Post date: Sep 25, 2012 9:59:06 PM
Cúchulainn Gaels under 13’s travelled to Hawkfield on Friday evening 21st September to take on Kildare town side Round Towers in the Bord na nOg Division 3 final. A cool but dry evening welcomed the sizeable crowd to Kildare’s impressive training venue which was fully illuminated for an evening of football finals.
Round Towers took to the field determined to avenge their defeat to this Gaels side earlier in the League when they lost heavily following a late Gaels onslaught. They certainly showed their intentions in the opening ten minutes as they ran at the Gaels defence and refused to allow the Gaels any time on the ball. Time and again the Towers players dispossessed their opponents with determined tackling and set off on another attack. Towers opened the scoring with a fine point and a goal soon followed in a great team move that started in their full back line. The lead could have been greater but poor shooting in front of goal allowed the Gaels to stay within touching distance.
Eoin O’Loughlin finally opened the Gaels account with a well taken point, however Towers returned to dominate proceedings again and shook the Gaels net once more to go 2:01 to 0:01 ahead mid way through the half. With the pressure being put on the Gaels players, they were finding it impossible to deliver quality ball to full forward Michael John Prendergast or Harry Arkwright and JB Murphy in the inside corners. A re-shuffle of the Gaels pack meant that some players had to be sacrificed as a change of tactics was required. The Gaels slowly began to get into the game and points from Eoin O’Loughlin and Stephen Keogh reduced the margin to four points at the break.
It’s not often that corner backs receive much praise for their efforts but in this opening half Fergal O’Mahoney and Oran Donnelly were superb. They swept across the full back line while under ferocious pressure and prevented the Towers attacks from turning into scores. If the men in the full back line were superb, the man behind them was simply outstanding! Daniel Cawley drew gasps from the crowd with a string of saves that were quite unbelievable. Indeed, without his efforts between the posts, there is no doubt that the game would have been over by half time for the Gaels men.
The Gaels players showed renewed determination when they returned to the field for the second half knowing that they had not done themselves justice in the opening period. Callum Sourke was now dominating at centre back while Stephen Keogh and Kevin Martin were winning the battle at midfield. Good work by Evan Conroy and Robert McGrath culminated in an Eoin O’Loughlin point and the same player soon pointed a free after JB Murphy had been fouled. Then the Gaels got the bit of luck that’s always needed in a final when a long ball into the goalmouth was fumbled by the Towers defence and Devan Guing was on hand to toe poke it into the net to put the Gaels in front for the first time in the game.
A Stephen Keogh point stretched the lead to two as Towers struggled to get the ball out of their own half. Stephen then started a move that worked its way through Pat Martin, Robert McGrath and Eoin O’Loughlin before he got back on the end of it to finish the ball to the net to put his side 2:06 to 2:01 ahead as the game entered the final ten minutes. Pointed frees from Tomas Scully and Eoin O’Loughlin pulled the Gaels seven clear and the end was now in sight.
With the Gaels now playing out the final minutes in celebratory mode Towers stormed through the defence and forced Daniel Cawley into another brilliant save. As the ball rebounded the Towers full forward got a touch to send it goalwards but up popped Oran Donnelly out of nowhere to take the ball off the line and prevent a very nervous final minute. Towers got their only score of the half with a good point late on but the final whistle sounded out a 2:08 to 2:02 win for Cúchulainn Gaels much to the delight of their large support.
The Kildangan players on the panel played a significant role in the winning of this League.
Eoin O’Fearghail was outstanding at corner back whenever he got his opportunity to play and is an excellent reader of the ball. It’s hard to believe that he still has two more years left in this age group.
Stephen Keogh was a tower of strength in the middle of the field throughout the competition and we’ll all remember his injury time winning point against Athy in the semi-final. He has a great engine and a never-say-die attitude.
Oisin Hyland is another under 11 who showed his capabilities when rattling the Milltown net within minutes of being introduced. Being the youngest player on a large panel, he didn’t get as many opportunities to show his skills as we would have liked, but he’ll have the next two years to show what he’s made of.
Michael John Prendergast was the target man at full forward and had his best game against Raheens when he scored two goals, the second being a fantastic strike. If the team can play more to his strengths in the under 14 league, we’ll be a stronger outfit.
Robert McGrath had a great end to a busy year where he played under 12, 13 & 14 football. Having been on last year’s winning under 13 team Robert will be hoping to make it 3-in-a-row next year. A great performance against Round Towers was crucial to getting us into the semi finals.
Joey O’Sullivan was another under 11 who showed great determination and strength when called upon. His speed and forceful play will be a major factor in the Gaels retaining their title next year.
Daniel Cawley had his finest hour just when we needed him most - in the final! He produced some acrobatic saves throughout the competition but was undoubtedly man-of-the-match in the final where he kept the Gaels in the game with some wonderful saves.