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Smash and grab
 By
David Thorpe
It was tough, it was rough and at times tempers flared at Pairc na hÉireann
on Sunday as John Mitchels did just about enough to see off the challenge
of St. Barnabas in the Jurys Inn Senior Football League.
It was a weekend of double delight for the Mitchels club as they recorded
wins in both the Senior and Intermediate Football League.
While Robin Hood was famous for robbing from the rich and giving to the
poor it was Mitchels who escaped from Birmingham with maximum points at
the weekend after stealing a late victory against the Nottingham-based
side.
That result ensured that Mitchels maintained the pressure on Sean McDermotts
at the top of the Senior League.
St. Barnabas have struggled at times this season to field a full-strength
team so while getting to within a single point of Mitchels 1-8 to 1-7
looks like a fine result the Nottingham lads looked heartbroken at the
final whistle as a late Mitchels goal deprived them of a much-needed win.
The decisive strike came from Liam O’Shea. Amazingly O’Shea
scored a hat-trick in the Intermediate game which preceded the senior
contest and will be a player to keep an eye on in the seasons ahead.
St. Barnabas were on top in the opening half with Mark Mulhern, Jon Kinnare,
Dam-ien Burke and James O’Hara beating their men to the majority
of 50-50 balls.
With their tails up they went in search of that killer blow which would
deliver the League points but ultimately their inability to kill-off the
game cost them as John Mitchels recuperated to register the one-point
win.
Even at this early stage of the season the destination of the Senior League
title looks like being a race between the traditional Warwickshire football
big guns of John Mitchels and Sean McDermotts.
St. Barnabas were short of several of their better players for this match
and the return of their star players should be enough to see them ease
clear of the relegation places.
A good weekend’s work for the Mitchels was completed by their Intermediate
team’s comfortable defeat of St. Marys. The final score of 5-12
to 0-8 fully reflected the dominance of the victors.
That result must count as something of a surprise however as only one
place separated these teams on the League table going into this match.
So as the Warwickshire season starts to take shape the big guns are cornering
the top spots in the table. The cream is rising to the top but all of
the clubs are shaping up for the Championship which could be one of the
most enthralling in the recent history of football in the county.
n For full round-up, see pages 58-59. |
