Den Haag GAA Club - Den Haag Oct. 2005

      The growing popularity and ever improving standards of European was evident as eleven teams from across Europe came to Den Haag to compete for the Brendan Maloney Cups in the final round of the Gaelic Gear European League. The men's league had already been decided with Paris wrapping up the title leaving Den Haag & Luxembourg to fight it out for second place. The Netherlands ladies were in poll position to win their first ever European title but two wins for Paris could snatch the title on the final day.
      The men's tournament had eight participating sides. Hosts Den Haag were drawn with champions Paris, Maastricht and old rivals Guernsey. In the other group Luxembourg appeared to be the strongest side but they would face stiff competition from Rennes, Amsterdam and Groningen.
      Group A started very much to form with Paris and Den Haag beginning the day with wins over Guernsey and Maastricht respectively. The sides who started the day in the top two places in the European League then met each other in what turned out to be one of the games of the day. Den Haag weren't short of motivation as Paris had denied them their first tournament win of the year a few weeks earlier in Amsterdam, and in a tight first half Den Haag were just about the better side. A rasping shot from Rory Litton, which nearly broke the crossbar, could have given Den Haag a bigger lead at the turn and they were to regret that miss as Paris scored a goal and three points without reply in the opening minutes of the second half. Den Haag fought back and goal from Mark McLoughlin and a last minute point from Orson McMahon left the sides level at the finish. Further wins for both in their final group games left Paris and Den Haag level at the top of the table with the Parisians shading first place on points difference.
      Luxemburg travelled to Den Haag with a strong side including two inter-county players and their intentions were clear as they recorded three wins from three in their group games. The decisive game in the group saw Rennes; again fielding a team made up almost entirely of French/Breton players, record a narrow win over Amsterdam. From the point of view of Gaelic Football in The Netherlands it is encouraging to now have four "Dutch" teams competing regularly in European competition.
      The first semi-final was an all-French affair with Paris taking on Rennes in a repeat of the final of the Paris tournament. The Bretons got off to a flyer and scored two early goals. Paris stuck back with a goal of their own but a Rennes again cut through the Paris defence to score a third goal. Paris had to rely on all their experience to get back into the game but eventually their superior point taking skills were to prove to be crucial and they ran out narrow winners.
      Den Haag were looking to achieve one of the goals they had set at the start of the season by wining the Brendan Maloney Cup but ultimately they found themselves second best to a superior Luxemburg side whose passing, support play and fitness made them a class apart on the day. The writing was on the wall early on when Luxemburg swooped to score a goal in the first few minutes and although they hit back with a goal of their own Den Haag could never close the gap and Luxemburg deservedly went through to play Paris in the final.
      As had been case in their semi-final against Den Haag, Luxemburg showed real class in their showdown with Paris. The European champions played well but the additional class offered by two players who had played at the highest level at home added to the superb passing and movement of the whole team gave Luxemburg the edge. At the end of a long day and a long season it was Luxemburg who claimed the Brendan Maloney Cup and Paris who were Gaelic Gear European Champions for 2005.
        As the lads huffed, puffed and knocked lumps out of each other on one of the two pitches in the Westland Rugby Club the ladies of The Netherlands, Paris and Luxemburg played some superb flowing football on the field beside them. The increase in the standard of ladies football in the last few years has been remarkable and the solid performance of the European team in the recent World Championships was very encouraging. While the men's league had been decided earlier the women's competition would go to the final round. One thing that was clear was that there would be new name on the trophy, as Luxemburg, winners for the previous four seasons, could not catch either The Netherlands or Paris. Victories for both Paris and The Netherlands over Luxemburg meant that the final would be clash of the top two sides in the European league. Their earlier victory in the group game guaranteed a European title for The Netherlands but they wanted to finish the season with a win. This they duly did with a hard fought win over their Parisian rivals. Maria Murtagh again played a captain's part while Michela Duffy was voted player of the tournament by the referees.
      The curtain thus came down on a very successful year for European GAA. More teams, more tournaments, and the first ever hurling league all proved the rude health of the games on the continent. The tournament dinner was the usual fare of cups, speeches and eulogies to the one and only Mary Gavin. Others who deserve thanks are tournament organiser Des Breen, the referees, O'Brien's Sandwiches for providing the lunches and Den Haag GAA club sponsors PJ Kehoe and the Poitin Stil.
      Finally special thanks to all of the tournament organisers and to everyone who travelled across Europe to play the greatest sports in the world.