SST Rise to the top in Croke Park
by Mr. Tony Walsh
Click on the link at the end of the article for pictures
What a difference a year makes. Last year this group of players celebrated a Junior Football title, while this year they have taken a step up and become Senior Football champions. Last Tuesday, the 5th of November every child in SST from 2nd class to 6th class filled up an entire section of the Cusack stand in Croke Park, with cheery interaction as they watched their classmates claim the Corn Chumann na nGael for the first time in the School’s history.
What a marvellous day it was for everyone associated with SST. Cumann na mBunscol deserve great credit for coming up with an occasion like this where so many memories were made and the dreams of so many were fulfilled. This is a day that will live long in the memory for most kids in SST.
Training for this competition began in earnest last June, when children in 4th class to 6th class played a number of trial games before the final panel was decided upon. Despite the Senior panel having been picked in September players such as Joe, Eoghan and Tommy began the year on the Junior panel, before impressing enough to earn their places on the Senior panel. Competition for places has been fierce this year with the starting team having changes each week, due to the good form of players in training.
When September came our plan was to hit the ground running and make an impact immediately in the Senior grade. We played our first match of the year against St. Laurence’s BNS and recorded a 5 point defeat. We began this match very slowly but as the match progressed we finished as the stronger team. From this match the players learned immediately that Senior football is hugely different to Junior Football in terms of physicality and the standard is much higher.
Next up was a game against St. Attracta’s, Ballinteer in which the players won comfortably in the end without ever impressing, or really playing entirely well. It was important to win this match as it was our first in the competition but there were a lot of areas shown up as needing some extra attention.
We then travelled to the Hermitage in Rathfarnham to take on Divine Word NS, who beat us quite comfortably on the day. A six point margin between the teams at the final whistle left a lot of players asking questions of themselves. The team were guilty of making too many unforced errors on the day and never gave themselves a chance to establish a foothold in the game. After this game it was decided to have an extra training session on a Tuesday. We had a meeting the day after the game where we talked about what we had to do and from this point we never looked back.
A must win encounter soon followed against Terenure College in Deer park. The players began this match in a nervous fashion as they knew that defeat would end their hopes and dreams of making it to Croke Park. At half time this match was very much in the balance, but a confident and assured second half performance saw SST over the line and claim a place in the Quarter Finals. The one negative point was because we finished 2nd in our group we had to play a group winner from the North side in our Quarter final.
A challenge game against Lucan BNS was arranged as preparation for our Quarter final. Despite having scored 3-7 on the day it wasn’t enough for SST as they were comprehensively defeated on the day. However the players now saw the standard of football expected from them, if they were to be successful in their quarter final. Lucan BNS went on from here to become the top team in Dublin this year despite only being in Division 2, they comprehensively defeated teams that contested the Division 1 Final this year.
Next up was our Quarter Final against St. Mochta’s from Clonsilla. Despite a very nervous build up to the game SST started this game quite well. They had 1-1 on the scoreboard inside the first 5 minutes. From here SST powered on to have one of their most complete performances of the year so far. St. Mochta’s had been undefeated in all their games to date but simply could not handle the way SST moved the ball and SST converted every chance that game their way.
A Semi final encounter against a highly fancied St. David’s Artane was the reward for SST’s quarter final win. SST started this game with a swagger and an early goal set them on their way. However 4 points was all that separated the sides at half time as St. David’s Artane benefitted from some frees that SST conceded. Their midfielder converted all of these chances, including a very difficult sideline free which you could not do anything about only applaud the effort as it went between the posts. In truth SST were never assured of victory until the final 5 minutes, as St. David’s Artane pushed hard for scores. Some excellent saves from Macklin and some outstanding defending saw SST over the finishing line. A pivotal moment in the match has to be when Ronan chased back their dangerous number 8 all the way from midfield to our own 14 yard line to put him off scoring. This act of bravery signified how much this victory meant to SST. In truth it was the bravery of the players and their willingness to win tussles for the ball they had no right to win which saw us over the line. There sheer joy at the final whistle and both supporters and players were overcome with what they had achieved.
Next up, came our preparations for our Croke Park final. We all expected that it would be Divine Word NS that we would face in the final. The players immediately turned their attention towards preparing for this final Paraic McDonald took the players for a training session as he had done prior to the quarter final. The players reacted well to this and took on board all of his advice. We played a practice match against St. Joseph’s BNS, Terenure who had qualified for the Division 2 final. This was the final chance for players to impress and win their places for the final in Croke Park.
The build up in the school to the final was brilliant for the players. The school was painted blue and the children in the younger classes were busy making and buying their flags, scarves and headbands. A school shop was setup to allow supporters to purchase flags, scarves and headbands and tickets for the final were sold each morning in the build up to the final. The 6th class kids in charge of the shop reported that they were run off their feet on some mornings with the demand for tickets and flags.
The day of the final arrived. On Tuesday the 5th of November the dreams and hopes of many to play on the hallowed ground in Croke Park finally came. The players trained during their Mid-Term break leaving nothing to chance. That morning as the players arrived into the hall at 9AM you could see that some were very calm as it was their 4th time to play In Croke Park while for others it was their first time. For most it was their first time to play Football in Croke Park.
Lead by our captain David we headed for the bus. The team arrived in Croke Park to watch the previous final, take in the atmosphere, size up the pitch and watch how the referees were officiating the games. A fruit break was taken by the players before we entered the tunnel to prepare to go into battle. The final words were said and it was down to the players from this point.
They ran out onto the pitch and had their team photo taken. Then it was down to the warm-up. From this point on it’s two teams, one ball and one winner. SST began this game brightly with some good chances but it was Divine Word NS who registered the first score. David pointed a free to put SST on the scoreboard. SST then registered another point before Mark had the ball in the back of the net. Now it was game on. The team who had so comfortably beaten SST earlier in the competition found themselves in a fight. Some frantic defending at times was needed to keep Divine Word NS at bay. Tim was an inspirational figure at full-back while Macklin was in unbeatable form in goals.
Towards the end of the second half Divine Word rallied and managed to end the half a point up. The half time score was 1-2 to 0-6. At half time the players rallied around and realised they should be in front considering their dominance in the first half. Joe had an outstanding 2nd half, instrumental in our 2nd goal. Marcus and Connor came into the game to make a telling contribution. Marcus scored a remarkable 1-1 from bench. Dara showed nerves of steel to point an important side line kick. SST from here had to defend frantically before a quick break saw David put two between the sides. At the end there were 3 points between the sides and SST were celebrating a famous win. It has to be said on the day David lead his team very well. Dara made a telling contribution from centre-back. The strength and depth of this squad is impressive and this win will be attributed to outstanding effort made by all 28 players.
At the end an ecstatic captain David could not hide his delight as he lifted the Corn Chumann na nGael cup. The dreams had become reality as SST came out on top in our very own GAA theatre of dreams. This is a day in GAA headquarters that nobody in SST will ever forget. It was a day where boys became men and men became heroes. SST abú!
Squad
Macklin, Conor, Tim, Cathal, Joseph, Dara, Michael, Ronan, Jay, Joe, David, Tom, Seán, Mark, Cian, Cormac, Marcus, Michael, Michael, Robert, Eóghan, Conor, Cathal, Liam, Josh, Patrick, Tommy, Harry.