Fallon savours another county final with Four Roads
It will be county final number 11, not including replays, for Four Roads goalkeeper Noel Fallon on Sunday afternoon, but there’s no lack of excitement from the man between the posts as the clock ticks down towards their meeting with St Dominic’s at King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park (2pm).
“Every county final is a new day out, a new experience and a new year,” he says with a smile as he speaks to local media in Ballyforan.
“I love every day I go out, for as long as I can keep going, I’ll keep going!”
Fallon lined out in outfield roles for some of those finals but has been a crucial part of the Tisrara club’s structure and game plan for the last few years. His first Poc Fada appearance in the Cooley mountains was in 2009 as an U-16 and since then he has been a frequent visitor to the Louth peninsula.
Two years ago, his booming restarts at the Hyde were absolutely crucial as Four Roads used the wind to edge out Dominic’s, and he’s conscious that the move to the county ground will create a very different type of game this week.
“The Hyde is wide open, there’s more space and it’s a different game. If you’re standing behind the goal and you look out and there’s lads left, right and centre, and if you hit the surface on the Hyde the ball will skid and fly away.”
That analytical side to his game was a factor in Fallon getting involved with the Roscommon camógs this year, primarily to help out the goalkeepers, and his enthusiasm for the job and for the sport means that it’s like that he’ll spend plenty of time in coaching roles around the county for the foreseeable future.
“I couldn’t get involved too much, I was there once every two or three weeks, due to having a little one at home and another little one on the way,” he explained.
“It’s something that down the line I’d really love to get into. Mary (Grehan, Roscommon camogie manager), the team behind her, and the girls are absolutely fantastic, they’re going places. They’re still very young, but they will develop and I think there will be an All-Ireland in them in the next few years. I just like the game and I like being involved,” he continued.
“Any big game, it’s great to be part of it, and they don’t come any bigger than this final. There’s been nothing between us and St Dominic’s down through the years, they’ve great experience and they’ve young lads coming through, they’ll be hard beaten and it could well come down to a lucky bounce that could go either way,” Fallon added.
*See here for interview with St Dominic's player Naos Connaughton.