No Cricket Scandal Here!

Friday 03.09.2010

Club

There was much talk in the press last weekend about match fixing in sport and in International Cricket in particular. It obviously caught the imagination of some people because it seems that some guy on a discussion forum suggested that there may have been some match fixing involved in the championship game between Carrickmore and Dromore. Ridiculous at it may sound there are people around who will believe there is some element of truth in it and there is nothing anyone can say that will change their views.

I have to say from a personal point of view that I have heard some ridiculous things in my time and read some crazy stories but this beats them all. To suggest such a thing does a serious disservice to the players involved in both teams and the history of both clubs. Let’s be clear about one thing from the off, Carrickmore beat Dromore on Friday night because they were by far the better side. They were sharper, hungrier and better in nearly every single position and were fully deserving of their sixteen point win. In Conor Gormley, Paul Hughes and Caolan Daly they had the three stand out players on view and their side’s victory was due to their talent and tenacity and had nothing whatsoever to do with betting scams.

I had expected this game to be close and was as surprised as anybody by what unfolded under the lights of Healy Park. Adrian Clarke’s side produced the most complete performance by any Carrickmore side that I have seen in years as they totally blitzed the reigning champions in a display of nearly perfect football.

That win meant that Carmen became the second side through to the last four as they joined near neighbours Kildress in the semis.

The game itself on Friday night was so one sided that it failed to live up to the hype and expectation built around it. In fairness to Dromore they were minus several key men but they looked well short of the level required and struggled to cope with the pace, passion and commitment of their opponents. The game was effectively over by the time Kevin Mc Nally buried a first half penalty to give his side a six point lead.

Most spectators were expecting a second half comeback from the men in blue but it never materialised and when Carrickmore’s full forward Mark Donnelly finished off an excellent move for his side’s second goal it was only a matter of how much they would win by. Carrickmore scored for fun after that but never once lifted the foot off the gas. They really enjoyed this victory over a team that has been their biggest rivals for years and the fact that their supporters remained right to the end, showed how much this victory meant to them.