We wish all our younger
Members the best as they go back to School after the Summer. We also hope our many Students have a
successful academic year, in particular those settling into college life for
the first time.
This has been one of the
busiest weeks of the year for football in St Marys, and was capped with a
trophy when our U12 Boys team won the County “A” League title. The lads started with 2 matches in a section
against Ballymote and Tubbercurry. The first game was a tight
affair against a very good Ballymote team with Mary's prevailing by 1 point in
the end. Up next was Tubbercurry who were hard to shake off but Mary's managed
to come out on top by a few points. That result took us to the final against
Enniscrone Kilglass who had excelled when beating pre-competition favourites
Drumcliffe and St Farnon's.
Mary's took a while to settle and were just a single point up at the break
despite playing with a strong breeze. However each player stepped up a gear and
with brilliant defending Mary's started to move the ball fast and got some
tremendous scores . Enniscrone tried
hard but Mary's had 3 points to spare in the end. This was a great panel performance with the
13 players giving their all and getting a deserved reward for their hard work. Congratulations go to
all the boys, their mentors and the many people supporting their exciting
league campaign which finished with a day of adventure in Markievicz. Here’s hoping this is the first of many titles
these lads will capture. Next up is the turn of the
rest of our U12 panel when we field two more teams in the finals of Group
C and group D also in Markievicz Park this Saturday.
The Urban committee U9 and U11 September leagues commence this Wednesday with
games against Coolera Strandhill away. We field two teams at each age group. Games for each grade continue the next 5
Wednesdays with a finals blitz fixed for Cleveragh on 11th October
under lights. Our U10s have been
invited by St Brigid's of Belfast to play in a blitz on September 13th. Our best wishes to Charles Harrison in his new
position as National Cul camp coordinator based at Croke Park and thank to him
for all his work in the Urban area and with Summerhill College as Games
promotion officer.
A much depleted U14 boys squad
put up a tremendous display but were just not able to last the match against
Coolaney-Mullinabreena. The final
scoreline was 5-3 to 1-4 which did not reflect the team’s performance. Our U16 boys continued training during the
week, and their next outing is against Curry in an important match which will
decide play-off placings. The Minors
met Calry in the
last group game of the Minor A Championship. Played in conditions more
appropriate to February, wind and rain prevailed, and football came off a poor
second. Both teams struggled to cope
with the conditions and as a result the game never reached the level that both
these teams are capable of. The referee did a great job throughout and both
sets of players have to be commended for playing right to the final whistle. St
Mary’s started the scoring in the third minute and built a slight lead before
Calry came storming back with a well taken goal, and were unlucky minutes later
when the St Mary’s keeper made a good save.
St Mary’s kept the scoreboard moving and led at the break by 6 points,
although possession was shared throughout the half. Conditions deteriorated completely in the
second half and while Calry finished the stronger with 2 well taken goals, the
first half scoring was enough to see St Marys win out on a scoreline of 2-10 to
3-1. The Minors
next meet Easkey on Thursday week in the Championship Semi-finals.
In the Ladies game, our
team of the week has to be the U12’s who had 2 Championship matches. On Monday they had a good win when defeating
a gallant St Michaels squad. Then on
Friday they met Eoghan Rua in a classic match which had everything. In an even contest, both sides gave their
all and every St Marys girl dug deep in ensuring we prevailed by 2 points. From goalkeeper through to the forward line
the girls excelled, and now have 2 further Championship matches this week
against Geevagh and CT Gaels. Elsewhere,
Gerry and Emma had our Gaelic4Girls squad in action against Eoghan Rua and in
an exciting encounter in Kent Park, the girls showcased the many skills they
have learned over the past few months.
There was a lot of switching of personnel and positions to give everyone
a chance at both back and forwards, yet the team was always able to play as an
effective unit. The U14 girls’ Championship campaign got off to a
disappointing start on Tuesday against Tourlestrane. We had a good start but couldn't convert our possession
into scores and slowly Tourlestrane got on top to build a half time lead. Our fortunes did not change in the second
half, and despite some good performances from our girls, Tourlestrane ran out
winners. The
Intermediate squad were due to play Eoghan Rua in the Championship, but the
match was called off at short notice. The
final Group game is this coming Sunday against Curry.
In Men’s football, the Junior Squad played Owenmore Gaels with the
winner knowing a place in the Championship final would be theirs. Our lads battled superbly and came through
to the final on a scoreline of 2-09 to 0-09.
The team had an impressive composition with experience coming from the
likes of Neil Smith, Conor O’Grady and Seamus Burns giving tremendous
leadership to the 5 minor players that played on the day. Owenmore had the benefit of a strong wind
in the first half yet our guys turned at the break leading by 1-04 to
0-06. The goal came following a
sweeping move that started in the back line and after a fine passing sequence
finished with Ryan Feehily (who had a man of the match performance throughout)
shooting the ball into the top of the net.
Marys started the second half strongly and after a couple of well taken
points, Neil Smyth intercepted on halfway and Conor O’Grady quickly passed the
ball to Gareth Blake who after a couple of turns finished to the net. Owenmore kept playing to the final whistle
but needed goals to close the gap and our back lines were not going to let that
happen. Already this year there has been
a huge return for the Club from the Junior side who have been successful while
playing top quality football. The
Senior side will have a couple of weeks’ break while Championship play-offs
take place before their next match. To
keep momentum, last Friday, a challenge was organised against Elphin. It was played in Kent Park in windy conditions
and our lads earned a hard-won match in a scrappy encounter. The match gave much needed game-time to the
full squad of players which will be beneficial when full competitive action
returns.
The Club Cycle is 2 weeks away and
numbers are growing. If you wish to
participate in this fun social event on September 13th please
contact Brian Kelly at 087-2861914 or Paul Corcoran at 087-2279512. All Cyclists travel around the Maugherow
peninsula to Grange. Back to St Marys
is a 55km route. Those relishing an
added challenge can opt to extend the cycle to 80km by travelling around the
Gleniff Horseshoe. It promises to be a
great day out and thanks to the many people who have already confirmed their
participation. A Social will be held in
the Clubhouse that evening and all Members are welcome to attend.
The Club’s sympathies are
offered to Bernadette Fidgeon on the sudden death of her sister Bridie Lacey.