St Patrick’s Cup 2006

First Joint Effort Not Enough for YIs and St Brendan’s
Men’s Junior Football
Celts 1-15 St Brendan’s / Young Irelanders 2-3

Considering it was the first game of the year, the standard of this opening match at Beach Chalet was not at all bad. It was a very open game, little or no pulling and dragging, and continuous flowing play all around. This was to be a feature of all the games on the day. Anyone who didn’t show up missed out on good quality entertainment.

The Young Irelanders have joined forces with St Brendan’s for the 2006 St Patrick’s Cup, and it was a testament to the fitness of the Celts that the allies were unable to use their combined strength to face down a very strong challenge from the students. YI/SB didn’t get a score until one of the lesser-experienced Celts made a mistake in conceding a penalty that led to an equalising goal by Tom Carroll, but the Celts continued to look dangerous by zipping down the field at high speed and promptly replying with a blistering goal from just outside the box by Tony Joyce, after receiving a soccer-style cross from Niall O’Flynn. Joyce would go on to dominate most of the proceedings in the Celts forwards.

The Celts spent much of the first half doing using the top end of the field as a shooting gallery since the St Brendan’s YIs backs were finding it hard to stop them. However a turning point came when Fergal Cleary took posession and evaded the attentions of his opponents to squeeze out of a tight spot and get a clear shot putting one over the bar from a pretty tight angle. The allies seemed to get a bit of momentum going at this point and it carried on into the second half that began with a second goal by Tom Carroll.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing though. At one point Nial O’Flynn took a shot from fifty yards out while St Brendan’s goalkeeper Aidan O’Sullivan was still off his line following a brave foray into mid-field. The ball came in from on high and bounced ominously in the empty goal mouth only to hop over the bar to the startled gasps from the assembled crowds.

The Celts briefly looked like they were getting tired and losing some of their focus as their passing began to slip away, but they soon regained their composure to carry on to a comprehensive win.

Referee: Liam Moloney

Sean Treacy’s Set The Pace
Men’s Junior Football
Sean Treacy’s 2-10 Naomh Padraig 2-5

For the first time in two years, a peninsula-based football team called Naomh Padraig took to the field once more on Sunday and was immediately thrown into the grinder against a very strong Sean Treacy’s side. Treacy’s were on fire right from the start, and the speed and intensity of this match was noticably higher than the previous game.

Sean Treacy’s were dominating in mid-field and coming through in droves, only allowing Naomh Padraig to score once in the first half. The second half began with Treacy’s 2-3 ahead and carrying on at full throttle. Naomh Padraig were able to make the odd incursion down the middle but Treacy’s were well equipped to tackle, disposess, and race back up the field. Despite some less-than-impressive marking by the peninsula team, such players as Seamus McCorry and Colm Brazil were able to slice through and create good opportunities once they got posession, resulting in two goals to put a more respectable scoreline on it.

It was another high standard game, and it made Sean Treacy’s look like a very tough team to beat in this junior competition.

Referee: Declan McConn

Ulster Off to a Slow Start Against Rampant Rangers
Men’s Senior Football
Shannon Rangers 2-14 Ulster 1-8

Ross McKenna goes on the rampage for Ulster

The North American Champions had a hard time getting into gear in their first outing since that famous day in Philadelphia last September. Shannon Rangers ran riot for the first half winning just about every breaking ball. Ulster did get a few scoring opportunities, but most of them, particularly a close encounter with a potential goal my Smacker McAuley, were not put to good use.

Ulster still didn’t get moving in the early second half that began with Rangers leading by 1-8 to 0-2, but they eventually upped the ante and started taking scores. It didn’t last long though, Rangers re-asserted their authority, stubbornly held on to posession, kept the speed up, and cruised to a commanding nine point win.

Referee: Michael Glennon

Sons of Boru Off to a Flying Start
Men’s Senior Football
Sons of Boru 4-11 Michael Cusack’s 3-5

This was a very evenly balanced game at first with Boru players such as Mike Costello playing a blinder in corner forward, and they built up a narrow lead against Cusack’s that was extended by a goal resulting from a ball trickling in over the line after the goalie was distracted by the incoming player rather than watching the ball.

With the rain lashing down in the second half the conditions got slippery. The tide of the game ebbed and flowed with Cusack’s taking charge for a short period and Boru re-establishing themselves as being on top. Both teams proved very hard to relieve of the ball as their short range passing was very accurate, but Cusacks slightly let themselves down with a few hit-and-hope long balls that didn’t bear any fruit and Boru finished with a comfortable margin.

It was another good quality game despite the soggy conditions.

Referee: Paul Coffey