Junior C Football

[Georgio1]

This is a fairly interesting championship.

Tubber were cruising towards top of one group, beating Kilclonfert & Walsh Island well, before surprisingly losing to Drumcullen, They now are on 4 points with Ferbane in last game next Saturday.

Kilclonfert were back in it by beating Drumcullen in their second game after losing to Tubber, then they lost to Ferbane, before narrowly defeating Walsh Island last Mon night. They stand on 4 pts with games played.

Island beaten by Tubber, then conceded a walkover to Drumcullen, before amazingly... they beat Ferbane. With the seemingly simple task of defeating Kilclonfert to go to 4 points, they went and blew it and finished on 2 points.

Drumcullen began with a heavy defeat to Ferbane, were then defeated by Kilclonfert and received a walkover from the Island.They headed for Tubber and one would have thought defeat, but no....they won and finish on 4 pts.

Now Drumcullen and Kilclonfert who looked out of it are anxiously waiting on the losers of the final game, Ferbane or Tubber, where a 3 way playoff will ensue, unless if......the match ends in a draw!!!!
(3 way playoff comes into play as scoring average cant be used as Drumcullen received a walkover from Walsh Island, and head to head is obviously out).

The way it has gone so far my money is on a draw, but one way or another having seen a couple of games, has been great entertainment!! Should be a bumper crowd at the game in Ferbane next saturday evening!

[TheManFromFerbane]

I was at the game between Ferbane and Kilclonfert and I have to say it was really enjoyable. It was great to see the lads "Who would have been great only for the drink\women\immigration" just playing ball. There was some really nice passages of football, I'll def be going to the next game.

I was at a couple of our Junior A games as well and they were really good too. I was up in Clonmore and watching how passionate they were about it reminded me of that episode of Pride of the Parish where they were on that Island off Mayo. There was a really good tempo to the games and some lovely passages of play as well.

For entertainment value I have to say they've been better than the Senior games I've seen but there are a few different reasons for that.

[beirut]

Yeah there's been some exciting games for us too, and by some stroke of luck (thanks Walsh Island) we're still in with a chance of a playoff. We've used 29 different players in 3 championship matches so in that sense it's exactly why we entered, to give everyone a few games (or maybe the management are just tinkering with the team to get it just right ).

[Lone Shark]

One interesting aspect to it has been the scoring, which might be something to look at. The junior C championship so far is averaging about 32 points per game, no doubt helped by the extra bit of space on the field which allows lads to play ball instead of getting set upon by people the second they get the ball. (I'm sure the comparitively weak levels of fitness are an issue too, but we'll gloss over that bit! )

In the Junior B, the average is 27 - and that's distorted by Rhode who themselves are scoring 21 points a game, including 7-16 in one match. You would assume the difference in standard is minimal enough, so the extra man is helping make the football good to watch.


All in all I think that there's a lot to be said for clubs doing their best to provide teams to accomodate the somewhat less gifted footballers out there. (Or more gifted in terms of waist inches, but either way!). The interest in this team in Ferbane this year was phenomenal and it's had a great knock on effect in terms of numbers the whole way up along the line. The games have been enjoyable, played competitively but with no underhand stuff at all - ideal for those of us who were blessed with boundless enthusiasm but feck all else.

Incidentally, that game against Tubber has been moved to Sunday evening at 6 - we've a couple of lads involved with Belmont hurling and the initial fixture clashed with Belmont's match against Lusmagh. Just for those of ye who were planning on coming along to see the top class action!!

[bracknaghboy]

Was at two 'C' games so far this year and must say they were highly enjoyable. The extra space helps yes but I think a lot of the teams just go out and play....there tends not to be (or at least less) tactics of putting players behind the ball. Lots of good footballers playing too who have committed to hurling but still play a bit 'C'. Plenty of lorrying the ball into the forwards too which keeps me happy! I know some people sneer at this level of competition but its a county championship and picking up a medal means as much to the winners as a senior medal does to the big clubs.

[Georgio1]

Now Drumcullen and Kilclonfert who looked out of it are anxiously waiting on the losers of the final game, Ferbane or Tubber, where a 3 way playoff will ensue, unless if......the match ends in a draw!!!!
(3 way playoff comes into play as scoring average cant be used as Drumcullen received a walkover from Walsh Island, and head to head is obviously out).

Can any of ye confirm that this is the case (a 3 way playoff, or will there be a draw with one team getting a bye into the "final" decider to see who comes out of the group in second place), as I heard Ferbane lost to Tubber last night? Maybe Lone Shark can confirm if David Kenny was playing last night?

[Lone Shark]

Can any of ye confirm that this is the case (a 3 way playoff, or will there be a draw with one team getting a bye into the "final" decider to see who comes out of the group in second place), as I heard Ferbane lost to Tubber last night? Maybe Lone Shark can confirm if David Kenny was playing last night?

No idea what way they're going to do the playoff, I'm sure we'll hear about that in due course. David Kenny did indeed play last night, as he does whenever it doesn't interfere with Belmont hurling. Even made the trek up from a holiday in Clare to line out against Kilclonfert, which is above and beyond the call of duty at our level to say the least, but it made a huge difference that day.

Quare disappointed after last night to be honest. We only played for about twenty minutes in total and still should have won - worst square ball decision ever at the end. That said the ref had been fairly harsh on Tubber for overcarrying and the like up to that point so it probably was a case of the luck evening out, but it still was a ridiculous call, the keeper saved the ball and palmed it upwards and only then did Barney come in to knock it home. I'd say Drumcullen with the returning hurlers are the team to watch now having got that reprieve.

[Georgio1]

"the keeper saved the ball and palmed it upwards and only then did Barney come in to knock it home"

Dont tell me ye have Barney Flynn back out of retirement for this level!!?? I expect to see Big John Keena at full back on Sunday in Rahan. I suppose Clocker wil appear before the year is out!!
Yeh, Drumcullen with the hurlers will be a different challenge, although they did play against Kilclonfert from what i heard and presumably had a full squad against Tubber. They tackled like cavemen I believe, and I tink some of them carried hurls!!

[Georgio1]

Sorry, Big John and Mollen would be ruled out as there are no full back and forward positions!!

[Lone Shark]

"the keeper saved the ball and palmed it upwards and only then did Barney come in to knock it home"

Dont tell me ye have Barney Flynn back out of retirement for this level!!?? I expect to see Big John Keena at full back on Sunday in Rahan. I suppose Clocker wil appear before the year is out!!
Yeh, Drumcullen with the hurlers will be a different challenge, although they did play against Kilclonfert from what i heard and presumably had a full squad against Tubber. They tackled like cavemen I believe, and I tink some of them carried hurls!!

As with all good Junior C teams, there is a healthy mix from across the generations...

[Georgio1]

Ferbane & Kilclonfert have both beaten Drumcullen in the playoff, by a point and 3 points respectively. All set for a humdinger in Ballinamere, Sat eve at 5.
Should be a good old battle. Know it would mean a lot to small club like Kil to make it on to a semi final or final.

[gunnerman]

What is the story with this Championship now. Has it been as interesting as the earlier posts suggest? I read that Ferbane gave Clara a serious hiding in the semi final. Who do they face? Didnt think Ferbane would be as strong considering there first two teams were poor in this years championship exits?