BY BARRY O'DONNELL
EVERYONE in a green and white jersey naturally was savouring Greencastle's superb All-Ireland Junior Club Championship semi-final triumph over Killala on Sunday, but you sensed it was that little bit extra special for the veterans of the team.
The exuberance of youth has been one of the trademarks of the St Patrick's remarkable Championship odyssey over this past six months, a journey which will conclude with a dream outing under the floodlights at Croke Park in the national decider on Saturday March 10th.
Every successful team through requires a sprinkling of experience and savvy to help coax the younger team members through those spells in games when momentum is wrested by the opposition and in corner forward Barry Tracey Greencastle have that cool and composed seasoned campaigner.
By his own admission Barry had an indifferent first half at blustery Markievicz Park at the weekend, as the Tyrone and Ulster Championship struggled manfully playing into the teeth of a strong wind to contain their Mayo opponents. Yet it was a whole different story on the resumption, Tracey firing five crucial points, including two quality efforts from open play, as Greencastle overturned a three point interval deficit to deservedly seal a famous triumph on a 0-12 to 1-5 scoreline.
Sean Teague's jubilant troops have overcome adversity countless times during their fantastic Championship run and even though they trailed by 1-5 to 0-5 at half-time in Sligo, due in the main to a rather fortuitous fifth minute goal, there was no sense of panic in the Greencastle changing rooms. Barry did reveal however that their manager did spell out a few home truths to his players at the break.
" We knew that Killala would really be up for it and flew at us from the start which was what we expected. In fairness we were playing into a very strong breeze and between that factor and I suppose a few nerves, with so many young boys in the team, we were happy enough scoring five points in the first half, especially when you look back at the fact that they didn't score at all playing into the wind in the second half.
" So while we were well in it at half-time Sean rightly read the riot act to us in the dressing rooms. In fairness there was a few of us, myself included, who were on dodgy ground and weren't playing up to scratch.
"I missed an easy free which was disappointing as you do begin to think that you'll be hauled off to the line. Thankfully though we all really upped it in the second half."
Nobody epitomised that transformation better than Tracey whose clinical accuracy from dead balls and open play helped Greencastle turn the match on its head as they ran out deserving winners. Barry prefers to concentrate on the overall sound team ethic which saw them home rather than any individual contribution.
" There's a great fight in this young team and with our supporters getting behind us and the wind in our favour I knew that we could turn things around. A few years ago an occasion like this might have been too much for us but now the boys are no longer fazed by it. I'm just so happy for everyone, we've achieve what we've worked so hard for.
" It was good to get those scores in the second half, and help out Terry (McDermott) who'd been getting the bulk of them. Sean has us practising hard at training. But everyone had their part to play. The boys further out the pitch have to be praised for creating the chances for us and dominating possession there in the second half."
And casting an eye ahead to the final Barry not surprisingly is thrilled at the prospect of getting a run-out at Croke Park in two weeks time.
" I was down myself a couple of weeks ago for the Tyrone/Dublin match and when you hear a player of Sean Cavanagh's calibre saying it was an unreal experience to get playing under lights, then for our fellas it's going to be beyond their wildest dreams. Before the semi-final we didn't dare think about it too much in case we were left disappointed, but now its going to come true.
" It will be an unreal feeling for the whole parish, you can see how much it means to all the supporters. I'm 32 years old and the oldest in the team so I never thought I'd get a chance to play at Croke Park at this stage in my career. I've two kids and I'm out very night of the week so it requires a lot of dedication and commitment from the whole family. Something like this experience though makes it all worthwhile."
Meanwhile Greencastle's opponents in the final will be Kerry side Duagh who saw off Park/Ratheniska, from Laois, 0-12 to 0-9 in the other semi-final last weekend at Moneygall, though by all accounts the Kingdom representatives were always in control throughout.
