The Good, the Bad and the Inters…

This Ballyboden team would be capable of putting the Dalai Lama through the full range of emotions in 60 minutes. If he’d been there for the first half he’d have cursed every member of the Boden setup. If his fortitude and stoicism persuaded him to remain for the second half he would have been rewarded. He would have believed there was a God after all. Had the match ended at half-time this squad would have been playing in the Tibetan version of AFL3 next year with gloomy prospects.

We’ve heard of teams sleepwalking through matches and in the first half this was certainly the case. Time and time again possession was conceded softly and the red carpet was rolled out for the hosts to take a shot. Fortunately they were a little wayward and didn’t crucify our persistent benevolence. Only for two magnificent saves from Mark McNamee in goal in one on one situations our cause would have been hopeless. He was our saviour. Other notable first half performances came from Davy Hayes playing in the unfamiliar surroundings of wing back and Evan Flanagan our centre forward who had to forage deep in our defence to introduce himself to the ball.

Surprisingly at half-time the scoreboard read 1-5 to 0-4 and we were only four points in arrears. Confessions were held at half-time amongst the players and vows were renewed. Would this be enough to repay our first half saviour?

And the Lord said let there be light! The Boden disciples responded with an exquisite display of football, the likes of which I haven’t witnessed from his group before. There was a commitment, a belief, an energy and a delivery that was a joy to behold. Patience is a virtue and this team displayed a virtuous streak for the entire second half. Quick thinking, quick ball, off the shoulder running and more off the shoulder running, and bang….a score. In the second half Boden converted 1-12, hit the upright twice and one wide. We limited our hosts to seven points, four of which came in the last ten minutes.

Rejoice! For it is believable that a Ballyboden Intermediate team can deliver an almost perfect performance in the second half. We are the witnesses.

Well done lads – it was a joy to behold.