February 15, 2011
By Staff Reporter
After a weekend of rain and the Memorial Day weekend left the New York Minor Board teams idle for two consecutive weekends, the youngsters took to the pitch in earnest once against last weekend.
In the first of the U-10 football semis at Paddy’s Field in Woodlawn, St. Raymond’s defeated the Celtics, 3-1 to 1-6. Outstanding for the winners were John Greaney, Tom Enright, Kathleen Enright, Pete Smith, Chris McKenna and James Lamanchik. Celtics best in a valiant effort were Brian Hegarty, Shane O’Connor, Philip Craig, C.J. Molloy, Daniel Tierney and Allison Traynor.
The second U-10 semi, Rangers come out victorious over Rockland by 7-2 to 2-3. The Rangers gave a wonderful display, with Steven Cassels performing solidly at center-halfback. He was ably assisted by Lorcan Malone, Chris Cassels, Kevin O’Driscoll, Sean Twomey and Denis McGoldrick. Rockland’s most impressive players were Emmet Woods, Nick Mangan, Steve Spellman, Conor Whelan, Conor Walsh and Chris Fitzpatrick.
The Under-10 final is set for Sunday, June 7, at 11 a.m. at Gaelic Park.
In the Under-12 semifinals, the winners were Celtics and St. Barnabas. Celtics defeated Rockland by a score of 4-5 to 0-0. Celtics forward Conor McKeon got his team rolling early with a fabulous 40-yard solo run that he neatly planted in the back of the Rockland net. Peter Reph, Michael Woods, Chiara McArdle, Ronan O’Brien and Michael Dormer were outstanding for the winners. Rockland’s best on the day were Conor Hogan, Paul McGrath, Anthony Putnick, Brian Cosgrove, Brian Freer and T.J. Ruane.
St. Barnabas defeated St. Raymonds, 1-4 to 0-3, to capture the second berth in the Under-12 final. Solid for the Woodlawn crew were Brendan Mulroy, Greg Bayner, Kevin Hannon, Barry Sullivan and Joe Mulligan. St. Raymond’s best were Brian McArdle, Richie Kearns, Brendan Murphy, John Greaney and Stephen Greaney.
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Next up were the Under-14 semifinals. The game of the weekend was served up by St. Barnabas and the Celtics. The game went down to the wire and the final score was St. Barnabas 2-11 to Celtics 3-8. Both sides showed signs of good attacking football. Considering the humid conditions both teams should be commended on a gallantly played contest. Celtics got a brilliant game from Sean Farrelly at midfield; also excelling were Gary McGurk, Ed Sheeran, Brian Slattery and Sean Baker in goal. Shining for St. Barnabas were Andrew Donoghue at center half back, Matt Brady, Dave Hannon, Matt Saunders and Douglas Brady.
In the second semifinal, Rockland defeated St. Raymond’s, 4-11 to 0-3. Rockland gave a fine exhibition of teamwork and score-taking. The upstate boys were led by Chris Mangan, who gave a marvelous display at midfield. The score of the game was by cornerback Ray Bader, he soloed out of his own end and after two give-and-go passes to teammates, he rifled over a point from 35 yards. Others excelling for the winners were Brendan Fennell, Shane Hogan, James Donahue and Greg Loftus. For St. Raymond’s, Mark Capezuti, Craig Gambardella, David Ryan, James Huvane and Kevin O’Neill played well.
In other weekend games, St. Barnabas defeated St. Joseph’s in Under-16 competition. The score was 2-3 to 0-6. St. Barnabas players who excelled were Adrian Clarke, Charlie Pape, Padraig Tully, Michael Tully, Ciaran Moyles and Sean Moyles. Best for St. Joseph’s were lion-hearted Jerry Gillespie, John Creegan, Hugo Rooney, Pat Maguire, P.J. Ferris and Declan Quinn.
In Under-18 action, St. Joseph’s turned the tables on St. Barnabas by a score of 2-6 to 0-6. Most notable for the Jersey boys were Donal Gillespie, A.J. Friel, Mike Moran, Evan Cubie, Ian Young and Kevin Cashel, while the Woodlawn team got good games from Charlie Bayer, Tom Meaney, Sean Corbin, Sean Moyles and Kieran Dwyer.