A split second can change everything

Sometimes inspiration is hard to come by and certainly this week, finding a topic for this column is proving harder than usual, in spite of everything that has been going on in the world of sport, both Leitrim, national and international.

A column is supposed to be something different from what you get in the rest of the Observer Sports pages - it's why the last few weeks, topics such as the early specialisation in sport, abuse of referees, the thorny subject of national identity or Shane Walsh’s transfer to Kilmacud Crokes and the madness that is Transfer Deadline Day have appeared on this page.

A good start IS half the battle

THE LAST POINT

The 10,000-hour rule might be the go-to philosophy for some but recent evidence suggests that late specialisation and multi-disciplinary practice is what produces the great champions

Sometimes the words tumble from the keyboard onto the screen, seemingly drawn from God knows where without much effort. Of course, you go back, change a word here or there, polish up a thought and then have a couple of trusted colleagues check it out to make sure the whole thing makes sense.

That’s important because, while I know what point I’m trying to make, maybe something gets lost in translation and the leaps of understanding that I intuitively make doesn’t come across on the page so work needs to be done, thought clarified or expanded or maybe just cut at all.

Sometimes, you get into such a rhythm and flow that you end up with a tome as long as your leg and then you have to cut back on what you’ve written - potential masterpieces (!) and bon mots discarded to the expediency of space constraints.

I suppose I’m trying to explain, a rather long winded way, that I have to take time on The Last Point - time to first of all decide what I'm going to write, time to commit the words to the page and finally even more time to refine what I've written so that I  achieve what I want to achieve.

It is why I’m thinking of Mark McGrory this day - the Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins clubman is probably still kicking himself over a missed goal opportunity that would have drawn the defending champions level with Mohill with a quarter of the game left and momentum firmly behind the Cannaboe men!

The ugly side of sport needs fixing

THE LAST POINT

Was the missed goal chance a turning point? Certainly it was and there’s no escaping that, but the time you’ve taken to  read this paragraph in this column is probably ten times longer that which McGrory had to react and act; so while I’ve had a couple of days to ponder what I’m going to write, the Ballinamore man had a split second and unfortunately for him, it didn’t come off.

If McGrory was guilty of anything, it is that he tried to make absolutely sure of planting the ball in the net, probably adding too much angle and power to get the ball beyond Padraig Tighe. To be honest, there is nobody better in Leitrim club football than McGrory at executing these sort of goals - we've seen it so often it has become his trademark. Hindsight may have us question why Tom Prior didn't shoot earlier but as the play unfolded, you can't deny that  both Ballinamore players did everything absolutely right until that final split second. 

Those split seconds, as anyone familiar with Al Pacino’s Any Given Sunday speech, are all around us - they were there in the split second when Keith Beirne seemed to be bottled up but then launched a ball in between two Ballinamore defenders and a keeper and still Jordan Reynolds came up with the ball and the goal.

Split seconds were all that were needed when Beirne saw Keith Keegan charging through space 30 yards away  and the potential for a goal - Keegan’s run and finish were superb but seeing that opportunity in that split second is something that separates the great from the good.

McGrory himself used those split seconds moments after he arrived on the field in the first half - Dean McGovern robbed a ball, Wayne McKeon launched it and McGrory made a brilliant catch in behind a Mohill defender and in one fluid movement, blasted the ball to the net.

What exactly is a good coach worth

THE LAST POINT

As Pacino says, those moments are all around us and while Ballinamore are kicking themselves over that missed goal opportunity, with a fair deal of justification, most of the other big moments came from Mohill as the champions looked just that little bit off where they needed to be - as they have all season.

That doesn’t normally show up until the pressure is on and the pressure was on last Saturday - Ballinamore players collided with each other going for the ball, didn’t gather the ball cleanly or were just that half a yard off their men and it all adds up.

Mohill certainly looked imperious, most people are putting them not just favourites for the Fenagh Cup but near guaranteed certainties - yet just a week ago, we were all wondering if Mohill were drifting and losing their focus. They’re in a great position right now but they’re also in a position that not many teams enjoy - they’re up on a pedestal and there to be shot at and certainly Leitrim Gaels will take a shot.

At this stage, Mohill are old stagers and know the drill - they won’t be distracted by loose talk and they’ll remember just how close they came to disaster in last year’s semi-final  - that looks like a game to savour.

If Mohill’s victory over Ballinamore excited the fans and got them talking, all of the talk surrounding St Mary’s bloodless win over Aughawillan was just how drab the game was. Boring is the word I’ve heard most and that’s incredibly harsh because if Leitrim beat Roscommon using the same tactics as both teams displayed in the first half last Saturday, we’d be celebrating it wildly as a tactical masterpiece!

To be honest, both teams were caught between the devil and the deep blue sea - Aughawillan were conceding far too many goals in their previous games and needed to batten down the hatches but St Mary’s weren’t going to rush headlong into a massed Aughawillan defence, turn the ball over and get hit on the break - you'd be a fool to  do that!

I’ll agree that, entertainment wise, the first half won’t live long in the memory with the mummer of fans chatting among themselves a telling commentary on the action. But from a tactical and a game management aspect, St Mary’s delivered a masterclass in how to beat the massed defence, dragging the Willies over and back the field, over and back and over and back, drawing precious energy from their legs.

Irish by the grace of God!

When Aughawillan reverted to type and went for it in the second half, the youthful St Mary’s  punched gaping holes in the Aughawillan defence time and time again. As a coach or a fan, the Carrick men delivered in style.

For Aughawillan, it was a chastening day - they sought to banish the memories of last year’s quarter-final hammering but this may be harder to take as St Mary’s are even younger this year and the bewildered faces of the Aughawillan players as they came off the field spoke volumes of the mismatch they faced.

It is far  too soon to talk of a new St Mary's dynasty but with their age profile, talent and  legions of young players due to come through, many clubs are certainly looking anxiously over their shoulders. Fenagh St Caillins stand between them and the final but the Fenagh men are building their own potential dynasty. As of right now, Mohill are the team to beat but they'll be challenged - we're in for an exciting couple of weeks.