Two days before the county final, Ms. O'Mahony was dealt a crushing blow with news that star point -guard Eividas had broken a finger. By lunch time, the news had escalated into two fingers and if word on the corridors was to be believed, he would be out for the season. Jamie O'Driscoll considered the situation and gave Eividas some advice 'if you were from Castlehaven, you'd put a plaster on it and get on with the match'. Eividas was quick to respond 'but I am not from Castlehaven'. However, our brilliant point -guard had made a decision, broken finger or not, he was determined to play if the doctor allowed it. The doctor sensibly said 'no'.
So the restorative plan began. The versatile Thomás O'Mahony was drafted into the point -guard role. He had done it before to perfection and would do it again. This left us with a void on the wing where Thomás' explosive speed was one of SCS' lethal weapons. Adam O'Donoghue and Fiachra Collins applied the required pressure.
Roared on by a passionate Liam McCarthy inspired purple-clad crowd of very enthusiastic first years, the SCS team threw everything at Christians and quenched their attacking threats. The 2 1 2 zone defence controlled by the majestic duo of Robbie Minihane and James O'Neill was a wall that Christians found hard to break. Robbie and James are two of SCS' most talented players, they rebound like gazelles, control the defence and are instrumental in setting up our attack. Add in the enormous pressure of Thomas' tenacious defence and it becomes clear why SCS has been a fortress that no team can easily penetrate.
The vivacious Eoghan Barry got us off to the perfect start sinking a shot of sublime beauty from the wing. In the next attack Stevie Redmond cut from the opposite wing and finished off Robbie's perfectly weighted pass. Stevie added seven more points , mostly long shots struck with confident precision and became the games top scorer. The other scores came from Robbie 6, Adam 5, Thomás 4, James 4 and Fiachra 2.
The first years were here to make history. Their mission was to be the first county champions of SCS. They were well prepared, determined and serious about the task. They achieved their goal in style running out winners with a score line of 32 to 14 and a direct route straight to the All Ireland league Play off finals.
Next Sunday, the 30th of April, we are hosting the Playoffs in Skibbereen Sports Centre and appeal to all of you for support. Our first game is against Knockbeg from Carlow at 10 o'clock. We take on a very strong team from Castleknock in Dublin at 1 o'clock and our final game is against the Western champions Oranmore at 5 o'clock.
