“This is all so unnecessary.”
Just a couple of weeks before the County Down championship kicks off, the league needed to be decided between Burren and current All-Ireland champions Kilcoo.
In what was a fairly lacklustre affair that saw the reigning champs struggle for scores, it suddenly burst into life with ten minutes left on the clock, but for all of the wrong reasons.
The footage from Down TV shows a mass brawl break out between the two teams, with one Burren player left on the ground, and just as things started to calm down and altercation involving last year’s goal-scoring hero Jerome Johnston, saw the whole thing escalate further.
The commentators had a difficult time following all of the chaos and even remarked that the game could be called off.
“Jerome Johnston has raised a hand at Ronan McGrath… we may have to move our notebooks here soon, because they’re gravitating towards us on the sideline.
“It’s really all kicking off here in the last few minutes and this is still so unnecessary, the thing had settled down and it didn’t need to go again.
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“Just to our left there are three Burren men and Kilcoo men engaged in close combat. To our right they’re trying to lead each other away.
“The match officials are keeping a close eye from a distance on what’s happening. There’s Burren men getting treated, there’s photographers scattered to make sure they don’t get involved.
“This game is going to get abandoned.”
Kilcoo’s Jerome and Ryan Johnston had only come off the bench and were sent off along with Sean Og McCusker, while Burren’s trio of Odhran Murdock, Danny and Ryan Magill also saw red, which meant the game finished 12-a-side.
In the end Burren were the deserving victors and crowned the Down League One champions, and Kilcoo will be looking to quickly dust themselves off in preparation for their opening championship game against Clonduff.
