ConnachtÕs luck is out on night to remember

Date Published: {J}

Keith Kelly

THE tears that fell – and fall they did – were of despair rather than delight. David took on Goliath, and while he loaded the sling, he just missed with the shot as Goliath marched on to the Amlin Challenge Cup final against Cardiff.

What Friday did give is a taste for a big-match atmosphere on College Road. The buzz started building around 6pm when College Road was closed off to through traffic. Hordes of green jerseys started milling around Eyre Square at one end and the Hunstman at the other.

They were joined by ticket touts, with two positioning themselves about 200 metres either side of the gates. They coughed out the “anyone buying or selling tickets” line as their eyes darted left and right, checking for the peaked caps and luminous yellow jackets whose wearers would end their little cottage industry.

“There isn’t much of a bite,” one said when asked how was the demand for his service, “and I’m only marking them up a tenner, nothing much,” he said, his generosity knowing no bounds, before he slithered off down the road after hearing the crackle of a Garda walkie-talkie nearby.

Across from the main gates, the house of hurling legends Duggan were bedecked in Connacht flags, showing that sport knows no boundaries, further evidence of which was to be found inside, with people in Munster and Leinster jerseys, a couple of English soccer jerseys, and one guy proudly sporting his Roscommon GAA jersey.

Connacht Branch CEO Gerry Kelly was milling around, making sure everything went without a hitch as fans streamed into the ground both via the main entrance and beside the car-park.

“I’m really looking forward to it. Am I nervous? I’m always nervous, but look around, this is a great night for Connacht and did we ever think we’d see it,” Kelly said before moving on to another item on his checklist.

The teams were going through their warm-up routines on the pitch, the Toulon players indulging in one move that looked a mix of the Hokey Cokey and Ring A Ring A Rosey, and the first loud cheer of the night went up as the Connacht squad jogged back towards the dressing rooms along the touchline.

“Enjoy it” were captain John Muldoon’s last words to his team before leading them onto the pitch in the company of Sean Costello (8) from Kilcolgan, who was the Connacht mascot on the night. It was a night when the name ‘Sean Costello’ got you places, as the tenor of the same name had earlier given a rendition of The West’s Awake on the half-way line, which surely brought back memories of Croke Park and September 1980 for Joe Connolly.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.