By Peter Canavan "We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world." This famous quotation from a renowned American writer may ring hollow in the ears of the Antrim, Wicklow and Longford footballers at this present moment in time but it is one that should be quoted to them as often as possible in the coming weeks and months. (I know that at certain times in my career such words would have been of absolutely no consolation to me, though I can see now how true and in some way prophetic they really are!) Their heroic displays against teams with a much higher rating is a further reminder to us all that every team hits the field with the same number of players and it is within the confines of that field that a winner emerges after seventy minute battle. What has gone before should not affect the outcome. (Perhaps). Both teams have trained hard, very hard, and may have a victory or two under their belt before this encounter. One team may have a sprinkling more of skilful players than the other but they will both have had the benefit of top class coaching. Apart from the difference of a couple of talented players there should be very little between any county teams who compete in the modern championships of the day. Well, of course, we know that there is a difference. Some teams are in "a different class". Bookmakers and pundits would all agree on that. But why is there difference in class? There are many contributory factors that propel one team into a different class, a higher class, than another. Population numbers is an obvious reason why one team may accrue an advantage over others. More players to choose from would obviously be an advantage though there is no correlation between quantity and quality (as evidenced by the larger cities like Dublin, Belfast or Cork). Success at underage is definitely a bonus though it does not always follow through to senior level. Experienced, astute management is certainly required even though it does not guarantee success. Some excellent managers in the past (and present) have failed to achieve senior glory - there is, after all, only one winner. Teams fortunate enough to have one or a few above-average players, especially forwards, will certainly be more competitive at a higher level yet history has proven that this alone cannot bring success. These are genuine reasons why some teams develop into a better class of team than another and a team that can combine all these factors would be strongly fancied to be competing for honours at the season's end. That is until they meet a Wicklow team, or an Antrim team, or a Limerick team and suddenly find that the gulf in class is much narrower than imagined. Once the battle has commenced and the classier team has had its defences breeched a few times then cracks begin to appear, and what was once a fortress now slowly begins to crumble. However, the class team does not collapse. It rallies. It mends the defensive cracks. It attacks defiantly and is more ruthless than its gallant foe. Victory is secured from the jaws of defeat. What has gone before now becomes the crucial ingredient. The telling factor. This team has been there before. It has smarted at the bitter taste of defeat on more than one occasion and it has also grinded out that heroic victory over formidable adversaries. Its soldiers are battle hardened and united. They are brave. They are patient. Yes, teams do develop into a higher class than others but all the factors must be there. Not least of these is the experience of defeat. Not just defeat in neither a league game nor an early championship game but in the "big" games. Those defeats that seem to be telling you "There is a gulf in class here and you will never get over it!" Tyrone has been there over the years. Years when good teams, very good, teams had breeched the fortresses of exalted kingdoms only to be repelled at the end and sent home wondering why we could never reach that holy shrine. We were repelled in '56 and '57. The Frank McGuigan era began in '73 with defeat and ended in '84 in similar fashion. We had all but vanquished the Kingdom in '86 only to be brutally put to the sword by the battle hardened foe in the latter stages of battle. A brief invasion in '89 was quickly repelled. A new squadron was developed from scratch and attacks launched enthusiastically in '95 and '96. These were the bitterest of defeats. The gulf in class that had so nearly been crossed now seemed wider than ever. Our neighbours had made the great leap successfully but it seemed that the door had been closed once again. However, the soldiers stayed together and the wounds healed, slowly. New recruits -well trained recruits - joined the squad. New officers were drafted in. Suddenly, all the factors were there. Time for another onslaught, only this time we knew where we were going, who we had to defeat and how we would defeat them. Never before did I understand fully the saying "No pain, no gain". We had certainly done the pain bit and eventually we had reached our Eldorado. The fantastic performances to date by the so called lesser teams have really ignited this year's championship, particularly the Kildare v Wicklow encounter. While Micko graciously talks of the very good Kildare team and of how gallantly his players performed he will no doubt be angry (in silence) at Wicklow's failure to put Kildare to the sword when the opportunity presented itself and the couple of simple defensive errors throughout the game that gifted Kildare with a couple of easy scores. Proud though, he certainly will be, and rightly so. There was no shortage of bravery, effort or talent on display and is further proof that a team equipped with the right attitude can indeed overcome a team of greater ability and experience. This performance will prove a major tonic for the Wicklow men but it must now be built upon. The tonic will give them energy and self-belief for a while but they must set themselves realistic goals and take a disciplined approach to achieving them over the coming winter. Those who will benefit most from this fine performance will be Kieran McGeeney and the Kildare players. What a brilliant test it proved to be and one that will do their confidence the world of good after their Leinster final defeat. Antrim's brave run eventually came to an end but they certainly did not go out with a whimper. As with the men from Wicklow they now have a brilliant platform on which to build for the future. A win in Ulster was vital for Liam Bradley as he had just come into his neighbouring county with a sweeping brush and a new regime that was not always going to please everybody. Now that he has vividly revived Antrim's ambitions he will surely get room and backing to build on this progress. It is important now that they do work hard at maintaining this progress as next year will be a very tough year given the expectations that they have now placed upon themselves and the forewarning that has been given to any future opponents. We can see from Wexford's poor year that the expectations following a successful 2008 were not easily realised regardless of how well they have been prepared. Tweet

Most Read Stories