JJ Devaney pays homage to Raffaele Creatro and a lunchtime soccer league where the Sligo Rovers legend made his first impact
Raffaele Cretaro made
his 388th appearance for Sligo Rovers on Friday night and jumped
into second place in the all-time appearance list just behind Tony Fagan. Raff
was suitably proud of his achievement in his post match comments but it was the
managers thoughts on the Tubbercurry man’s special night that reminded me of
days gone by and appearances by Raff that weren’t included in the 388.
Ian Barraclough remarked of Raff as being a ‘true legend’ of
Sligo Rovers FC but I first remember Cretaro as a legend in his own lunchtime. It
was easy to mention his brilliant brace of goals in the game that clinched the
title last year at home to St Pats but it was equally easy to recall our shared
triumph on the crumbling gravel of the Marist Secondary school, Tubbercurry in
vice-principal Oliver Lannon’s 1st and 2nd year boys
lunchtime league. Mr Lannon presented the winners prize of 20 pound to us but
really our victory was assured in the four v four league when the name Raffaele
Cretaro was added to the names JJ Devaney, James Frain and Joseph Corscadden.
None of us we were bad players but with Raff you always felt you had the
advantage.
Back then you couldn’t have predicted how he would weave his
name into the rich tapestry of Sligo Rovers football club but you certainly
knew he was different. The way he struck the ball was just better, cleaner and
harder than anybody else. Playing for the school one day in Sean Fallon Park he
rattled one off the crossbar from 30 yards. The bus driver on the way home couldn’t
get his head around the ferocity generated by the diminutive 13 year old. We
lost to one of the ‘townie schools’ 2-0 that day but even then Cretaro was the
stand out man. His presence and ability reduced the inferiority complex of our country
school team when faced against those for whom soccer was the singular sport.
As we stood in the tunnel chatting on Friday night Raf
recalled his goal scoring debut for Rovers against Monaghan in September 2000
under then manager Tommy Cassidy. A few months earlier in June Raff turned out
for his boyhood club Real Tubber in an end of season south Sligo junior soccer
tournament called the ‘Jack Davey Cup’. I played for Chaffpool Rovers when we
faced Real Tubber in our second game and we won 4-2. Raff was destined for the
Showgrounds and so the victory was all the sweeter over our local rivals.
Looking back and thinking about all he has achieved since adds an extra gloss
to those memories.
388 appearances seems a smaller number than I expected but
then you can’t include the day he briefly interrupted a ritual hammering in the
Connacht Minor championship at the hands of Joe Bergin and his Galway teammates
by coming off the bench to score two points in 3 minutes for Sligo. You see to
those of us who watched his rise from the beginning it’s easy to count many
more stories, memories and appearances for Raff.
When Ian Barraclough talks of Raff as ‘a true legend’ he is
correct. The word ‘legend’ comes from the Latin ‘things to be read’ and Raff has
surely written his name into the annals of Rovers history for future
generations to read about. Raff is the heir apparent to the mantle of Johnny
Kenny for the rural Sligo Rovers supporter. He is one of our own. We all have a
story about the rise of Raf around here. We all take particular pride in his
achievement. So here’s to Raf! 388 appearances and counting, 68 goals and a
thousand memories.
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