Fitzgibbon Cup 98 News and Updates

The Loosers Dressing room

Never before has defeat in a Fitzgibbon cup game in UL caused such disappointment for a team. The effort of this years hurlers could be easily read in the atmosphere directly after the game. Not a word was spoken for twenty minutes after the final whistle, players, subs, mentors all sat motionless in the dressing, the only sound being that of a jubilant Garda College team across the corridor who knew they had been let off the hook, not only by a missed penalty in injury time but by easy chances that UL missed in the last twenty minutes of the game. Players sat in their match gear for twenty five minutes contemplating what had gone wrong, how they could have done it differently , but most of all wondering what they would have to do to win a Fitzgibbon match, as they had given every thing that was asked of them all year.

When Ken Hogan walked in to the dressing room after the game to commiserate with a beaten team he must have wondered how he could say the right thing to team whose complete and utter dejection was written across every face. Silence met him as he entered the room, not because players did not want to say anything, it was because they could not talk. No one had the words to ease the sickening pain that was buried deep inside each individual on the team. His words were kind, well intentioned and applauded as he left the room, but were of little consolation and silence descended again.

Why? Fifty training sessions, league games , challenge matches , shortened holidays to return to deserted campus to train on the 2nd of January, training during exams, running on ice, running in mud, training with car lights to light up a pitch in the darkness of January evenings, while others sat in warm houses, had gone down the drain in the space of the hour. The years training had boiled down to one hours hurling and we had failed in our best efforts. Overconfidence or underprepararion was not an issue, players were level headed going in to the game and preparation was as good as it could have possibly have been. Words like desolation, depression, disappointment , gutted would all be needed to describe the feeling. Yet people will say it was only a game, but to this team it was much more than that, it was the shattering of a dream that players had striven for since the beginning of last October.

The Fitzgibbon cup represent the best elements of sport, Team Spirit , dedication, honest effort, skill, endurance and loyalty to one College, Club and friends. That will never be forgotten by players and in the future will be the most abiding memory of college life they will have.The only consolation for some of these players is that the will get another chance next year, but unfortunately for some others who will graduate this was the last stand.