February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
This game was the best under 18 finally played at Gaelic Park in quite some time. St. Barnabas defeated St. Joseph’s 4-10 to 3-08. Although trailing by 11 points at halftime, St. Joseph’s bought back to cut the deficit to a point with less than two minutes remaining. But their heroic comeback was not fully realized as a Sean Corbin point and Tom Meaney goal sealed victory for the Bronx boys in the last minute.
Man of the Match was Jason Clarke of St. Barnabas. He had help from teammates Padraig Tully, Kieran Dwyer, Adrian Clark, Billy Donoghue and Ciaran Moyles. St. Joseph’s best players were Roy O’Neill, John Cashel, Ian Young, Eugene Gillespie, John Croegan, Jenny Gillespie and Allan Galkin.
Under 12 semifinal
St. Raymond’s defeated Rockland in a scintillating game by 5-5 to 4-6. Both teams displayed grit and determination as well as skill and sportsmanship. St. Raymond’s trailed 4-2 to 2-4 at the half but fought back gallantly to earn a place in the finish. There were well-taken scores throughout this affair and both defenses and goalkeeping excelled.
Outstanding for St. Raymond’s were David Noble, Steve Grandey, Brian McArdle, Sean Brandy, Mike Delano and Matt Featherstone. Rockland’s best players were Matt Pogeweit, Stephen Spellman, Brendan McManus, Coner Hogan, Danny O’Malloy and Steve Francis.
Under-14 semifinal
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Rockland scored a spot in the final by defeating Celtics 2-14 to 1-5. Quick passing and solid teamwork were the key to victory. Celtics started out strong, with points by midfielders Ed Sheerin and Sean Farrelly. But overall the fluidity and strength of Rockland were too much for the Celtics to overcome. In the attack Greg Loftus, Mike Cannon and Brian Rocco combined for some good scores.
James Donahue, Brian Canty and goalkeeper Sean Murphy (saved a penalty kick) were exceptional in Rockland’s defense. Celtics received fine games from goalkeeper Sean Baker, Gary McGurk, John McArdle and goal scorer Coner McKeon.
Under-14 semifinal
Rockland, undefeated for three years, defeated the N.Y. Celtics by 2-14 to 1-5.
In ’98 no fewer than nine Rockland players represented New York in the under-14 All Ireland Club competition. Along with players from other league teams they succeeded in reaching the semifinal of this competition-losing to the eventual widowers. The final of the ’98 season is due to be played this coming weekend against the St. Barnabas club from Woodlawn in the Bronx. Following is a list of the players on the Rockland Under 14-1998 team.
Declan Neville, Shane Hogan, Chris Mangan, James Dongahue, Greg Loftus, Brian Meaney, Shawn Dunne, Luke Fitzpatrick, Sean Murphy, Brendan Ferrell like O’Connor, Brian Rocco, Thomas Moore, Billy Cosgrove, Brian Canty, Mike Cannon, Matt Vickers, Mike Ruane, Thomas McVeigh, Kevin Spellman and Terence Moore.