Hurling and Football Championship Results
Saturday 23rd July, 2005

MFC = Mens' Football Challenge
JHC = Junior Hurling Championship
SFC = Senior Football Championship

San Diego Surf to Victory
Football challenge
San Diego Setanta 2-11 1-6 Young Irelanders

San Diego Setanta, perhaps the only combined surfing and gaelic football club in the world, paid a welcome visit to San Francisco for two challenge games with Bay Area teams over the weekend.

This first match started well for the Southern lads who had come well prepared to take the game very seriously, and showed some great flowing play in the mid-field. The low scoring didn’t reflect the high standard of play on display from both sides.

Setanta missed two goal-scoring opportunities, but YI missed many more shots as they started to win more breaking balls and prove themselves to be unstoppable when on the run with the ball. San Diego showed great spirit in the face of these rampant runs with very skillful hustling in the full backs to either disposes YI or to force them to shoot wide.

A late YI goal in the last seconds of the first half was an aberation that led to a half time score of Setanta 0-7, Young Irelanders 1-1.

YI got onto a roll in the second half and pulled back enough scores to actually equalise the game and make it look like it wasn’t going to be easy for San Diego. This was until a goalmouth tussle was concluded by Setanta’s Jason Giles who kicked it into the net to put his team two points into the lead.

High speed running from the Setanta half forwards and followed up by deft passing led to scoring chances aplenty for Setanta and goal number two from David Boucher.

San Diego prevented YI from seeing much more scoring action as they stretched their lead to eleven points for an impressive win.

Referee - Malachy Higgins

Na Fianna Hold Naomh Padraig to a Draw in Hurling Thriller
Junior Hurling Championship
Na Fianna 1-20 (23) 2-17 (23) Naomh Padraig

It was all to play for in this second junior hurling championship clash with Naomh Padraig having secured a win under their belt in the first of this best of five series two weeks beforehand.

Na Fianna started off well by stretching into the lead until Naomh Padraig got a goal to turn up the heat and get their momentum up. Na Fianna were moving the ball up the field in passing movements and shooting from their half forwards, whereas Naomh Padraig were rifling the ball over the bar from their own half of the field. This resulted in more wides for Naomh Padraig with Na Fianna having a better track record of accuracy. Naomh Padraig more than compensated for this by creating more shooting opportunities and went in at half time two points ahead.

In the second half Na Fianna were able to take advantage of some mistakes by their opponents to steal possession. They were able to do this enough to equalise the score, but Naomh Padraig were much fitter, much faster, slicker with their passing, and were able to get a goal to take them back into the lead.

The men in green pushed three points into the lead again with their consistently higher standard of play, but Na Fianna yet again fought back hard, this time to win a 21 yard free from which they got a goal to level the scores and clinch a draw in the last minutes of a game that remained impossible to call right to the last.

Referee - Declan McConn

Ulster Tear Boru to Shreds
Senior Football Championship
Ulster 2-10 0-6 Sons of Boru

It was a case of 'do or die' for the Ulster club who had to win this game to stay in the championship, as they will have do in their remaining games. It was a tough game with Ulster not letting Boru away with anything and never getting complacent right to the end. Streaming video from this game is now available.

Referee - Daragh O’Connor