Thursday, July 20, 2006

And His Name Is Dan Murray

It's 1-0 on the night and 1-1 on aggregate. It's a scorching heat and, with 15 minutes left on the clock, the Cork City players have been piling on the pressure. Then Neale Fenn swings a ball into the corner and captain Dan Murray breaks into space, powering the ball into the net with his head. Cork City are into the second qualifying round of the fucking Champions League. Top of the range. Though the excitement should be tempered by the fact that UEFA are saying that both Joe Gamble and Danny Murphy were sent off even though no red card was flashed during the match.

Sadly, Dublin City - another League of Ireland team, have folded. Summer football is to blame according to their manager Dermot Keeley. "I hate summer soccer and I feel this league is going no place," he said and before asking the big question that is on the tip of everybody's tongue. "Who is going to these summer soccer games on the hottest days of the year?" Yes Dermot, you're right, we're all standing around in the beautiful summer sun watching the football yearning for the days we had to pull our hungover arses out of bed on a Sunday morning to stand in the pissing rain or freezing cold to see games played on muddy pitches which made the idea of a passing game seem like a fantastic but unbelievable myth. Unfortunately for those who were loyal to Dublin City, it was just an untenable proposition. They didn't have enough support, they obviously weren't budgeting for their circumstance and they were ploughing their trade in an already overcrowded marketplace. We might just have to get used to this sort of thing as the league attempts to get it's house in order - a culling of the herd, so to speak..