Brian Freeman smiled at their enthusiasm. He didn’t even want to think about what the same staff room might be like on Monday if the team was beaten, or even worse, drubbed. As he looked around basking in their high spirits he concluded that although ignorance might be bliss there had to be some benefit to their positive thinking. At least he fervently hoped that was the case.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Margaret O’Neill carefully tuned her kitchen radio to the Louth Community Radio Network before sitting down to enjoy her evening tea. The program playing included her favorite traditional Irish Music but that was not the reason for her listening. A special program would be starting soon and she didn’t want to miss a second.
Her adopted grandson Brian stopped in to visit her earlier on the crisp November afternoon accompanied, as always, by his great hound Gráinne. As usual, the two enjoyed a pleasant chat with Brian filling Margaret in on everything that was occurring in his life, particularly at school. Although she knew that Brian was not a brilliant student, with dedicated parents like Cathal and Evelyn, Margaret knew he would be successful. And with his hard work, it seemed that Brian was enjoying his first year in secondary school. Margaret also knew that he was still painfully shy but she was pleased with Brian’s report that he did have friends to “hang around with” as he so aptly put it. Despite the friends he still spent a great deal of time on his own enjoying the open spaces, running and practicing with Gráinne. Margaret had long since concluded that those sessions would always be part of his life.
Brian’s big news that day was that the school soccer team made it through to the provincial finals and that Brian was an important member of the team. Because Margaret followed the progress of St. Killians in the Drogheda Paper, this “news” came as no surprise to her but she had listened carefully enjoying Brian’s enthusiasm. Margaret smiled when she recalled the understated way in which he described his role.“Well, Mrs. O’Neill,” he told her, “I don’t score any goals but I do help the other players score and the team is winning so that is what really matters.”
You would have had to spend the last three months on another planet not to know that her Brian had established himself as the most talked about athlete ever to play in the county. Even Ray the postman, knowing her close friendship with Brian, sang his praises in terms she could not even imagine. “He dominates,” Ray said.“I don’t miss a match because he is so fun to watch. Why he is in complete control from the first whistle and now the team has become so accustomed to his game they know they will get the right pass at the right moment. That is the reason the team wins and young Brian doesn’t even take a shot. Magic, Mrs. O’Neill, pure magic… and even more amazing is that here he is the leader of the pack and only in his first year.”
Margaret never thought that she would hear it said her shy, reserved Brian was a leader but Evelyn explained that once he stepped out onto the pitch, he was a different boy all together. He became confident, assertive and most definitely the leader of the other boys. It seemed that no one, even students five years older than Brian, objected to his role because even though they all knew that her son could probably score at will, Brian always put the team first, making sure that everyone was involved. Even Margaret knew that Brian had never scored a goal because he was too busy passing the ball to his teammates.
Margaret would have loved to see Brian play but she had long since decided that she would rather remain at home and enjoy the young man’s first hand reports of everything that transpired in his life. Besides, as she entered her ninetieth year she thought she was a little old to be standing or sitting out in the cold autumn air for hours at a time. Brian seemed to understand this just as he seemed to enjoy telling her about everything that happened. If she were actually present, that would hardly be necessary and they would both be deprived of those wonderful moments.
Earlier in the day, Brian explained that the provincial final would be broadcast on the community radio station so “if she had nothing better to do” she could always listen. Margaret assured her young friend that nothing short of her house burning to the ground would stop her from tuning in, and now she eagerly awaited the start of the coverage.
At precisely 6:25 the distinctive voice of legendary sports commentator Jimmy McGrain welcomed listeners to live coverage of the final.
“We are here live under the lights at Dalymount Park to bring you the Leinster provincial final of the senior schoolboy’s soccer league between St. Finbars High School from Delgany, in Wicklow and St. Killians High School from Drogheda in Louth. The sky above is black and moonless but the weather forecast is for a dry evening during which the champion of Leinster school soccer will be crowned. While both teams must have visions of lifting the cup, one might be tempted to believe that this match will be as one-side a final as could possibly be imagined. After all St. Finbars are the two-time defending cup holders and are seeking an unprecedented third title in a row. The St. Finbars squad is easily two deep with experienced junior and senior students at every position. Three of their starters, including keeper Brian Moore have been called to play internationally for Ireland’s under-age teams. Coach Michael O’Leary told me earlier today that this is the most talented group of players he has ever been around. As a group the St. Finbars Bulldogs have never lost a match because according to Coach O’Leary, they will do whatever it takes to win. Certainly St. Finbars must be considered the prohibitive favorites but, of course, the winner will be determined on the pitch and not on the form.”
“Oh my,” Margaret O’Neill said out loud, moving her napkin to her lips. The announcer apparently wasn’t giving St. Killians much of a chance. She could just imagine a group of big strong men lined up against her little fellow and his mates. “Well,”she announced to the radio, “it could be David and Goliath.”
“On the other side of the ball we have St. Killians High School whose victories in the past four years can be counted on one hand. That was, however, as they say in the town lands around Drogheda, “BB” which means Before Brian. Killians has been the shock of schoolboy soccer in the county, or perhaps even in the country because they have gone from being an undisputed doormat to an undefeated finalist, all in the space of one season. Unlike Finbars, Killians is short on both depth and experience as thirteen of its twenty players are under sixteen and two of those are under fourteen. Only six of the starting eleven are juniors or seniors. Undoubtedly those six include two exceptionally strong defenders, big John Thornton, called Thunder by his teammates and Jimmie Rice, called Silk who is as smooth as Thornton is strong. The front line is anchored by senior, Bill Hagerty who seems to have an instinct for the net when the opportunity presents itself and led St. Killians in scoring during the present campaign. The success that the Killians Reds have enjoyed this season must be attributed to the emergence of Brian O’Sullivan at midfield. He is only in his first year of junior high and would normally play under fourteen, but it quickly became clear that his level of play was far superior to that of youngsters his age. Coach Harry McElhatton immediately promoted young Brian to his senior squad and the young man has dominated every match since. Throughout the group stages and the knockout rounds of this competition, despite double and indeed triple teaming, no team has been able to stop young O’Sullivan who has controlled the middle of the field linking the strong defense with Killians strikers. It will be interesting to see how the vastly more experienced St. Finbars Bulldogs compete with this young phenomenon. The question will certainly be answered tonight as the teams are receiving their final instructions and kick-off is only minutes away.”
While the radio station made its commercial announcements, Margaret turned the volume up, just that bit more. She couldn’t believe that she was so nervous because, after all, she knew very little about sport in general and nothing at all about soccer. Her Brendan, God rest his soul, had been a GAA man in the days when GAA and the English sports did not see eye-to-eye. As a result, Margaret had never seen a soccer match and the onl
y things she knew about the game were Brian’s excited reports. It did seem to her that St. Killians would have their hands full with an opponent so much older, stronger and more experienced. She knew that Brian was also bigger and stronger than he had been six months ago, but some of those St. Finbars boys would be four and five years older than he was.
Margaret’s thoughts were interrupted as the voice of Jimmie McGrain returned to the air.
“St. Finbars has taken the initial kick-off moving from my left to right and has quickly advanced the ball up the right wing. O’Brien is cut off in the corner by White and he passes the ball back to Ntumba at midfield. The Nigerian born mid-fielder dribbles the ball toward the center circle, where he is dispossessed by Brian O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan controls the ball while his teammates move forward and then passes to Donovan, his partner in mid-field. The ball is returned to O’Sullivan, oh my, he is clattered by Jason Smith. The referee gives Smith a few strong words but I would have thought that tackle merited an immediate yellow-card. Smith did not come remotely close to getting the ball but seemed satisfied in taking young O’Sullivan’s feet out from under him. In my experience, a good referee should announce his control over a match at the beginning and allowing that type of play can only create difficulties as the match progresses O’Sullivan seems no worse for wear and takes the free kick, a perfect strike to Mulvey on the wing. Mulvey takes the ball into the corner and his attempted cross is blocked over the end line by Murphy. Mulvey lines up to take the corner kick and Thornton moves from his center back position to the top of the penalty box. Mulvey sends his cross in but it is too close to the keeper Moore who fists the ball out, directly into the path of Brian O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan sends the ball in toward the post, where Hagerty just mistimed his jump and the ball skimmed off his head and out for a goal kick. Oh my, O’Sullivan is down again as he was hit very late by Stephen Murphy but it appears that the referee and the linesmen have missed that one altogether and O’Sullivan jumps up and returns to his position. Well early on, it seems that a pattern is developing. Finbars has apparently decided that the best way to cope with Brian O’Sullivan is to mark him closely and to tackle him at every opportunity. The difficulty they seem to be having is that because of the youngster’s skill, the tackles are either late or illegal.”
Margaret listened as Jimmie McGrain described what appeared to be an even match with neither side asserting any great advantage. She cringed every time Brian touched the ball because it seemed inevitable that the announcer would follow the report of his possession by announcing that some St. Finbars player had come in with a strong tackle. Even McGrain seemed surprised at the referee’s reluctance to issue warnings about these tackles. Margaret wasn’t quite sure what a tackle was because she thought soccer did not entail tackles, at least not like Rugby or GAA. She began to be concerned at the number of tackles that Brian was taking and could only envision her young friend stretched out on the ground after each attempt. For her, half time and even full time could not come too quickly, regardless of the outcome.
“Well the whistle has blown signaling half-time at Dalymount Park in what, it must be said, has been a brutal first half. Although both sides had chances the story of the first half has been the punishment meted out to young Brian O’Sullivan by the St. Finbars team. It seems that their tactic has been to take him out of his game by tackling him from every imaginable angle whenever he touches the ball, in many cases illegally or well after the ball has been passed on. The result has been innumerable free kicks which have completely upset any flow to the match. If this is what the Finbars coach means by doing whatever it takes to win, this reporter is not impressed. In fairness, Killians have not exactly been choirboys themselves and a couple of their players have not been reluctant to clatter Finbars players in retribution for the assaults on their young leader. The referee has issued two yellow cards against the Finbars Bulldogs but that total could, and perhaps should have been eight or ten cards. It would seem that he has lost complete control over this match. Both yellow card recipients have been replaced so Finbars has no player on the pitch playing on a yellow. John Thornton is carrying a yellow card for Killians but he is obviously too valuable to be replaced. To be honest I don’t know how many more brutal tackles young O’Sullivan can take and it seems only a matter of time before Killians will be worn down by Finbars’ relentless attacks.”
As the radio station broke for commercial breaks, Margaret stood and stretched her legs. She was now seriously worried about what was happening in the soccer match. She knew that her Brian was very fit and could probably run all day without tiring but the idea of boys much older and much stronger running into him every time he touched the ball filled her with fear for his safety. Brian so wanted to compete and be part of a team that he was thrilled to be playing at St. Killians. However, Brian was still a young boy, naïve in so many ways. He seriously thought that all athletes subscribed to a code of honor and fair play and she wondered how he would react when faced with what seemed to be a win at any price attitude. Margaret could only hope that the match would end quickly and her young friend’s enthusiasm would not be totally destroyed.
“Well, it’s another free kick for St. Killians. The first twenty minutes of the second half have not changed St. Finbars’ approach to the match as they have continued to disrupt the flow of the game by tackling young Brian O’Sullivan with increasing ferocity. By the time the free kick is delivered, usually with amazing accuracy, St. Finbars has reset its defense, which has so far been able to deal with the threats. It seems that Finbars has decided to play nearly its entire team behind the ball, defend vigorously and count on its experience and strong goalkeeper to defend what may well be a match decided on penalty kicks. In fairness to the referee, three yellow cards have been shown to Finbars players, which is an improvement on the first half, but in my opinion not a completely appropriate response. The supporters from both sides, it seems, have expressed their disgust at the Finbars tactics and every time O’Sullivan is tackled a chorus of boos rains down on the St. Finbars team. Unfortunately, this seems to have no effect on Finbars’ approach to the match.”
“Play has resumed with a St. Finbars goal kick and Moore sends the ball well past the center circle. The ball is headed strongly by Thornton to O’Sullivan who turns against Bradley, steps over the ball and easily leaves the defender behind kicking out at a ball that isn’t there. O’Sullivan takes two steps up the field and, oh no, he is brutally taken out at the back of his knees by Tony Bradley. There was absolutely no attempt to win the ball. That tackle was quite simply an assault. Whether out of malice or pure frustration, Bradley kicked out at the back of O’Sullivan’s right knee and the young man is hurt. Certainly that must merit a straight red card from the referee who is running over to confront young Bradley. Unlike all the other occasions, when he jumped up without complaint, O’Sullivan is still down on the ground clutching his right knee. Oh, no, here comes Thunder Thornton going after Tony Bradley and the fists are flying. Both teams have joined the melee, as the referee and both linesman have waded into the middle of the pack, blowing their whistles and trying to restore order. I would be remiss if I did not say that this altercation is the predictable result of the referee’s failure to take control of the game in the first ten minutes. I am also surprised that Thornton or any one of the St. Killians players did not more seriously retaliate before this in response to the manner in which their young star has been tackled but, perhaps, that can be attributed to disciplined coaching. It had to boil over, however, and now the referee, linesmen and coaches are trying to restore order.”
Margaret sat tensely, her handkerchief over her mouth, shocked at what was being described. Her Brian was lying on the ground, injured and the young men who were supposed to be involved in a sporting competition were fighting like young hooligans. It was the last thing she expected and she felt almost as badly for young Brian as she had when his beloved Molly died. “Please, God” she whispered, “let
him be all right.”
“Well order has finally been restored at Dalymount Park and the referee is consulting with the linesmen. The referee is calling John Thornton and Tony Bradley over and is marking in his book. Both have been given straight red cards and are finished for the match. Jimmie Rice, St. Killians captain is now having a word with the referee, well perhaps more than a word. The referee is going to his pocket, oh dear; Rice has also been show a red card, undoubtedly for dissent. That will leave Killians defense in tatters. The medical staff is still tending to Brian O’Sullivan and a stretcher is being called. He is undoubtedly also finished for the night. I’m not sure who is available to replace the young superstar but with the loss of their strongest defenders the remainder of the match will be played ten against nine and one would have to assume that St. Killians hope for an upset is over.”
“O’Sullivan is being stretchered off to the sideline in the company of Coach Harry McElhatton. Clearly the young man is in some discomfort but he appears to be trying to explain something to his coach. The stretcher is deposited near the St. Killians bench while the doctor continues to attend to Brian O’Sullivan. The referee is consulting the Killians manager undoubtedly asking if a substitute will be sent on. It appears that McElhatton is not prepared to make a substitution although I can’t see how his young star can return to the action. At any rate, the match will restart with only eight players competing for St. Killians.”
Margaret listened, almost relieved that her Brian would no longer be subjected to continuing abuse. She could only pray that his injury was not too serious. She also hoped that the experience would not change his love of the game.
The Legends Page 27