San Francisco GAA

All set for Final

Ref Frankie Keenan with Tom Carroll (St. Brendans) and Brendan Robinson (Boru) before the start of last Saturday's Final

Mens Junior Football
Sons of Ború 2-12
St. Brendans 0-09
Sons of Ború retained the title they won last year in an entertaining final with a hard earned victory over a wasteful St. Brendans side who were much closer to the Ború than the nine point winning margin. The Brendans did have their chance to peg on scores early in the second half but time and time again they wasted the opportunities which the Ború punished toward the end of the game with a flurry of late scores. Towering forward Brian Guiney was the Ború hero on the day as he accounted for 1-08 of his sides total. Guineys quick thinking shortly after the restart of the second half saw him score an opportunistic goal from 21 yards out when he got the Brendans defense unaware. This laid the foundation for the Ború win in the end as Brendans never recovered from this setback. Willie Reilly was excellent in defense as was Casey Handy in goals. Up front Ború relied on veterans Rich Brown and Sean Keighran and the youthful Brendan Uniacke to get the job done. Sub Jim McGuigan played well upon his introduction to the fray. The Brendans were well served by Shane and Eddie Corban in defense, Ronan Lennon, Fergal Cleary and Tom Carroll in the forward division.

Sons of Ború: Casey Handy, Paul O'Sullivan, Seamus O'Donoghue, Brendan Hall, Willie Reilly, John Sheehan, Brian Guiney (1-8), Brendan Uniacke, Mike Kingston (0-1), Brendan Robinson, Eamon Corry, Sean Keighran (0-2), Rich Brown.(1-1).
St. Brendans: Conor Farrell, Shane Corban (0-1), Eddie Corban, Ronan Lennon (0-1), Finbarr McCarthy (0-1), Stewart Hickey, Aidan O’Sullivan (0-1), Tom O’Carroll, Paul Kavanagh, Liam Cantwell (0-1Brian Conn (0-1), Fergal Cleary (0-4).
Referee: Frankie Keenan, San Francisco.

Sons of Ború 1-12
Ulster 0-11
The senior competition which was re-introduced for the first time this year since 1994 was deservedly claimed by the Sons of Ború who gave an impressive performance against a lack luster Ulster team in the final. Although early season form suggested that there was nothing going to stop Ulster this year from winning the senior championship they failed to ignite in the most important match of the season and went down by four points in the end. In an entertaining game the Ború never looked like they were going to loose and once they got ahead of Ulster they never looked back. Upfront the Ború relied on the scoring exploits of Kerry import Eugene McGrath (1-3), Kevin Murray (0-4) and Joe O’Reilly (0-2) to help them claim their third championship in a row having previously won the local Junior title in 2002 and the Intermediate in 2003. In defense, Kevin O’Sullivan, Andy Fogarty, Mick Kenny, and the versatile Sean Shannon did not put a foot wrong all afternoon and they gave Ulster forwards Eugene Cudden and John Healy a torrid time. Ulster will feel disappointed at the loss after a season that promised so much but came to an abrupt halt in the final. Ulsters Austin McKenna, Damien Campbell, Mark Donnelly and Declan McAuley tried hardest all afternoon for them but to no avail.
Teams and Scorers: Sons of Ború: Berty Penney, Sean Shannon, Kevin O’Sullivan, Andy Fogarty, Paul Galvin, Mick Kenny (0-1), Brian Reilly (capt), Eugene McGrath (1-3), Joe O’Reilly (0-2), Mick Cunningham (0-1), Mick Collins (0-1), T.J. O’Sullivan and Kevin Murray (0-4).
Ulster: Fergal Clancy, Damien Campbell (0-1), Sean O’Neill, Ross McKenna, Padraig Shanahan, Denis Murphy, Mark Donnelly, James Downes (0-1), Declan McAuley (0-1), Mark O’Neill (0-1), Austin McKenna (0-5), John Healy, Eugene Cudden, Sub used: Ryan Cauley (0-1), Maurice O’Connell (0-1).
Referee: David Slevin, Buffalo, NY

Ulster 2-10
Séan Treacys 0-13
The turn around story of the year has got to be Ulster’s second team which claimed the Intermediate football title with three points to spare over the Treacys. Less than a month ago they on the verve of being knocked out of the championship by the Michael Cusacks and Ulster now find themselves packing their bags to represent San Francisco at the North American Finals in Denver in early September. The Sean Treacys also came good as the season came to a close and Paddy Keaneys team found themselves in their first ever championship final. This final was an evenly contested game and there was never more than a score between the sides throughout the match. The sides were level at 0-5 each at halftime. Paul Bayly (1-6) and Paul Harmon (0-4) were outstanding for Ulster. Bayly converted all of the frees and penalty goal while Harmon slotted over points from play and played a big role in Brendan Cafferty’s goal. Not to be outdone by Ulster the Treacys too had fine individual performances from John Cullinane (0-5), who kicked some excellent points from play. Tommy O’Connor (0-1) at half forward, Mark Gallagher in defense and Darren Ward in the half forward line also played well. Despite the loss, Sean Treacys will travel to Denver for the North American Finals to take part in the Intermediate National championship where they meet the Philadelphia champions. Ulster will meet the Boston champions. It will be interesting to see how both these teams will do in the National Finals as it will be a good barometer for the standard of football here in the city now that there are three tiers of football being played locally.
Teams and scorers: Ulster: Kevin Grimley, Brendan McCafferty (1-0), Mike English, Michael McClone, James Marron, Declan Rafferty, Colm Tully, Padraig McShane, Martin McKenna, Paul Harmon (0-4), Paul Bayly (1-6), Jody Ogle. Sub used: Aidan Lester.
Sean Treacys: Howie Hughes, Frankie Keenan, Brian Longergan, Mark Gallagher, Colin White, Kevin White, John Cullinane (0-5), Kieran Keaney, Ken Hyland (0-1), Darren Ward (0-1), Tommy O’Connor (0-1), Pat Tanney (0-1) and Bosco Hughes (0-2). Sub used: Paudie O’Connor.
Referee: David Slevin, Buffalo, NY

Clan na Gael 1-08
Fog City Harps 2-04
An exciting game of football in the ladies Junior decider saw the Clan na Gael win by a single point. The margin of victory could have been a lot bigger for the Gael had it not been for the outstanding goalkeeping of Annie Murphy in the Fog City goals. Murphy came to her sides rescue time and time again as Clan na Gael threatened to run riot in the second half. The Gaels had many stars on this day; Margaret Bermingham was outstanding at full back and helped keep Fog City at bay on many occasions as she held the last line of defense solid. Michelle O’Leary was the Gael’s main scorer with five points and she was ably assisted by Donna Ni Chuinneagain (1-0), Olive Ennis (0-2), and Doreen Ni Aodhagain (0-1). The gael half back line played well afternoon; Jennifer Dickson, Rebecca Biernat and Cathriona Carey. Fog City had good performances from Murphy in goals, Mirella Webb and Sarah Kelly at half back, Anne-Marie Dixon and Ann Lindsey (1-1) at half forward, and Josephine Lynch (1-2) and Orsala Nodashi (0-1) in the full forward line.
Team and scorers: Clan na Gael: Kristin Minger, Donna Ni Chuinneagain, Margaret Bermingham, Donna Finn, Cathriona Carey, Rebecca Biernat, Jennifer Dickson, Olive Ennis, Bea Godoy, Nuala Gardiner, Michelle O’Leary (0-5), Aoife Ni Callaigh, Connie McNamara, Doreen Ni Aodhagain, and Ann-Marie Carr. Subs: Linda Ryan (capt), Ann-Marie Glennon, Gileen Vollert, Alma Kelly, Erica Finn, Proinseas Ni Riain, Rachel Billings, Michelle Quinn, Geraldine Sommerville, Christina Coleman, Nicole Cunningham, and Kelly Walsh.
Fog City Harps: Annie Murphy, Michelle Reilly, Sarsh Hudson, Mary Keenan, Sarah Kelly, Lorraine Pickering, Mirella Webb, Sandra Fenton, Kelly Timithay, Ann Lindsey, Ann-Marie Dixon, Jackie Agnew, Olive Dolan, Josephine Lynch (1-2), and Orsala Nodashi (0-1). Subs:Stephanie Thompson, Deanne Seto, Liz Church,, Karen Andolina,, Noelle O’Sullivan, Adelino Secuya, Rochelle McCashin and Maura Kelly
Referee: Liam Reidy, San Francisco