Three reasons why postponing the Connacht Final was a positive

3 reasons why postponing the Connacht Final was a positive


Mike Finnerty

1. Injuries get time to heal
THE extra week is unlikely to make any major difference for David ‘Ginger’ Tiernan and the fractured bone in his ankle, but it could be the decisive factor in allowing Richard Haran to line out in his second Connacht Final.
The wing-forward’s hand is currently in cast after he fractured a bone in his wrist during the semi-final win over Castlerea. However, a lot of healing can take place in seven days so Haran’s chances of playing should have improved dramatically by next weekend.
For Corofin, an extra week will also make a big difference to Alan O’Donovan. The team’s experienced corner-forward (and first-choice free-taker) is suffering from a hamstring problem since the drawn county final in Galway and was ‘touch and go’ to make it for last Sunday.
He is now much more likely to start.

2. We got to see Sunday TV
IF the Connacht club final had gone ahead as scheduled last weekend, we all would have missed out on some serious ‘Sunday afternoon’ TV programmes.
How about these gems that we had to choose from; RTE 1, A Grandpa for Christmas; TV3, The Xtra Factor; BBC 1, Murder She Wrote; BBC 2, Tennis, World Tour Finals; UTV, Columbo; Channel 4, Friends (yes, another one of the old ones!).
Need we go on? The only saving grace was that the postponement allowed the armchair-bound supporters to watch the FAI Cup Final between Sligo Rovers and Sporting Fingal on RTE 2.
Lining out in goal for Sligo was former Garrymore footballer, Ciaran Kelly, from Annfield, just beside the Delia Murphy Memorial in the heart of South Mayo. Unfortunately, he ended up on the losing side.
It was a tough day for the lads and ladies on the TG4 GAA Beo crew. Twenty-four hours after the plug was pulled on their live broadcast from Charlestown, they travelled to Mullingar to cover a rain-lashed Leinster semi-final between Garrycastle and Ballyboden.
Who’d work on GAA coverage in November?

3. Weather should improve
NOT even the most die-hard of Charlestown and Corofin supporters would have fancied standing out in the pouring rain and gale-force winds that lashed the county last Sunday afternoon.
Sure, it was a Connacht club final and the ‘pride of the parish’ remains a big thing, but waking up on Monday morning with swine flu is a big price to pay for watching two teams slog it out on a pudding-bowl surface.
The terrible weather would almost have certainly guaranteed us a ‘war of attrition’ too. Both of these teams like to play a fairly open brand of football but it just wouldn’t have been possible with a swirling wind, heavy showers, and greasy underfoot conditions to contend with.
All we want next Sunday is a dry day, a light breeze, a firm sod, and two teams playing to the best of their ability. After that, may the best team win!