St Patrick’s Cup, April 30th, 2006

High School Championship
Peninsula 6-10 St Ignatius 5-3

Ladies Football
Fog City Harps 3-7 Clan na Gael 0-3

Mens’ Football (Junior)
Sean Treacy’s 1-6 (9) Celts 0-9 Report...
Naomh Padraig 2-13 Young Irelanders / St. Brendan’s 0-3 Report...

Mens’ Football (Senior)
Sons of Boru 2-9 Shannon Rangers 1-8 Report...
Ulster 2-14 Michael Cusack’s 1-6

Down to the Wire
Mens’ Junior Football
Sean Treacy’s 1-6 (9) Celts 0-9

Sean Treacy’s and the Celts both went in with all guns blazing in yet another epic encounter that kept the standard unexpectedly high in this year’s St Patrick’s Cup. For a while it looked like the Celts were going to do all the scoring until the Treacy’s backs started closing them down and hassling them into shooting wides. The Celts also got into a bit of over-elaboration in the forwards, squandering some golden scoring opportunities. The last two Celts’ scores in the first half came from frees.

Ten minutes into the second half, with Sean Treacy’s trailing by three points, there was a collision in the Celts’ goal mouth resulting in the ball breaking loose and trickling slowly over the line for a goal by Alan Coughlan as the helpless Celts backs looked on unable to get there in time to do anything about it. This levelled the sides in the most balanced game of the year so far. Neither side was giving up posession lightly, and both fought with equal intensity to relieve their opponents of the ball.

The Celts extended three points into the lead again, but Treacy’s gradually pulled it back to finish this exciting game in a draw. Both teams must have felt that they should have won it, and they would both be right.

Referee: Malachy Higgins

YI/St. Brendan’s Blown Out of the Water
Mens’ Junior Football
Naomh Padraig 2-13 Young Irelanders / St. Brendan’s 0-3

With Young Irelanders and St. Brendans still a bit short-staffed despite the combined effort, Naomh Padraig took to the field running riot in this uninspiringly lop-sided affair. Padraigs missed a few goal-scoring opportunities in the first half, including having one goal disallowed as a square ball. The second half saw more of the same domination capped by a goal from Ross Brunton and another a minute later by John Summandel, a Canadian newcomer to gaelic football.

The diverse composition of this peninsula side and the new blood pouring into it from the penninsula youth program has it operating at full strength at a time when most clubs are still in the process of getting organised. This makes them very much a force to be reckoned with in the coming championship.

Referee: Liam Moloney

San Jose to the Rescue!
Mens’ Senior Football
Sons of Boru 2-9 Shannon Rangers 1-8

Rangers got stuck in right from the word go by running at the Boru backs and getting into shooting range. Some shots fell short and gave goalkeeper Bertie Penny some work to do, but a decent number of them were going over with good accurate shooting by Rangers. It took Boru thirteen minutes to get a score, and that was from a free, but it seemed to help them settle with much more competent play, particularly in mid-field where Andy Fogarty and other were disrupting the Rangers’ game plan.

There was another surprise goal, this time dropping in from on high seemingly destined to go over the bar only to fall short over Bertie Penny’s head and squeeze under.

Boru were conceding a lot of frees, and a bit of inaccurate passing didn’t help their case. They might have gotten away with it against a lesser team, but Shannon Rangers are well able to punish any mistake.
All seemed lost for Boru at the start of the second half when they were trailing by six points. That was until the introduction of Chris Knightly and the powerful figure of Paul Keane, both defectors from the St Joseph’s club who will be unable to field a team this year.

After a hot-tempered period, Boru started getting dangerously close to getting a goal. Paul Keane was the first to get close with a clear shot, but his effort tailed to the right and wide. Shortly after, Chirs Knightly had a go, only to be blocked and the ball rebounded back into his hands. A second attempt was stopped by a foot-block resulting in a penalty. Brian Reily did the honours and rattle the net. SOB goal number two came courtesy of Joe Reily after being fed a nice supply of the ball from outside the box by Keane.

It was a remarkable turnaround that Shannon Rangers, or any of the spectators, certainly did not expect.

Referee: Colm Brazil