Cumann na mBunscol 

St.Tolas Vs Collinstown Girls Football

Reported by Sam and Juile  

Unlucky to the Girls in green for their unfortunate loss to Collinstown. The team played at their best on the day but Collinstown were at a higher standard on the day of the match.

Pre- Match 

On the journey to the game we brought a very special guest to cheer on the school team. Our very special guest was our brand new mascot who will be named on Friday the 19th of January. As the mascot was enjoying the experience the coach of the team Ms.Varley gave a strong speech on the bus to the game and the players were motivated to play some great football! When the bus arrived at the pitch the girls were ready to rock!

The First Half 

The start of the match went very quick as Collinstown won the possession from the throw and went quickfire with points and brilliant moves, But St.Tolas wouldn't stop as the midfield constantly annoyed the defence but Collinstown were very lucky not to concede in the 1st half. Collinstown attack was superb but Isabelle and Lexi in defence with Aoife in goals stopped the game from making it a landslide. At half time the score was at home advantage to Collinstown as they were up by 5-2 to 0-0. There was still some work for St.Tolas.

The Second Half      

St.Tolas vs Whitehall Football Match

Reported by Aidan Price & Ben Loughlin

A great congrats to the girls on their win over Whitehall on last Tuesday the 7th of November!

Pre-match:

A great inspirational talk from Miss.Varley got the girls ready for their second game of the season against home side Whitehall. A very powerful line up from St.Tolas consisted of Aoife in goals, Isabelle and Lexi in the backs, in midfield they had Lucy (C) and alongside her was Annie  (VC) and lastly Katie and Neveah in the forwards.

Warm up: A very high energy warm up got the girls raring to go. Ms. Varley calls all the girls in for a brief talk before the game commences.

1st half: 

Ball is thrown up and it is won by Whitehall but is almost immediately won back by Lucy who lays it off to Annie who gives it to Katie and the first score of the game goes to St. Tolas. The following kick out is won by Katie who gives it to Neveah and shoots. An outstanding goal by Neveah puts tolas up by 4. The keeper gives a huge wallop and sends the ball flying down the pitch which is caught by their midfielder, she shoots but an amazing blockdown by Lexi keeps Rathwire scoreless. Aoife kicks the ball out to the wing and is superbly caught by Annie and she gives it up the wing to Katie and scores tolas’s 4th point of the game and keeps the scoreboard ticking. The keeper kicks the ball down the line which is intercepted by Rathwire’s forward and is taken to the goal line and is scored. Eventually Rathwire got their well deserved score on the board. Going into halftime it's Tolas 3-6 Rathwire 1-0.

Half time: Ms .Varley is very proud of how well the  girls are playing but she doesn't want them to get ahead of themselves. After all there is another 20 minutes to go. Ms Varley says “we cannot afford to make mistakes, take your scores and put in 110%.”

Second Half: 

With the scoreline in favour of Tolas they're ready to go for another 20 minutes of action. The ball is thrown in once again and is won by Annie who passes it straight to Lucy and she pops it over for an easy first score of the second half. The keeper kicks it to the opposition back and she wellies it down the pitch to their forward who cuts inside and shoots and scores two goals for Whitehall. Will they make a comeback? Who knows? With 5 minutes to go it's Tolas 3-7 Whitehall 2-0. Tola's are in an attacking position now. Isabelle on the ball kicks it up to Lucy who gives it to Annie and she scores her fourth point of the game. One minute left says the ref but that doesn't stop Tola's as they get their final goal and score of the game. Shortly after the ref blows it up, a huge congrats to the girls for their outstanding performance. Hard luck to the girls from Whitehall.

Post-match: St.Tola's girls captain Lucy McCgrath commented on the game ” I thought it was good all round and we all gave our best effort but we do need to work on passing the ball to people who are in a better position “ Wise words if I do say so myself.

St.Tolas vs Rathwire Football Match

Reported by Caoimhe Gill and Sam McPhillips

It was a cool bright morning and the perfect conditions for a match. Mr.Doherty gave an inspiring team talk ahead of the first half which motivated the team. Everybody was energised for the warm up and ready for the match. St.Tolas Ajay was injured so his position was filled in by Robbie.

First Half

A good start from Tolas led to an early goal from Senan followed by a great point by Darragh H. It was a tight first few minutes with Rathwire scoring 2 points shortly after. Soon after,Tolas Ben Loughlin scored another goal. There was lots of great defending by Robbie, Aidan and Sean keeping the ball out and there was also lots of saves by goalkeeper Dara Fallon which resulted in multiple wides for Rathwire. Tolas Kept up the great teamwork and Ben got another 2 points. There was great cheers from both team’s supporters but Mr.Doherty’s cheering and advice drove Tolas on resulting in another point from Ben. Suddenly Rathwire had the ball,got past the defenders and scored another point.There was lots of close calls but saves from Dara F kept us winning. All of a sudden Ben went zooming off and scored 2 more points for Tolas. Just before the half time whistle Rathwire scored another point.

Half Time

Mr.Doherty gave another motivational team talk and got Tolas eager to get back on the pitch.

HALF TIME SCORE: St.Tolas:2-6 Rathwire:0-4

Second Half

Tolas had another good early start resulting in 2 more points for Tola's. The ball slowly crept up to the Tola's goalie but the defenders kept the ball at bay until finally Rathwire got their point. Tola's kept pushing for victory with a point from Ben and another point from Aidan shortly after. In the blink of an eye Rathwire had the ball and took a desperate shot but Dara saved it. Tola's decided that that was to close and got another 2 points. Rhys and Rian were attacking with great power and the one and only Rhys Williams scored a point for the boys in green. St.Tola's very own Ben Loughlin scored another classy point for the team leaving Rathwire in desperate need for a score. Finally the full time whistle blew and Tola's were up by 2-8. They are now ready for whatever lies ahead and hopefully get to the final.

Final Score: Tolas: 2-14 Rathwire:0-6

Interview with Dara and Aidan:

Dara:“It was alright but it was a bit touch and go”

Aidan:“I think we all played an outstanding game and hope our luck continues”

Match Entertainment:11/10

Coach rating:10/10 

11th of October 2023

 Reported by: Rian and Rhys Williams

Congrats to the St. Tola’s girls for winning their first football game of the year against Raharney N.S. 

Pre Match

It was a cold damp day for the 1st round of the Cumann na mBunscol girls football clash between a strong St Tola’s side and a determined Raharney side.

Ms Varley, the manager of the Tola’s girls, gave a motivational team talk to the panel before the big game, “This is a must win game,” she said as they huddled together. St Tola’s were being led by a midfield duo of Lucy and Annie, who led all their team onto the pitch for the much awaited game. 

As Ms Varley’s team warmed up, they looked ready to rumble.

1st Half

In the 1st half Tola’s got off to a fiery start with goals from Sarah and Neveah leaving Raharney in desperation. Raharney fought back with goals of their own but with Annie’s powerful scores, Tola’s were back on track. Some substitutions also helped Tola’s on their way, with some exceptional saves from Aoife and Ella before hand

Half Time

Score 3-2 to 3-1 - Tola’s in the lead.

A driving halftime speech from Ms Varley gave the girls the inspiration to win. Raharney will need a big 2nd half to beat this strong Tola’s side.

2nd Half

The 2nd half started with a point from Annie, and an excellent save by Aoife off the post keeping Tolas in front of the scoreboard. A well deserved goal by Lucy put Raharney in desperate need of a score.

Raharney fought back scoring 1-2 without a response from Tola’s, leaving the game highly contested. But it was substitute Katie who scored the almighty goal to win Tola’s the game.

Full Time Score: St Tola's 5-3 (18) Raharney 4-4 (16)

In what was a nail biting game, the Tola’s side showed they were a strong team for the year ahead. 

Match Entertainment

The Tolas bench were encouraging their teammates throughout the game. It was an action packed game right up until the final whistle. 

11/10

Lucy and Caoimhe had a say on the game

Lucy: “We won because of teamwork and hard work.”

Caoimhe: “The first half was a good half, lots of scores from Annie, Lucy and Neveah. The second half was close. Great cheering from the sidelines. We got 2 points and ended up winners.”

Team Sheet: Ella (goals) Caoimhe, Lexi (backs) Lucy, Annie (midfield) Sarah, Nevaeh (Forwards) Subs: Alannah, Katie, Abbie, Emma, Lena, Aoife, Isabelle, Holly, Alice, Maria, Millie, Jessice, Julie, Maisie  

Scorers                                                  

Lucy 1-0                                                    

Annie 0-3

Sarah 1-0

Neveah 2-0

Katie 1-0