This match report won’t name a ‘man of the match’ or pick out any individuals for their own star performances, because the reality is that 20 young St Brigids players gave everything they had this evening in losing out to Gort na Mona in the U12 B championship. As the only club with a team in both U12 championships this squad was facing the Gorts ‘first 15′ but there was no evident gulf as the two teams went toe to toe in an entertaining and high quality game.
Gort Na Mona were the hosts and got off to a more certain start, with 1-2 on the board before St Brigids really clicked into gear. Our first score was a goal from Patrick McKay, who put in a huge effort on the night, and that was quickly followed by a second, expertly taken 3 pointer from Ronan Agnew. That gave the visitors the momentum and possession won from the hard work of midfielders Daniel Foster and Eoin Mitchell, aided by full forward Tom Morrissey was turned into two points from McKay and Conor Mulgrew, who was to retire from the game shortly after following an accidental blow to the face.
Playing on a full size pitch was a major step up for these young fellas and in our half forward line Marcus Lynch and Conor Slevin were playing an industrious game, tracking back while assisting the forwards. The St Brigids defence had tightened up by now and Ryan Austin, Zach Porter, Ruari McDonnell, Eunan Carlin, Patrick McCann and James McKenna were restricting the hosts to long range efforts. Unfortunately two of those were to pay off in quick succession and as half time approached Gort na Mona had regained the lead, despite two terrific saves from Thomas McCarney in goals. The deficit at the short whistle was 9 points, which left St Brigids chasing a big lead, up a hill and into a stiff breeze. All the ingredients were in place for a second half collapse. That didn’t happen.
Ronan Boyle, Michael Canavan and John Higgins had entered the fray and, after withstanding some intense pressure, they made their impact on the game. Boyle was helping turn defence into attack while upfront Canavan and Higgins combined for the goal of the game, finished expertly by John. This brought St Brigids to within 4 points. The pressure was now on the hosts and Paddy McAllister and Jack McGurk had an impact upon their introduction, but we found further scores too difficult to come by. Tom Morrissey was now in goals and he made a first class save, followed by another from Eoin Mitchell which kept the gap manageable and south Belfast hopes alive. However despite battling until literally the last second of the game, we couldn’t bridge the gap and eventually lost out 4.7 to 3.5.
The effort and commitment was unimpeachable, and even in defeat, this squad of St Brigids players are a credit to their club.
The game was played in an excellent spirit and we extend our thanks to hosts Gort Na Mona.
Team: Thomas McCarney James McKenna Ruari McDonnell Zach Porter Patrick McCann Ryan Austin Eunan Carlin Eoin Mitchell Daniel Foster Marcus Lynch Patrick McKay Connor Slevin Ronan Agnew Tom Morrissey Conor Mulgrew Jack McGurk Michael Canavan John Higgins Ronan Boyle Paddy McAllister
