It was back down to earth with a bump against a very good Griffithstown A team who combined a strong physical approach to the game combined with slick interpassing.

An experimental formation of 4-5-1 seemed not to work when we conceded two first half goals and Chris Ham was unable to hold the ball up front to relieve the pressure. After reverting back to a 4-4-2 we settled down and started to compete.

The second half started with a reshuffled back four when Jordan retired with a metatarsal strain. Dropping Chris P to defence and pushing Mike D up front unsettled the Griff defence. In the first 20 minutes we had a number of good chances but were unable to convert. The boys all claimed a penalty for hand-ball but was not seen by the ref who had a steady game throughout.

As the boys tired a couple of sucker punches from their best player Stefan Marchant made the scoreline look a lightly one sided.

We will have to perform much better if we are to compete against them in the forthcoming semi-finals