Richmond, VA GAA Tournament Oct 2015
As the other teams started to roll in we were already getting out tent up, hanging out banners and showing the other teams who we were and who our sponsors were. It was exciting because this was the first tournament where we had our banners to display. People were getting their club gear on and starting to take to the field – one at a time – in the pregame warm up ritual that has now become ingrained in our brains.
Game 1 (Football): 11:25AM-12:00PM Fairfax City v Winston-Salem
I could feel the excitement and the nervousness of the players on the field. The team was picked and people took to their positions. The referee stood in front of Joe and myself – who were playing midfield – and in the blink of an eye the whistle was blown, the ball was thrown and the game was ON!
The nervous of the first game in our last tournament of the 2015 season was apparent but as the seconds and minutes passed by we started to shake off that nervousness and all of a sudden we were on the scoreboard. Our confidence was building and al the training we had put in all year was paying off. The fitness was good, the passing better and the team work fantastic. We got a lot of scores, especially goals in the first half and we finished the half 4-05 v 0-02
With a full team change at the half time we started strong but started to let Fairfax get on the scoreboard a few more times. Again the Wolfhounds show their determination to win and to do so by playing as a team and play as a team we did. We registered a couple of more goals and as the 2nd half seemed to have slipped away from Fairfax, even with a late goal. The final score finished Winston-Salem Wolfhounds 6-09 v Fairfax 1-03
Game 2 (Football): 12:25PM-1:00PM: Winston Salem v. Michael Collins
A late change to the schedule had us playing in the second game against Michael Collins. The MC boys looked bigger and stronger than our previous opponents and we need we would be in for a tough game. Michael Collins did not disappoint. We started well and registered some good scores but we could never move too far from the Michael Collins team. They match our scores and eventually our fitness was found out, especially after having just played a game before this. Michael Collins went 5 points up at the half.
So after some gentle words of encouragement from myself we started the second half with some new determination and a knowledge that we had the fitness, the skills and team to win this game. We got some good scores early on and had some great bursts of play BUT again Michael Collins just had an edge and a grit that we could not overcome. We battled to the very end but Michael Collins would finish the game strong and they kept that 5 point lead they had at the half Michael Collins 9-07 to Winston-Salem Wolfhounds 7-08
Final (Football): 3:00PM-3:45PM: Winston-Salem Wolfhounds v Michael Collins/Richmond Battery
The Final. Winston-Salem had made it to the final with Michael Collins as the top two teams of the tournament. The format was going to be changed again. Fairfax had disappeared and when initial suggestions that they had all gone for sandwiches – 20 mins before the final – were quashed the decision was decided that Michael Collins would recruit some players from the Richmond hurling team to play in a 13v13 North Carolina v Virginia final. Agreements were made and the Wolfhounds not only were representing Winston-Salem but now we had the faith of the state of North Carolina in our hands. No pressure right!?!
The game was a hard battle and both teams we well able to score. A few of the hurlers from the Richmond Battery team played and even though Gaelic football was not their primary sport they were physical players who quickly picked up the speed and skill of the game. We decided to play 20 minute halves instead of 15 and the extra 5 minutes did start to show a little on the legs of all the players. But half time saw Winston-Salem Wolfhounds ahead by 5 points. I small lead given the talent of our opponents and the tiredness creeping into our legs.
Our bench was well used and we even gave VA two of our players to line out for them in the second half due to the fact that some of their players had to leave early. So the battle continued in the second half. All the training we had done was call upon in the second half of our last game of 2015. Every pass, every run, every tackle was that little bit better, that little bit more accurate because we had run though the scenarios in training the weeks and month earlier. Our confidence was high and we moved the ball around the field brilliantly with passes and runs from the backs to the forwards and finishing with scores. Absolutely beautiful football. We held off a late onslaught by VA to finish the game 7 points clear of VA. It was a fantastic way to finish the season and a well-deserved victory for the inaugural year of the Winston-Salem Wolfhound. I am proud of every player, supporter and sponsor of this club and it feels great to be a Wolfhound. Wolfhound Abú!
W-S Wolfhounds (aka North Carolina) 6-07 v Michael Collins/Richmond Battery (aka Virginia) (2-12)