Clash of dates if Connacht win replay

The replay of the drawn Railway Cup semi-final between Connacht and Ulster will be played at Clones next Sunday with the Games Administration Committee of the GAA hoping that Connacht don't win.

The teams finished level at 15 points each at Hyde Park in Roscommon last Sunday after half an hour of extra-time. Should Connacht win next Sunday, however, a major problem would arise since the final against Leinster has already been fixed for February 8th.

That is also the date fixed for the postponed Mayo-Carlow National League match and Connacht, without Mayo players, would not be a viable proposition for the final.

Connacht's team last Sunday was dominated by players from Mayo. Nine Mayo players started the match and another was introduced in the second half.

With the National League resuming next weekend it was feared that the two provinces might be reluctant to agree to a replay straight away but, as luck would have it, the only county from either province involved in National League activity next weekend will be Down.

That is not a major problem but a Connacht win would certainly provide a major headache for the GAC since Connacht would not be willing to play without the Mayo players and Mayo would scarcely be anxious to play a National League match with two thirds of their side.

This was confirmed yesterday by the Connnacht team manager Seamus Hayden. "We couldn't agree to playing in the final without Mayo players. Connacht haven't won the Railway Cup since 1969 and it would mean a great deal to us to break that losing sequence.

"Our lads played very well on Sunday and might have won against a very good Ulster team. I believe that we will improve for the replay and we are determined to get into the final and win it," he said.

Interestingly enough only one Down player, Mickey Linden, was involved in the Hyde Park draw and he was replaced by Anthony Tohill of Derry early in the second half.

Originally the final was fixed for February 8th which is a blank date in the GAA calendar. No venue has been fixed but the likelihood now is that, once the tie between Connacht and Ulster is decided, the final will go ahead as planned although the outcome of the replay will have a bearing on the mater.

If necessary two periods of extra time will be played in Clones next Sunday if that becomes necessary.

The draw between the two sides has revived, to some extent, interest in the competition which has been fading for years.

What emerged in the two matches last Sunday is that the players are still committed to playing for their respective provinces even if the general public has not responded.

Nevertheless, Noel Walsh, chairman of the Munster Council described the contest between Munster and Leinster at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney as "championship stuff" and not many of those who were there were prepared to disagree with him.

Insofar as the Connacht-Ulster match was concerned it was highly competitive all through. It earned the admiration of the Ulster manager, Brian McEniff to the extent that he paid tribute to his Connacht counterpart, Seamus Hayden.

"I thought his selection and that of his other selectors, Willie Joe Padden and Tommy Joe Gilmore was very shrewd. They decided to build a team around nine Mayo players and then bring in the best of the other counties. I thought the two Sligo lads, Eamon O'Hara and Paul Taylor in particular fitted in well and there was never more than two or three points between the sides."

He agreed that the best way forward is to go for the replay on Sunday next and the final the following Sunday even though we will not be able to call on Down players who have a National League match against Clare next Sunday. "We would like to have Down players available. Mickey Linden had a problem with a hamstring injury last Sunday but you would never leave him out of any side but we are going ahead anyway and we expect another tough match," he said.