Today was game day, so I got to sleep in a little bit after the intense training week had caught up on me. It was a casual day at the house where I did get a few things done. I sent thank yous to all those who wished me a happy birthday, which started a few more conversations with friends. I also finally decided to unpack my suitcase a kind of organize my room. Although I still don’t know how long I will be occupying this room, I thought it was about time to be a little more organized and stop living out of a suitcase. There is now a fair bit more space in the room which is nice!

It also turned into a very special and exciting day for my girlfriend Shannon who is now a registered nurse after she passed her boards. She has a job lined up at Yale New Haven Hospital that she will begin in late July, which is very exciting. I also managed, with the help of a few people, to get flowers and a card delivered to her to make the day even more special. For all that could have gone wrong, it was a complete success!

Like all other game days, I headed in early. This time it was Harry who was out recovering/keeping fit that I worked out with. We got a very good intense 45min session in with a variety of drills, ball skills, ball movement, passing etc. Pearce, the strength and conditioning coach had also set aside a few exercises for us that worked on speed and agility. I finished with a few long runs. Oh and did I forget to mention, it rained again during the session. No pre game training session for me has occurred without rain I don’t think. We got showered up and dried off and then it was game time. 

 

It was a game that Derry should have always won and dominated, and they did just that. Scoring a penalty in the first half to lead 1-0 and then just before the half, a Longford player got his second yellow card and was subsequently sent off. Not too much of half time talk other than be more clinical. And in the second half they were. The game ended 4-0, and puts Derry back on track.