B Feile – preliminary round
In wet and bitterly cold conditions Brid Og u14s had their first competitive outing of the year when they faced Gort na Mona in the preliminary round of the B Feile. With no previous exposure to the opposition the team headed to Enright Park pretty much in the dark with regard to the quality of their opponents.
Having won the toss Brid Og elected to play with a strong wind at their back and playing “down the hill”. Right from the outset Brid Og set about their task and gained a strong grip on the game. While the lads dominated possession with Gort na Mona struggling to make it out of their half, they failed to translate this to scores with a number of early misses. Eventually the opening point arrived and was soon followed by a rasping shot to the Gorts net – but bizarrely the referee awarded a free out. However Brid Og were not be denied and soon rattled off a goal and point to take a commanding lead. On a rare sortie out of their half, Gorts recorded their opening score when a 30-meter free was converted. Brid Og finished the first half in style with a second goal to leave the half-time score 2-2 to 0-1.
As the second period got underway the initial apprehension that perhaps sufficient scores were not recorded with the aid of the breeze were quickly dispelled when within the five minutes Brid Og rattled off a goal and a point. It was clear from that point onwards the lads were not going to relinquish their stranglehold on the game – despite the extreme cold conditions where the players struggled to grip the hurl. While Gorts did manage a number of attacks they were unable to find the target with any regularity – a single point was all they recorded for 15 minutes of the second period. Brid Og finished the game as a competition with a further goal and point, before Gort responded with a goal of their own in the final minute.
Final score Gort na Mona 1-2 Brid Og 4-4
This was a great performance by Brid Og given the very limited amount of outdoor hurling this year. Credit however must go to both teams for performing on a day when all hands were blue with cold and even gripping a hurl was a feat in itself!
Brid Og: Brendan Murray-Lopez Ciaran Crawford Connla McCarthy Conor Erskine Ewan Rush James Ferguson John Toner Mark Hamill Niall Agnew Peter Heaney Peter Henvey Phelim Lennon Rory Brolly Ruairi Lynch Thomas McCarney Tom Dunford.
A special mention to u12’s Connla, Thomas & Brendan who all played a part in securing the victory.
Brid Og now progress to the South Antrim semi-final and play Lamh Dhearg – 3 pm at Musgrave on Saturday 16th March.
