February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
St. Brigid’s 2-14, Rovers 1-7
The Ladies Championship Cup Final in Chicago on Sunday was won impressively by the St. Brigid’s. The opening few minutes had both teams struggling to get points. There were numerous wides from both sides before St. Brigid’s opened with a point. The Rovers took a nice point sometime after to bring the sides level. St. Brigid’s then took the lead which they refused to surrender, steadily building up points until, shortly before the half, Rita Bailey was put through for a goal, making the halftime score St. Brigids 1-6, Erin Rovers 0-4.
Erin Rovers regrouped at the half and St. Brigid’s were caught napping when Mary McLaughlin strode through for goal. The Brigid’s Lettie Rowan (0-6, 4 frees) replied with a point from a free. The Brigids continued to take points while the Rovers struggled through the second half. Sub Aimee Bennett took a shot on goal which was saved and rebounded to Colleen Duffy, who finished it off in the Rovers net. Brigid’s midfielder Catriona Grace was tremendous, working all over the field, while Erin Rover’s full back Fiona O’Brien couldn’t do anything wrong.
Wolfe Tones 2-12, Parnells 4-6
The Wolfe Tones vs. Parnells junior games proved very exciting as both teams drew level on four occasions. The halftime score of Wolfe Tones 2-5 to Parnells’ 2-4 made sure both teams were still in with a chance. In all a total of six goals were scored by both sides, two of them were scored by a high ball that deceived the keepers by floating in at the corner of the goalmouth. Goal scorers were for Wolfe Tones Damien Brown had 2-5 for Wolge Tones. For Parnells, top players were Declan Doyle (2-0), Frank Bradley (1-0) and Seamus Moriarty (1-1).
St. Brendan’s 0-14, McBrides 1-7
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The John McBrides and St. Brendan’s junior game started out with lots of promise but a few silly mistakes caused the McBrides vital scores. A McBrides forward was through to score and instead of taking his score, he tried passing the ball off to a teammate and the Brendan’s back line were keen to steal the ball away, moving the ball quickly down the field to then take their point. Halftime score was McBrides 1-4, St. Brendan’s 0-5.
In the second half the St. Brendan’s dominated possession rarely allowing the ball past the halfback line and forwards blocking down the McBrides backline clearances. The McBrides went approximately 15-20 minutes without a score. The last 10-minute rally by McBrides didn’t produce the scores needed to win. Overall the St. Brendans created and finished off more scoring chances. Top scorers for St. Brendans were Ronan Davis (0-5, 2 frees) and Jason Barrett (0-4). For McBrides, John Marrinan had 1-2.
Bolands 2-19, Limerick 3-8
The hurling match between Harry Bolands and Limerick was a tense affair as both teams wanted to get their points for winning the game to give them a chance of making it to the Chicago final. The Bolands started out driving home a goal from Michael Greaney, followed by two points before the Limerick team pointed. The Bolands got two more points before an answer from Limerick. In scoring terms, the Bolands had laid down their win. However, the Limerick team fought on chipping a score here and there. The Bolands backs, led by Mike Ryan (hurling player of the day), blocked and marked closely the Limerick forwards in any attempt on goal. Overall the Bolands created more scoring chances. Ken Dunne (0-10) and Michael Greaney (2-1) were top scorers for the Bolands, while Damien Dooley (0-4), Tony Dowd (0-3) and Tony Doyle (1-0) were best for Limerick.
St. Brendans 1-16, Parnells 2-5
The St. Brendans and Parnells senior match was a walk away for the St. . Brendans. The Parnells did not tighten up on the Brendans as can be seen by the number of Brendans players who were allowed to score. Graham Burke (1-5) (football player of the day), Ger Walsh (1-2), Johnny Sharling (0-4) and Brendan O’Connor (0-2) were best. Scorers for Parnells were Noel Rahilly (1-2), David Shields (0-3) and Paddy Reilly (1-0).