U12s do the club proud!

Over the course of the weekend St Brigids U12 squad won the O’Donnell Cup, beating Rossa in the final, 3.5 to 1.6 on Friday night. Following that win the Div 2 squad made the short journey to St Teresa’s to take part in the Jim McLaughlin tournament, named after a stalwart of the Glen Road club who was killed some twenty years ago at a young age. Competition was stiff for the St Brigids boys who were up against ‘A’ teams in every match they played, and our fellas arrived home with heads held high and a medal they can be proud of.

In our first group game we faced Fanad Gaels of Donegal. The visitors were too strong overall and while our defence, with Tom Morrissey in goals and Ryan Austin, Ruari McDonnell and Daniel Foster held out for long periods, the Donegal men mirrored their county stars by getting the scores that mattered. We were competitive in the game and a Michael Canavan goal helped keep St Brigids in the game. Rory Brolly added a goal and a point, with John Higgins, Paddy McAllister and Patrick Doran all playing a big part in the game.

Final score Fanad Gaels 3.3 St Brigids 2.1

Next up we faced the hosts and while Jack McGurk brought a great save out of the St Teresa’s keeper early on, the Glen Road men took a half time lead of 2.2 to 1.0, with our goal coming from Rory Brolly. Our second half performance was terrific, with Ruari McDonnell now in goals, and Ryan and Daniel very strong in defence, now joined by Thomas McCarney. Patrick McKay was now beginning to perform in midfield, and Patrick McCann was makign great runs from defence. Another goal from Brolly, alongside one from Paddy McAllister who pounced on the re bound from Conor Slevin’s shot which rattled the crossbar, and a point from Conor meant we won 3.1 to 2.2

By now we had lost Daniel Foster who retired with a badly sprained thumb, and we did miss him for our third group game against the strongest team in the group, St Endas. The boys battled very bravely with Michael Canavan and John Higgins retaining possession up front. Our total of 1.1 in this game came from Conor Mulgrew whose opportunistic goal was followed by a long range point, but eventually we lost 4.1 to 1.1. However we had been competitive in all group games and that gave St Brigids confidence in a Shield semi-final v Sarsfields. It was the Paddies who made the early running and took a lead with a goal before we hit 3 successive points (Brolly, Mckay, McCann) to draw level at half time. The second half was a rout with well taken goals from McCann and Brolly and a fine long range point from Jack McGurk resulting in a 2.4 to 1.1 win.

Unfortunately the final was a game too far and despite goalmouth heroics from Thomas McCarney, and a determined effort throughout the field, St Paul’s won out 5.1 to 1.3.

A hugely enjoyable day and the tournament was a great way to draw the 2012 season to a close. Thanks to St Teresa’s for the invite and we certainly hope to be back next year.<br /

Tournament squad:

Patrick Doran

Paddy McAllister

Tom Morrissey

Patrick McCann

Thomas McCarney

Ruari McDonnell

Michael Canavan

Jack McGurk

Daniel Foster

Ryan Austin

Conor Mulgrew