Sunday 27th April – U11s Match Reports by Tim Slattery
Photos to be uploaded on the Youth Gallery page soon.
Parnells under 11s got off to a flying start winning all their three games in impressive style at a very breezy Wood Lane Stanmore on Saturday 27th April last.
The fifteen players togging out on the day were:-
Tiernan Hession – showed strength in the air and was a strong presence upfront throughout.
Lorcan Moriarty – one of our main go-to men for scores, strong in possession and a powerful boot which he put to good use.
Ryan Bailey – picked off some great scores and was our target man in full forward.
Tadhg O’Slatara – won numerous turnovers with great blocks and tackling, got forward to kick some fine points when most needed.
Rhiain McDonnell – defended tenaciously all day, drove forward and was the instigator of some fine moves culminating in scores for himself and others. Linked well on the break.
Matthew Evans – had a fine day in goals, made some brilliant saves (particularly against Tara when the game was in the melting pot), was off his line quickly and hit the target with his kick outs.
Jake Roache – another who covered every blade of grass defending and attacking, won a lot of hard ball around the middle and got some great clearances in.
Aaron Murphy – loves to play ball and it showed – always looking for the ball and was rewarded with a fine match winning point against Tara’s.
Ricky Baxter – his first ever Gaelic match but nobody watching would believe it. Has somehow mastered the fundamental skills in a couple of weeks. His catching , hand passing, soloing, the pick up and punt kicking were superb. His long range point in the first game was one of the highlights of an impressive debut in Gaelic football.
Aaron O’Donovan- silent but deadly , no fuss but nothing was getting past him in the last line of defence. Superb throughout and reads the game so well.
Dylan Doheny- excellent performance and was the other half of an impenetrable full back line. Played intelligently and consistently snuffed out threats and set up counter attacks.
Frankie McDaid – super effort and unselfishly supported our attack, playing the simple but effective ball. Well able to score on her own though as well.
Joe McGuinness – one of the U10s making his debut at this age group. Grew in confidence as the games progressed and was instrumental in the lead up to some crucial scores with some cool recycling of the ball.
Finn O’Rourke – another of the U10s who was very effective throughout the day, speedy, always looking for the ball, a scoring threat and a thorn in the opposition’s side.
Finn Steward – the third of the U10s making his debut at this age group. A great effort to get to the games after another appointment but a welcome boost to his team’s energy levels late on especially when making good runs into space against the wind.
Ronan Cummings – although Ronan did not play on the day (as he was under doctors orders to rest a slight injury)his enthusiasm was infectious on the day and certainly contributed to his team mates success.
Match summaries
Parnells v TCG
Our first game was against Tir Chonail Gaels. We started brightly against the wind and had most of the possession.
We were probably a bit ring rusty and if we had a bit more confidence in front of goal we could have been more than a three scores ahead at half time.
In the second half we continued to dominate possession and improved our accuracy resulting in a winning start to the day. Full credit to a young TCG team who used their possession well and never gave up.
Parnells v St. Kiernans
It was a quick turn around to our next game against St. Kiernans. This was a much tighter affair and having led at half time we seemed to lose our concentration mid way through the second half. St. Kiernans, a good strong team, took advantage and going into the closing stages of the game had established a slender lead.
However in a portent of what was to come our lads and lassies dug deep and urged on by the coaches got their shape back and slowly clawed their way back into the game with two superb points to see off a very good St. Kiernans team.
Parnells v Tara
Our final game was against Tara’s and one wondered if the exertions from the previous games would impact on our performance.
We should not have worried as the whole team saved their best to last putting in a storming effort to overcome a very good Tara team. What was most pleasing was how disciplined we were and how we played as a team and stuck to the game plan.
An extra mention for all those involved in the setting up on the day, coaches Tim and Peter, those who helped run the tea bar-a busy area keeping everyone warm with hot drinks! Michelle R, Maggie McG, Maggie O’R and Michelle M – all the M’s!! Also to Veronica, our club secretary and U11 mum. Last but never least, all the parents there on the day. A great effort from everyone
