First win in the bag.
Published on HivePostify by @niallon11 · Tue Aug 11 2026
Championship season has officially started for my team and it started with a bang.
We had a game against the team that we narrowly beat in the semi finals last year and we expected a backlash. Last years game was just as tight with us two points up in the last minute and I took down their attacker in the last minute as he was about to score a three point goal. That led to a penalty which we saved and got us through to the final.
So this year they were always going to be up for the game and would have targeted their training towards beating us day one and get a head start on the group.
The game had it all for the spectators. Due to a combination of terrible refereeing and both teams expecting a tough match we were all ready to go from the start.
The first twenty minutes were all us with only the ref and his soft frees keeping the other team in it. The other team had a great free taker an he was putting it over the bar from every angle.
On the other and we were well on top with three goals in the first half and a few points to back it up. We broke for half time 6 points up and playing brilliantly.
The only black spot in the first half was where we faded out for the last ten minutes against a younger team and kept them ticking along behind us.
The second half.
This is where the ref really started to lose control. We were already getting sick of him giving all the soft frees to the other team and nothing to us no matter how badly they were fouling.
It was a very biased performance. His team also gave them two points which were definitely wide and one to us later on but these things should not be happening in a serious match.
The straw that broke the camels back and that nearly broke their corner forwards back is towards the end of the game.
15 minutes left and we are up by 7. Sixmilebridge hit a long ball into the square and our full back blocks it. He is fouled and the whistle goes. All the defenders stop. Then they bury the ball into the net and the umpire gives it a green flag. The ref then allows the goal to stand instead of a free out and says that he blew the whistle after the goal was scored which makes no sense whatever way you look at it. There was a long and obvious gap between him blowing the whistle for a free and then the goal going in. It wasn't even close. Then the players are going crazy, the manager is out on the pitch. The tempo rises tenfold as everybody is getting frustrated but he still allows the goal.
From then on every tackle is fair game and hurleys go flying in from all sides. We should have at least 3 red cards and they should have gotten one. There is a melee between the two teams, subs and management. He gives them a couple more soft frees and the score creeps down to to just two points. The with a minute left he gives them one more soft free from the halfway line. They score and he blows the whistle early and calls a draw between the two teams but we are up by one point and know that we are up by one. We have a man on the sideline keeping the time and the score. Ensue another melee as our management are going crazy and everybody is confused. The other team know they shouldn't get a draw and we know damn well we have it won.
Luckily and just by the skin of our teeth he gives us the one point win because we have full track of the game but it was a criminal offense what he did to that game.
If we didn't get the points there would have been a riot on the pitch and long term repercussions.
We did get it however and have two weeks to get back up to speed before the next game and more madness.
Tags: #sports#ireland#hurling#blogging#gaa#hive-115814#sportsblock