By Joe Begley
Today saw an exciting encounter between St. Brigids new under 16 squad and Clan hEireann of Lurgan. It was a cold, crisp and sunny day; perfect Gaelic conditions. As it was a friendly the two sides decided to play the match in quarters, allowing teams to be changed every 15 minutes, giving everybody a good run out and the managers a chance to experiment with tactics. Before the off it was made clear to the team that the emphasis of today’s game was not on the result but on team bonding, as this was the first match this under 16 squad had played together.
Playing into a heavy breeze in the first quarter the team coped well and played solidly with Michael Malone and Chris Mooney getting some scores on the board. Thomas McKeogh gave reassurance with his excellent catching at the back while Conor McGranaghan and Daniel Nolan ably demonstrated how to defend.
The second quarter was poor with the team not quite gelling. This led to heavy pressure from the opposition and resulted in St. Brigids conceding a couple of goals. At half time St. Brigids heads were down. If it were not for an inspirational half time team talk from Eamon, John, Benny and Mike things could only have gotten worse. Instead they boosted morale and filled the team with confidence.
In the third quarter Donal Connolly filled the whole team with drive as when losing the ball he showed perseverance winning it back and getting it clear. St. Brigids started to dominate with surging runs from Chris Mooney and Ben Sinnott. Patrick Nolan set off attacks with his excellent clearances. Ben Sinnott was phenomenal in midfield controlling the play and winning every ball. The dependable Ben Kelly had some fine moves along with his brother Matthew down the right side of the pitch. Cormac McBride weaved past his marker to score an excellent point giving a positive end to the third quarter.
With St. Brigids back in the game things only got better and in the final quarter they did not concede. Michael Malone continued his immaculate free kick taking and a fine flowing move up the pitch was finished off by Joe Begley. Conor Mackle displayed his talents sweetly taking two points. The game finished St. Brigids 1 – 12 Clan hEireann 3 – 7. Both teams displayed the depths of their squads and gave us an excellent Gaelic match. There was more than enough talent, skill and teamwork displayed especially in the last two quarters to get St. Brigids managers excited about the forthcoming season.
