Ballygarvan Minors get their League Campaign off to a winning start

Our 13 strong Minor panel travelled to the rural village of Rusheen 6Km north of Macroom to play Aghienagh in 12-aside Minor C Football. A warm welcome set the tone for a balanced and competitive game.  Aghienagh started well with fine points but Ballygarvan soon acclimatised themselves to the soft ground and head wind, to retaliate with fine scores. Shane Buckley had great presence in goal while Jack Naidoo gave a towering performance defensively and around the centre of the field. The Quinlan brothers battled throughout, with individual scores, and fed great ball to Dan McCarthy who produced excellent scores, including 2 goals with his customary flair. Switching Michael Ó Sé and Jason O’Callaghan improve both players performances, while young Aaron Dunlea fought bravely at full forward.  Ballygarvan led by 3 points at the half-time whistle and could be feel confident taking on the second half with the wind to their backs. The second half saw both teams add to their tallies with Aghienagh settling down well to their task. Ronan Murphy made a welcome return to the team and took over full forward duties from Aaron for the second half. Ballygarvan went through a barren patch for over 10 minutes with some poor, wind assisted, wides and a slight (and uncharacteristic) lapse in discipline that incurred a number of yellow cards. Nevertheless, Ballygarvan’s regained their composure with terrific defensive work from Fergal Ahern(Captain) and Donald O’Sullivan, and supported by mid-field speedsters Philip Seymour and Luke O’Sullivan, the visitors won the match by a 5 point margin ( 2 9 to 2 4). A solid start to the year for the Minors and this should serve to underpin their commitment to both codes for 2011. Full commitment to training, matches plus good discipline and who knows ….