A week is a long time in politics, which is held up in some sort of esteem by those political protagonists for whom the political polyglot of piffle is perceived as something important, but it may actually be that the true adage here is that a week is an eternity in football. After a week removed from the media where I was unable to attend to all things reserves it is with a heavy heart that I have returned to the fray to provide you with the erudite and informed opinions and matchless comment that serves to educate, entertain and berate all and sundry in the world of ressies football after my timely return from associated life threatening illnesses highlighted by plague-like symptoms.

If we consider the last two games the football results have terrible. That is all – terrible. That said it was terrible to miss, and even more terrible to see the result which has effectively ended the season of the ressies. Dare I say this we have effectively lost the 2nd bottom side in successive weeks, and even more galling we have lost to the St. Bede’s ressies, who were propped up by the ageing legs of Kinsella who was out there representing his team at the rip old age of 643, for the 2nd time this season by a solitary point. You would reasonably expect the younger legs of the De La ressies to be able to overhaul the St. Bede’s lads on the hallowed turf of dairy Bell, and yes, I realise that some will reflect upon the last 3 minutes where we were coming home like the proverbial steam train but still somehow contrived to miss 3 successive shots at goal that would have stolen the game, but it would be manifestly unfair to single out these incidents, for games are won and lost over the entirety of the contest not just in microcosmic incidents taken in isolation.

Further, it would be remiss to not congratulate the visitors who were more prepared to play football over the course of 4 quarters, whereas it was a case of fleeting cameo’s for the majority of players, and not enough 4 quarter efforts being put on place by the 22 who ran out on the blue and gold.

Perhaps players had spent too much time drifting along thinking about the spectacular fire and light show put on for the opening of the Olympic Games the previous night, but why watch it is beyond me when anybody with a modicum of common sense could tell you it would involve smoke, fireworks and lots of people (after all they have a population of 1.3 billion, but our stunned countenances were perhaps a result of the players either being gobsmacked by the lights, bells and whistles of the opening ceremony as they certainly looked like rabbits in the headlights of the shooters gun barrel.

It could be proffered that we were down a few with Youngy, Booze, The Tint Professor and Roaster all out from the side, but it is the nature of ressies, and it was good to see the latter 2 play well in the senior game who were able to secure the seniors 4th win of a long campaign. That said, footy is a great leveller, and we have been levelled pretty savagely recently with disappointing losses to Scotch last week, and then this week.

The cockroach perhaps started them off OK, as the ressies kicked into the stiff breeze, and in many ways it was through the defensive pressure being applied all over the ground that we were able to snag a couple of goals which provided hope that the pain of last weeks loss would be erased. From that point on, it quickly all turned to mush – we lost Dimma to running – literally he ran himself into the ground and he stopped. Stone dead. He was helped off, and we tried to regroup, but players started to doubt and we were then like the boy with the barrow – we had the job in front of us.

Georgie was really up for it, he was in everything and well done to him as he was providing much needed drive, and he was being ably supported by the Hesse Express, Towball, Al Dwyer and down back by the ever reliable Pitch and Chopper, along with Jez the finisher who snagged a handy 4 and had that bit of skill that the opposition was finding hard to counter, Mick Dundon and Daisy Dukes were in and out of the game but were doing some vital things to keep us in touch, but again it was these type of cameo’s that was hurting, for these cameo’s need to be turned into consistency.

Staring a shellacking in the face and even more so when the visitors kicked the 1st goal of the last to skip out to a 32 point lead there was more than some rumblings of discontent and to the players credit, they tried to implement the plans and ideas and strategies of the stand-in cockroach Pickle who was deputising for the incumbent who was stuffing his face with the assorted delicacies contained within the confines of the clubrooms and it was widely reported that he was leading the charge on a feeding frenzy the likes that have not been seen for many years.

To fall short by a point is cruel, but it may well indeed have been cruel to pinch it, and that is what hurts – all we remember is just falling short, what we don’t remember is the lead up to us playing poorly in the preceding 2 and ½ quarters. That was even more cruel having to watch that stuff, the finish was stirring, but it was really only another example of a cameo of what we can do, what we need to do is put that final 12 minutes into 100 minutes.

That said, let’s just forget this game, it does not bear thinking about the players feel terrible, the cockroach feels terrible, the stand-in cockroach feels terrible and all this regurgitation of bad karma serves ‘nowt. Let’s forget it, and not repeat it again.

Next week we are at Old Trinity, and it offers the players the luxury of playing on an outstanding surface, so we should appreciate it and play with the respect and precision that this type of surface demands. Who knows – given the way results panned out it may be that we are still a very minor chance of qualifying for post-season action, so we need to play with fire in the belly and steely determination in the eyes and with a single minded determination to exact some personal retribution and revenge upon our opponents. It is important the ressies win as it may provide some fillip to the seniors as they face an opponent fighting for A Grade survival, so there is plenty to play for – potential finals and providing inspiration to the seniors in their lower ladder finals series of 8th V 9th, then 10th.