St Brigids entered three teams into the club’s annual Under 10 tournament on Sunday 11th September, the Saffrons, the Gaels and the Ogs all had the chance to represent their club on the day. Whilst there was mixed fortunes for the teams, there was a lot fun and enjoyment on the day.
The St Brigids Saffrons squad faced an uphill battle in their attempt to qualify from the group stage on the morning of the tournament. The squad of 16 set out to give every game their best effort and while the results did not go their way, they left Harlequins last Sunday with heads held high, and proud of their days football exerts.
In the first game against a strong Rossa outfit who finished 2nd in the group, St Brigids opened with the wind advantage and the game was very even in the first half. At the short whistle a Lochlainn Quinn point ensured the sides were level. In the second half Rossa added on 4 more scores and while St Brigids worked a few scoring opportunities, following excellent ball gathering by Tom Morrissey, Paddy McAllister and Joseph McCarney, the home side couldn’t manage another score.
The second game against St Paul’s of Holywood was the closest of the morning. A very even game with the defence led by Ryan Austin, Patrick Graham, Liam Donaldson and Ciaran Muldoon played a fantastic game and held the away team to one goal and one point in normal time. St Brigids were one down at half time and through Joe Fitzpatrick, Patrick O’Hagan and Conor Mulgrew they went all out for scores, against the wind in the second period. Tom Morrissey narrowly missed a great chance after some lovely build up play and in the last minute of injury time Conor Mulgrew was upended on the 14 yard line for what looked to be a free which could win the match. The referee didn’t see it that way and allowed play to continue. St Paul’s added another point and the game was over.
In the third group game Joseph Muldoon, Conor McRandall, Patrick Devlin and David Toner joined the fray but the St Johns outfit proved too strong. St Brigids shipped their heaviest defeat of the day despite tireless running from midfield and hard tackling and blocking by Patrick Graham, Liam Donaldson and Patrick Murphy at the back.
In the afternoon Division 4 games the Saffrons lined up against Lagmore Gaels. This was another very tight match, and it was clear that as the day went on the team was getting stronger. Again Lochlainn scored, along with Paddy McAllister and only for some scores early in the second half from the Lagmore outfit, the Saffrons could have won this game. By now injuries and tiredness were taking a toll and as the last game came around, V fellow St Brigids club mates, The Gaels, the Saffrons were pleased to play out a competitive draw, 4 pts each.
Finishing the day without a win was tough luck on this hard working bunch of committed players, and one draw was hardly a just reward for their efforts. Most of the players gave all the energy they had, and on another day, with a bit of luck, they would have been rewarded with at least two wins.
The St Brigids Gaels squad were in buoyant mood despite the tough challenge that faced them in the morning matches. There was some excellent football played across all games and the coaches were extremely proud of the efforts from all. The Gaels should all be very proud of their performances throughout the day.
In the first game against a very strong Bredagh outfit that finished 1st in the group, St Brigid’s Gaels took their time to adjust to their opponents. Bredagh had a healthy lead before half time and while the Gaels competed well in the second half, Bredagh ran out easy winners.
The second game against St Galls was the closest of the morning. This was a very even game with the defence led by Michael Duffy, John O’Sullivan, Zach Porter and Thomas McDevitt. They all played a fantastic game and held the away team to one goal and four points in normal time. St Brigids were up at half time and through James Burns, Conor O’Hagan, Patrick Doran, Peter Megarity, Matthew McGuigan, Conor O’Hagan, Hugo Leeson, Dominic O’Loan, Patrick Magee, Ronan Muldoon and James Dougan they went all out for scores, against the wind in the second period. A couple of late subs and two late points by St Galls in the last minute of the match saw St Brigid’s narrowly defeated.
In the third group game in the morning against St James, the opposition again proved very strong and while great efforts were made by all players, the result was an easy win for the opposition.
In the afternoon Division 4 games the Gaels lined up against Lagmore. This was a very tight match with St Brigids leading throughout the first half. Again the defence of Michael Duffy, Zach Porter, John O’Sullivan and Conor O’Hagan was tenacious throughout the whole game. In midfield and up front Hugo Leeson, Matthew McGuigan, Thomas McDevitt, James Burns and Patrick Doran are to be congratulated for their efforts in driving out scores for St Brigid’s. A dubious fisted goal and lack of an obvious free in the last few minutes saw Lagmore run out winners by a single point. The Gaels were extremely disappointed at the final whistle but should all be very proud of their efforts.
The other game of the afternoon was a challenge against fellow St Brigids’ club mates the Saffrons. The two teams were pleased to play out a competitive draw, 4 pts each.
Overall the St Brigid’s Gaels are to be congratulated for their efforts throughout the day. The coaches were extremely proud of the football played and the improvements made by players.
The young members of the St Brigids u10 Ogs panel deservedly collected the St Brigids U10 cup on Sunday. In truth these young players were in a class of their own as the swept to victory in treacherous conditions at Harlequins. The players certainly savoured their victory as they had recently lost in the final of 2 tournaments at St Galls and at St Teresa’s.
The day began with the disappointing news that stylish defender Conor Slevin was ruled out with flu, but his absence spurred on his team-mates to greater efforts. First up in the group stages was recently formed West Belfast club Lagmore Gaels. These young Gaels lacked nothing in effort, but couldn’t compete with a better drilled St Brigids outfit. Having trained 3 times together in the previous week, most notably in a superb session with 3 All Ireland winning Tyrone midfielder, Enda McGinley, the St Brigids team settled very quickly with slick interpassing opening up the Lagmore defence. Defenders Shay Campbell, promising new recruit Ronan Agnew, and Marcus Lynch were rarely troubled as halfback Calum Webb mopped up plenty of ball in front of them. Midfielders Eoin Brown and Ben Doherty dominated the kickouts, ensuring plenty of ball for the forwards Paul Bradley, Jack McGurk and Cian McDonnell. The second half saw the introduction of Patrick McKay and James McKenna, and the overall performance was marked by the incredible marksmanship of St Brigids, as they fired over 8 unanswered points in the second half to run out impressive winners.
Next up were Lamh Dearg. Again St Brigids settled very quickly and opened up an immediate lead as the Hannastown side struggled to compete with the running and ball play of the St Brigids players. The defence stayed tight under the expert marshalling of goalkeeper Thomas McCarney as Toirealach Brolly showed his prowess in front of goal with some well taken scores. Again this was a team effort as St Brigids progressed to another win.
Due to the late withdrawal of Ardoyne Kickhams, St Brigids had a break as they waited to learn which other group winners would join them in the afternoon Division 1 group. The boys showed impressive restraint at the burger table as they readied themselves for the tougher challenges to come.
First up in Division 1 was St Endas of Glengormley. These 2 teams had met on a number of occasions this year with very little between them. This encounter was no different, as the game ebbed and flowed right to the final whistle with rarely more than a score separating the teams. Cian McDonnell opened the scoring with a well taken point, soon added to by Paul Bradley as St Brigids headed towards half time looking the better team. However in the second half, St Brigids struggled to get the ball out of their own half as St Endas piled on the pressure and began to find their range from play and placed balls. With only a couple of minutes to go, St Brigids found themselves 2 points down, having failed to score in the second half. Cometh the hour, cometh the man as the inspirational Paul Bradley drove forward under intense pressure to fire over a succession of late points to seal victory by the bare minimum. His example lifted the rest of the team who looked to be faltering under the St Enda’s onslaught.
After a short rest, St Brigids took on a confident looking St Johns. The St Johns ploy of directing a succession of kickouts to their tall midfielder totally misfired as Ben Doherty produced a remarkable performance of man-marking and ball-winning to dominate the midfield exchanges. This match was also notable for the foraging of Eoin Brown and the superb marksmanship of Patrick McKay who fired over 4 points in a 5 minute spell to put the game beyond St Johns. The tenancy of St Brigids in securing breaking ball, contributed to what was a more comprehensive victory than was expected.
St Brigids were now in control of the top division, but still had to defeat local rivals Bredagh in their final match. Bredagh started strongly as the St Brigids lads looked complacent, but scores soon flowed from James McKenna, and a notable long range point from Paul Bradley; as the foraging of the solid Calum Webb began to swing the game in St Brigids favour. In the second half, the whole team contributed to restricting Bredagh to a couple of points as St Brigids Ogs ran up a succession of impressive scores.
At the final whistle the whole St Brigids panel savoured what we hope will be the first of many successes for this group of talented players. Chairman Paul Campbell proudly presented the cup to Paul Bradley and a delighted Conor Slevin, as the large crowd of supporters looked on.
The players and mentors were later hosted at sponsors “”Little Wing”” restaurant on the Lisburn Road, as all concerned reflected on a hugely enjoyable day.
A big thank you to all the many volunteers from our club who contributed to a very successful and memorable occasion.
