unmarried members on Pitch 4. Both sides made up of a strong set of players displayed a quality standard of football on
the day. With the Married members possessing talent in players such as Mick Fallon, Ciaran Voyles and Damo Carroll they had considerable amount of experience and knowledge of the game. While the unmarried members possessed a strong youthful and agile setup of players such as Sean Breheny, Joey Donnelly, Stephen Willoughby and the long awaited return of Johnny "Carlsberg" Waldron.
The pace of the game began instantly with the Married members taking the lead through some dubious referring decisions and successive passing. Damo Carroll was instrumental in the midfield spraying balls into the forwards while Johnny Behan and Jimmy Harlow were always in control in the backs for the Unmarried members. Paul Crennan decided he would chance his arm in the forwards.......however the less said about that the better.
While the married members lead going in at half time eventually the unmarried members clawed their way back into the game in the second half. This is largely down to the fact that several married members had to exit the field during play for a cigarette or to attend to the children. A late goal from Joey Donnelly in the dying minutes drew the game level. The referee indicated that one minute of additional play would continue. This was all the Married Members needed to hear as they drew upon their vast wealth of experience, dirty tricks and friendship with the referee. Together through a combination of successive passes and 'dubious' tackles, they worked the ball down the field, weaving, heaving and sometimes barely breathing. Eventually they reached the half forward line where Digger made his notiourious run into the space to claim the ball. Looking up he spotted David Reynolds who slotted the winning point over the bar. After this final score David Reynolds then realised that he was actually playing for the wrong team and was infact not married.
The game of football and hurling on the day was very entertaining and enjoyed by both players and spectators alike.
For more images of the day visit our gallery.