Antrim Football Thread

[Belfast GAA man]

So much to debate about last night or what !
For me Queens was a brilliant venue for the brilliant contest we saw - everyone think it was a great venue? Quite sure the venue boosted the crowd

[Na Glinntí Glasa]

so from that its the following:

Each team will nominate five free-takers and indicate to the referee in which order (1-5) they will take frees.

Players who have received a red or black card during the game are not permitted to take frees.

The frees in football will be kicked from the centre line marking the semi-circle (33m) from the hands or off the ground.

Only points will count.

Only the players involved in the free-taking shootout - as well as the referee, linesmen and two umpires – are allowed on the the pitch.

If the teams are still tied after five frees, sudden death kicks in and will involve the same five players in order.

If a player scores in sudden death and his direct opponent misses, the game is awarded to the team of the player who has scored.

The sudden death element will continue until such time as there is a definite outcome, returning to the first player and repeating the sequence again if required.

It seems the rules were followed correctly in this instance except for the fact it was stopped.

[tintin25]

Don't think the powers that be thought about the free kicks too well.  The shoot outs are liable to go on for ages.

[The Gs Man]

The Chairman's getting the flak on here but it wasn't solely his decision though.  He can quite clearly be seen talking to both coaches who were in agreement.

If one of the coaches wanted to play on, I'm sure they'd have played on.

[bannside]

If you do any coaching, try out a shooting drill from 33 metres and see just how many dont make it over the bar, even unopposed, or a team kicking about in the warm up before a game. A 90% return stat from last night was much higher than the norm. Then add in the sheer pressure.....believe me manys a half decent player has missed those!!

To reinforce my point, three years ago Conor Mc Aliskey from Clonoe missed a match winning 21 yard free to win a county semi final right in front of the goals. It happens.

[barelegs]

I'm fairly sure Central Council decided at the beginning of the year to switch to penalty kicks in the 'winner of the day' scenario but free kicks were in the competition regulations hence the free kicks last night.

To be honest it's probably a good job it went to a replay because had PG1 lost and had to play without a player wrongly sent off (even if he returned when the error was realised) because a yellow card was wrongly carried into extra time then we'd probably be looking at an appeal and rightly so.

Thought PG1 were the better team in the first half and LD probably the better side over the rest of the game on balance. PG1 were much more economical in front of the posts. Looking forward to game 3! Fitzsimmons will be a loss for LD had been having a great championship.

Thought the Dub was a great venue, it's just a pity no one looked into some sort of PA in advance. There were a lot of people wondering what was happening.

[Sportacus]

This is a very dangerous precedent.  Imagine for example in a years time you're down the country somewhere with your club playing a minor championship game, and somebody from the county board just unilaterally moves the goalposts on the night - there'll be uproar - but what's to stop them now?Last night might have been seen as exceptional circumstances, but there will be other exceptional circumstances, and where do you draw the line?  The feel good factor from this decision will soon wear off and then we are left with a problem.

Someone dropping dead in the stands and having a game abandoned isn't in the rulebook.

Yet you'd not see many complain.

Exceptional circumstances are exceptional for a reason - and in those circumstances folks in charge have to try and make the best decisions they can in the moment. You cannot legislate for everything in the rulebook.

The difference is that provisions for someone dropping dead isn't in the rule book. Using frees, rightly or wrongly, is. What shouldn't happen is just because it doesn't look like a good spectacle, that those rules can be changed in the middle of a game. As others have said, a precedent has been set

I suppose the bottom line for me, and I'm sorry to say it, is I don't trust that individual officials from Boards won't take advantage of this in the future.  Can't predict how or when but I repeat it is a dangerous precedent.  Taken in isolation, it is great to see so much interest in Antrim football, hopefully Lenny can bottle some of it, and delighted to see the charities benefiting.  No doubt at all that the Chairman is acting in good faith.  Hopefully we'll never see freekicks again - must've been torturous for all involved.  Bannside can't even imagine what it must've been like as a parent.

[BrendanAntrim]

I think it was absolutely the right intervention from the the Chairman and didn't hear one voice raised in opposition or disagreement on the night, including from within both playing squads. It resolved last night's issue and I am sure the Board or CCC will now look at the rules going forward, they will need to be clarified and implemented. The venue is ideal, there hundreds of neutrals there who took advantage of the location and the attraction of a big game under lights. Some of the football maybe lacked fluidity but, credit to both squads - couldn't beat it for drama!

[bannside]

There are nights in football you never forget and last night will go down as one of them. Maybe not a classic for the neutral but when half the team are either living in your house or are welcome guests in it, you end up kicking every ball with them for better or worse, and then you get home and they meet up and start kicking every ball all over again....lets just say there hasnt been much work done today lol.

A similar thing happened when i played with Ballymena back in the eighties. We were just outof intermediate and drew the undisputed kingpins of Antrim football, a star studded Johhnies team on a preliminary senior cship, but we managed to get a massive result that day....funny enough it had to go to Portglenone because Ballymenas pitch wasnt c'ship standard at the time.

A week later we played LD at the same venue in the next round, and guess what....it finished a draw too! Three nights later the replay was in Hannahstown, and youve guessed....it too finished a draw! We played 10 mins extra time (i was off the field having been clattered into "accidentally" by a certain Brendan Toland lol) and in this peroid LD went SEVEN points clear all of a sudden. The game looked finally gone from us, and some of the crowd started to leave.

But in the second period of ten minutes the classy Barney Mc Cann scored THREE goals and All Saints ended up winning by four points!.....A game still talked about if not in Hannahstown, certainly still around Ballymena. For the record St Pauls put us out of our misery in the semi final!

This years saga is still running so who knows what way it will end, but I'm sure in 30 years many of those present last night will still recall last nights memorable occasion at the Dub arena.

[haranguerer]

Shocking intervention. But sure as long as no-one on the teams disagreed  Whats the point of having rules if some lad with an ego can just overwrite them when he feels like it? They all signed up to it, if they need changed (and I'm not a fan of the rule), then there's a process to do that, the same process that set them. Unbelievable to see him striding in to call a halt 

[AntrimRealist]

Shocking intervention. But sure as long as no-one on the teams disagreed  Whats the point of having rules if some lad with an ego can just overwrite them when he feels like it? They all signed up to it, if they need changed (and I'm not a fan of the rule), then there's a process to do that, the same process that set them. Unbelievable to see him striding in to call a halt 

100%.Especially since it was Antrim's own bye laws that created the problem in the first place!

[Calm Down]

Shocking intervention. But sure as long as no-one on the teams disagreed  Whats the point of having rules if some lad with an ego can just overwrite them when he feels like it? They all signed up to it, if they need changed (and I'm not a fan of the rule), then there's a process to do that, the same process that set them. Unbelievable to see him striding in to call a halt 

I wouldn't be great at reading between the lines, however I am guessing you are not a fan of our County Chairman, are we sure it was a solo decision i.e. did he ring anyone in CCC to discuss first?

[whatwillbwillb]

No he's on Twitter last night at 11.20pm saying it was his decision. Thanks for that CD that's it cleared up for me. Don't let the fact of great game, great venue, great crowd/atmosphere cloud the issue, it was a clear breach of the rules. Fantastic btw the gates going to charities it was that or everyone free in for next instalment.

[haranguerer]

Shocking intervention. But sure as long as no-one on the teams disagreed  Whats the point of having rules if some lad with an ego can just overwrite them when he feels like it? They all signed up to it, if they need changed (and I'm not a fan of the rule), then there's a process to do that, the same process that set them. Unbelievable to see him striding in to call a halt 

I wouldn't be great at reading between the lines, however I am guessing you are not a fan of our County Chairman, are we sure it was a solo decision i.e. did he ring anyone in CCC to discuss first?

I've no real knowledge of him - my view is based on last night, possibly coloured by some of the videos he has put up in the past. Regardless of who was involved in any conversation, it beggars belief that they could have been watching an ongoing competition, and decided it was within their remit to call a halt to it.

[bogieman]

CCC should interview match referee after receiving his report

Report of referee
The name of any official or spectator who interfered during the course of the game

Powers of referee
To terminate a game because of outside interference, or any other serious reason that merits such action

Charges under investigation:
Disruptive conduct by official causing premature termination of a game
Misconduct considered to have discredited the association


pps superb venue, 260 quid well spent, they missed a trick closing the coffee after half time

ps2 have free replay gate, donations at the gate by the charities, they'll not have their fees

ps3 get rid of the free kicks or penalties to conclude a game, i remember it being as many sets of additional 5 minutes at it needed

ps4 they could have tossed a coin