Brid Og have entered the P6 hurling league organised by the Belfast City Council Parks and Leisure Department. The tournament has attracted fourteen teams from the Belfast area with games being played each Sunday morning for 10 weeks during April, May and June at the Fall’s Park venue.
The first games were scheduled on 7th April and saw Brid Og meeting O’Donnell’s, Glenavy and St Galls.
The first game against O’Donnell’s was O’D’s first competitive game at this level for a while. As expected we dominated the game from the start and got some great scores from Shane (2,1), Pearse H (3,0) and new recruit to these games Martin (1,0). Our defence of Adam, Oisin and Pearce S protected young Zack in nets with our opponents not getting a score.
The next game was against our old sparring partners Glenavy. As usual this was a great contest between two evenly matched teams and it is always a pleasure to field a team against them. The sliotar constantly rebounded up and down the pitch and like previous meeting, this game was settled by a free from Pearse H who scored a great goal from distance.
The team’s final game of the day was against St Gall’s and unfortunately the Og’s could not continue their fine winning run, as we were beaten by a very skilful team. The team competed very well but at the final whistle the Og’s had been defeated 1:3 (2- 65’s) to 0:0.
Week 2
On 14th April, Brid Og’s hurlers took part in the second set of games in the Belfast City Council P6 hurling league. This weekend the Og’s were drawn against Ardoyne , Gort Na Mona and St Agnes. At the end of the three games our hurlers had recorded another 3 victories and did not concede a single score against them. All the player’s positions were rotated and Shane was top scorer with points in all the games. It was also great to see our younger players Pearse H, Sophia and Zack scoring points and goals for the team. Pearce S also got on the score sheet with a well taken goal. It must also be mentioned that a successful team needs a strong back line and credit has to go to the great work rate from Gerard, Jack, Oisin, Pearce S and Shane who all put in a shift for the team.
Week 3
On Sunday 21st April, we were matched against the formidable challenge of Rossa, Pearse’s and Bredagh.
In our first game of the day against Rossa, our hurlers took time to come to terms with the well- drilled Rossa side, giving them a first half lead. Playing with the wind in the second half Brid Og got tighter to their opponents and Niall got a point for the team. However the damage had been done in the first half and Rossa came away with the victory.
Our second game was against North Belfast side Pearse’s. The young Pearse’s team competed throughout but it was the Brid Og team’s ability to take scores when the opportunity arose that was the difference between the teams at the end.
Our final game was against Bredagh and it was probably the best game of hurling this group of young hurlers have played so far this season. Once again the panel was rotated and straight from the throw in the Og’s hurled brilliantly with Niall and Shane combining to get several scores. Our midfielders were putting in a shift and it was great to see our players pressurising their opponents. In the second half we continued where we had left off in the first, with Jack, Shane and Pearce S covering large areas of the pitch. Conlan, Gerard and young Zack defended brilliantly in front of Oran although our opponents did get a consolation goal late in the game.
At the final whistle, Brid Og were the victors and have now 7 wins and 2 defeats in this series of games.
Thanks
Our sincere thanks to Tommy Rocks and Karl Stewart for organising and coordinating this very well run series of games. As usual our support from the side lines was vocal and a great encouragement to our players during these games.
Finally, the biggest acknowledgement must go to our players. Each week the player’s skills are improving and it is great to see the enthusiasm and effort they are putting into their hurling. It was also great to see their growing confidence in their own ability and they are now gelling into a very competitive hurling team. It is clear to see that indoor games that Brid Og have played during January, February and March have been a great benefit to our players. With games continuing each Sunday for the next seven weeks we have St John’s, St Enda’s, Sarsfields and St Paul’s on the horizon.
Juvenile hurling training continues on Thursdays at Woodlands, 7 to 8pm, and on Saturdays at Musgrave, 2 to 3.15pm.
Brid Og Panel
Adam, Conlan, David , Emily, Gerard, Jack, Luke, Martin, Niall, Oisin, Oran, Pearce S, Pearse H, Shane, Sophia and Zack
Finally, thanks to Darren for putting together the reports on the games.
