Boston GAAAs rain pours, Kerry wear down Donegal

By Connie Kelly

KERRY 1-9, DONEGAL 0-6 Kerry registered a solid victory over Donegal in the first round of the championships Sunday at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville.

Sean Boyce had Donegal on the board after two minutes with a point. Mark O’Brien had Kerry level after five minutes. Tom Morrissey of Kerry was much sharper than Liam O’Neill at centerfield and had his team attacking fast and often. Ricky Rush had Donegal’s second and last point of the half for them as it was all Kerry after that. Liam Higgins had Kerry level after 16 minutes. Mike O’Brien saw his shot hit the crossbar for Kerry. Pat Fenton had Kerry ahead after 17 minutes with a point from a free. This was followed by two points from frees by Liam Higgins. The score at this stage was 0-6 to 0-2 and Kerry were playing well considering the poor conditions. Then with five minutes to halftime Tom Morrissey found Pat Fenton unmarked 30 yards from the Donegal goal and Pat sent a bullet to the top of the net to leave the score Kerry 1-6, Donegal 0-2.

The second half saw Donegal step up their game playing with the wind. Ricky Rush had a point from a free after five minutes, Liam O’Neill’s shot hit the upright, two minutes later Sean Cassidy had a shot on goal but Brian Murphy made a good save for Kerry. Sean Boyce added two points from frees and there were only four points between them. At this stage it was all Donegal, but they could not score from play and sent 10 wides in the half. A lot of the wides were due to the pressure put on by the Kerry backs. Twenty minutes had gone before Mike O’Brien had Kerry’s first point of the half from play.

A minute later, Darren Lee was fouled for Kerry and Mike O’Brien sent it over the bar. Sean Boyce added a point from a free for Donegal and with time running out, Mike O’Brien sent over a point from 30 yards out .

The second game, Shannon Blues vs Aiden McAnespie’s was called off after 15 minutes due to a waterlogged pitch, under protest from both teams.

SUNDAY, MAY 3 In the replay of the Mawn Cup, St. Columbkilles played to an easy 0-9 to 0-5 win over St. Pat’s and will now play Shannon Blues to decide who will face off against Donegal in the final.

In a low-scoring first half, the Killes were best served by Connor McKeever and Anthony Walsh with Adrian Conway doing a lot of work at midfield. St. Pats had to rely on Mickey Joe Hynes who scored some nice points from frees. James O’Donoghue put in a good game in the back for St. Pats, but it was not enough to save the day. Also P.J. Sweeney, Adrian Murphy and Tom Shevlin had a good outing, but St. Pats still have some homework to do.

In the Ladies Football Final, it was Shamrocks 1-16, Roscommon 0-2. As the score might indicate this was a one-sided affair but nonetheless exciting. Shamrocks proved a very strong team and did not let up for the entire game.

Margaret Flaherty in goals for Roscommon had a busy afternoon and made some great saves. Jackie Cummings, Orla Hession and Marie Naughton played well for Roscommon.

The Shamrocks were best served by Marie McGrail, Kathleen Rohan, Liz O’Shea, Paula Callaghan and Joan Reen. Ann O’Shea also picked off some nice points and the girl from Donegal, Charlotte Curran, is a class act.

Also in the Mawn Cup, it was Shannon Blues 1-10, Notre Dame 0-10. This was a real contest all the way through with very little between these teams. Scores were hard to come by from play. Barry Ahearn opened for Notre Dame with a point from play. Pat Driscoll had the Blues on the board with a point from a free a minute later.

Back came Notre Dame’s Denis Meehan with a lovely point from play to make it 2-1. Pat Driscoll tied it up again with a free from 35 yards out. It was tit for tat right to the halftime whistle with Mickey Moran, Mick Griffin and Denis Meehan adding points for Notre Dame. In the other end it was Paddy McGinty, Pat Burke and Pat Driscoll on the mark for the Blues. Halftime score 6-6.

In the second half, Pat Driscoll had the Blues one up from play after three minutes. A minute later Damien Fallon had a point from 30 yards out for Notre Dame. Kieran Maher came on as sub for the Blues in the second half and made a difference in the 10th minute. Digger McGloughlin went through for a well-taken goal.

The Blues seemed to be on top at this stage. But right back came Notre Dame with points from Declan Austin (2) and Michael Griffin (1). Pat Driscoll sent Paddy McGinty through for a Blues point. Michael Griffin answered with a point from play. Pat Burke sent Pat Driscoll through for his fifth point of the game. Notre Dame tried hard to get a goal with time running out, but the clock caught up with them.

In the Fox Cup hurling final, it was Tipperary 1-14 Fr. Toms 0-8. While Tipp were the much stronger side, Fr. Toms were well served by Mick O’Hara. Also by James O’Donoghue, Tom Morrissey and goalie Dermot Fox and free taker Pat Costello.

For Tipperary, Clinton Hennessy, the goalie, had his team attacking all the time with his 70 yard puck outs. Kevin O’Donnell had a solid game. Also Mike McGrath, Brendan Dunphy and Chris Dunn. They will be hard to beat this year.

Also in the Mawn Cup, it was Donegal 1-11, Mayo 0-5. Mayo got off to a great start and looked good for the first 15 minutes. Sean Donnlon was winning his share at midfield. Jetro had Mayo on the board. Paddy Clarke was solid, but Donegal have one of the best teams in Boston and ended this contest early on. Halftime score Donegal 1-6 Mayo 0-2. Mayo tried hard in the second half, but rain came and made good football impossible.