Leinster Rugby and pro-Europeans achieve uninspiring and dreary wins Saturday as Belmont Under 8’s rock plucky Cabinteely

Cabinteely 1 – Belmont 4 (HT 1-2)
Photographs courtesy of Greelo
Leinster rugby fans and pro-Lisbon treaty supporters breathed a sigh of relief as they both scored narrow, uninspiring, dull and rather tedious wins in Magners’ League rugby and European politics respectively on Saturday. Meanwhile, Belmont Football Club sent out a massive statement of intent to Under 8 rivals in the Major League Cup as they beat ill-fated Cabinteely FC by a clear three goal margin in a pulsating and eventful match to maintain second place in the competition. Interviewed after the match at Kilbogget Park, Manager Mulcahy stated “Our result puts other seemingly important sporting and political events in their true perspective, indicating the drabness of life outside of under 8 football”.
Unlike previous contests this season, Belmont’s match was played in blustery and rainy conditions on an exposed pitch with the swirling wind making the game difficult for both teams. The Belmont managers are nothing if not predictable, and it was no surprise that they should start off with their usual dreary 2-3-1 formation with Cuddy in goal, Sheehan and Cloonan in defence, Sherwin, Fahy and Dempsey in midfield and McNulty as striker. The Belmont players and fans were expectant before the match, but it was Cabinteely who took the game to their rivals in the opening five minutes and they might have scored as early as the third minute had not Cuddy made a fine save following a speculative cross from the Cabinteely attack. The Belmont team settled well following this, with McNulty making life difficult for the Cabinteely keeper with at least two fine shots on target and Sherwin, Fahy and Dempsey passing deftly and settling well in midfield. Even so, Cabinteely continued to make progress and Cuddy was called into action again in the fifth minute, making a wonderful save following a fierce Cabinteely strike from midfield. Yet, even he could not stop Cabinteely from taking a deserved sixth minute lead as an unstoppable 5 metre shot found the back of the Belmont net. The team were behind for the first time in three matches and it would be interesting to see how they were going to react to this setback.
Too often in the past, the Belmont managers have failed to recognise their tactical naiveté, but on this occasion they fortunately changed their format, introducing Booth and Mulcahy into midfield and Boggan into attack with the aim of unsettling the Cabinteely defence. The adjustments paid almost immediate dividends as Boggan lobbed the Cabinteely keeper to level the score at 1-1 in the eighth minute. Less than a minute later, a mazy run from Booth followed by a fine low drive into the net found Belmont in the lead. Even so, many neutral observers felt that Cabinteely were a little unfortunate to be behind. Belmont continued to look fragile at times and would almost certainly have conceded further goals had it not been for stalwart defensive work by Sheehan and Cloonan. Their impressive positioning on the pitch, tactical common sense and cool-headed bravery belied their young age and on many occasions they cleared significant danger when outnumbered and seemingly outgunned.
Half time found the weather brightening and further tactical changes saw Fahy move into goal with additional adjustments in defence and midfield as the game ebbed and flowed. However, despite huge efforts, neither team could gain a firm foothold in midfield or attack until Mulcahy ran past two defenders from right wing in the 23rd minute and whipped the ball past the flailing Cabinteely keeper. Even then, it remained a cagey affair before a further run and shot from Mulcahy following fine midfield pressure by Cuddy Cloonan and Sherwin put Belmont 4-1 up in the 29th minute and the result beyond doubt. A series of excellent saves from the Cabinteely keeper as well as a couple of neat stops from Fahy in the closing stages of the match prevented further goals and the match ended as it had begun; full of pace, effort and hard tackling – a tough contest and not a day for the faint hearted.
The 4-1 result was warmly welcomed by the Belmont managers, commentators and a number of European political leaders. Manager Boggan said “This result puts us in the heart of European under 8 football”. European Comission President Jose Manuel Barroso hailed the result as “a significant step towards pan-European football unity and the globalisation of the Belmont ethos” while Irish Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, welcomed the result saying that it was “A victory not only for Belmont Football Club, but also for Ireland and Europe”. Opposition parties also praised Belmont for their “positive and resounding victory” with the only dissenters being Mary-Lou McDonald and MEP Joe Higgins, both recognised Cabinteely fans, who issued a joint statement declaring the result “depressing and disappointing”. Meanwhile, Leinster Coach Michael Cheika acknowledged that his Heineken Cup winning side’s 30-0 victory over Munster was “lacklustre and tame” compared to Belmont’s “exhilarating” performance.