GIRLS FOOTBALL: On Sunday 16, underage (u-12 and u-16) girls teams (over 300 cailíní) gathered in Ballinakill to contest 8 County football Finals. The Centre of Excellence was bathed in beautiful sunshine and the de-riguer breeze was at the lower end of perceptibility. A wonderful sporting atmosphere prevailed among players and spectators alike. All in all a very joyous occasion from which mentors and organisers had to have derived no little satisfaction and encouragement. Tá buíochas mór ag dul le gach duine a bhí páirteach i gcur i láthair na h-ócáide.
Éire Óg had 2 teams at the event, one at u-16 and one at u-12, and its fate turned out to be that of “you win one, you lose one”.
The u-12s were involved in the 'C' County Championship Final and had Shillelagh as opponents. Éire Óg were on top in the 1st period and going into the last few minutes were leading 1-4 to 0-3. A disputed goal just on the stroke of half-time put the game back in the melting pot and acted as a spur to Shillelagh's efforts. The 2nd half was closely contested and it took 2 late-late Éire Óg goals to ensure victory.
The panel: Faith Brock (the converted full-forward brought off some excellent saves), Sophie Dallaghan, Siobhán Darcy (her height was a distinct advantage in the backline), Aisling Roche, Ellie O'Malley, Eva Skerritt ( had what can only be described as a stormer at centre-back – she played a vital part in most of the Éire Óg counter attacks), Ciara O'Neill, Maebh O'Neill, Jayne Merrin (played an active role at mid-field), Ella O'Reilly, Ella Horgan (capt. Scored 2-1), Aisling Goff ( better known as a wielder of the camán contributed 5 points from play, 3 immediately after the interval which did much to dampen down the Shillelagh threat), Sarah Doyle, Alana Ní Sheáin (goalkeeper turned poacher – 3 goals), Aleesha Campbell, Eimear Ryan and Lara Banton.
The team was managed by Martin Roche who unfortunately was unable, through work commitments, to be present at the game. His wife, Dee, capably manned the breach.
Our u-16s were not so lucky and ended on the wrong side of the scoreboard, 2-10 to 2-3 against AGB's 2nd team. One might, in keeping with the times, find an excuse for the loss in the quick turnabout from the semi-final of the competition which had been played on Thursday night and in which they had defeated St Nicks by 5 points. The team's performance in this game was excellent, among its best for the year and boded well for the Sunday's game. However the team's all-round play did not match that of the semi-final. The cause? No one was using the fatigue caused by Thursday evening's exertions as an explanation, rather was the focus on the quality of the opposition which was a step above that of St. Nicks. The Éire Óg girls were at sixes and sevens during the 1st half and were 1-5 to 0-2 behind at the break. They fought back bravely in the 2nd period to be within 4 points with just 8 minutes on the clock and had AGB on the backfoot at that juncture. Then, against the run of play, Grey stones conceded a sloppy goal. Game over!
This is a very young team with only one of its members being overage next season so its prospects look bright for 2016.
The team has a problem with enticing members into goal-keeping duties. In this game Erica Bellamy (full-forward) took up duty between the posts and brought off some great saves. Katie O'Reilly, Claudia Randles and Eva Roche were the pick of the defence and Aoife McTague and Shauna Dillane worked hard at mid-field. Katie Lawless was outstanding in the forwards and was ably supported by Eva Moore and Ellie O'Neill.
IOMÁINT Hurling is set to get some very prominent and positive exposure on Uncle Sam T.V. Independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/hurling informs us that the iconic U.S. TV show 'Showtimes:60 minutes sport' (a spin off of the renowned current affairs programme '60 minutes' is to air a segment on hurling in the near future under the title “The most exciting game you never heard of”.
GIRLS FOOTBALL: On Sunday 16, underage (u-12 and u-16) girls teams (over 300 cailíní) gathered in Ballinakill to contest 8 County football Finals. The Centre of Excellence was bathed in beautiful sunshine and the de-riguer breeze was at the lower end of perceptibility. A wonderful sporting atmosphere prevailed among players and spectators alike. All in all a very joyous occasion from which mentors and organisers had to have derived no little satisfaction and encouragement. Tá buíochas mór ag dul le gach duine a bhí páirteach i gcur i láthair na h-ócáide.
Éire Óg had 2 teams at the event, one at u-16 and one at u-12, and its fate turned out to be that of “you win one, you lose one”.
The u-12s were involved in the 'C' County Championship Final and had Shillelagh as opponents. Éire Óg were on top in the 1st period and going into the last few minutes were leading 1-4 to 0-3. A disputed goal just on the stroke of half-time put the game back in the melting pot and acted as a spur to Shillelagh's efforts. The 2nd half was closely contested and it took 2 late-late Éire Óg goals to ensure victory.
The panel: Faith Brock (the converted full-forward brought off some excellent saves), Sophie Dallaghan, Siobhán Darcy (her height was a distinct advantage in the backline), Aisling Roche, Ellie O'Malley, Eva Skerritt ( had what can only be described as a stormer at centre-back – she played a vital part in most of the Éire Óg counter attacks), Ciara O'Neill, Maebh O'Neill, Jayne Merrin (played an active role at mid-field), Ella O'Reilly, Ella Horgan (capt. Scored 2-1), Aisling Goff ( better known as a wielder of the camán contributed 5 points from play, 3 immediately after the interval which did much to dampen down the Shillelagh threat), Sarah Doyle, Alana Ní Sheáin (goalkeeper turned poacher – 3 goals), Aleesha Campbell, Eimear Ryan and Lara Banton.
The team was managed by Martin Roche who unfortunately was unable, through work commitments, to be present at the game. His wife, Dee, capably manned the breach.
Our u-16s were not so lucky and ended on the wrong side of the scoreboard, 2-10 to 2-3 against AGB's 2nd team. One might, in keeping with the times, find an excuse for the loss in the quick turnabout from the semi-final of the competition which had been played on Thursday night and in which they had defeated St Nicks by 5 points. The team's performance in this game was excellent, among its best for the year and boded well for the Sunday's game. However the team's all-round play did not match that of the semi-final. The cause? No one was using the fatigue caused by Thursday evening's exertions as an explanation, rather was the focus on the quality of the opposition which was a step above that of St. Nicks. The Éire Óg girls were at sixes and sevens during the 1st half and were 1-5 to 0-2 behind at the break. They fought back bravely in the 2nd period to be within 4 points with just 8 minutes on the clock and had AGB on the backfoot at that juncture. Then, against the run of play, Grey stones conceded a sloppy goal. Game over!
This is a very young team with only one of its members being overage next season so its prospects look bright for 2016.
The team has a problem with enticing members into goal-keeping duties. In this game Erica Bellamy (full-forward) took up duty between the posts and brought off some great saves. Katie O'Reilly, Claudia Randles and Eva Roche were the pick of the defence and Aoife McTague and Shauna Dillane worked hard at mid-field. Katie Lawless was outstanding in the forwards and was ably supported by Eva Moore and Ellie O'Neill.
IOMÁINT Hurling is set to get some very prominent and positive exposure on Uncle Sam T.V. Independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/hurling informs us that the iconic U.S. TV show 'Showtimes:60 minutes sport' (a spin off of the renowned current affairs programme '60 minutes' is to air a segment on hurling in the near future under the title “The most exciting game you never heard of”.
