Primary 4/3 Games
Date: 24th May 2014
Thanks to Ciaran for compiling the report
Venue: Sarsfields
The Brig Og team took part in another week of the Primary 4 games played at host club Sarsfields. It was great to see big numbers again today with enough players for two teams and a few substitutes for each team. The teams were split between primary 4 and primary 3 players.
The primary 4 team faced host club Sarsfields in their first game. Until now these games had been ground based hurling, but the coaches agreed to play the games as full rules, much to the delight of the players. The team hurled brilliantly in their first game and the game started with an early goal from Zack which quickly steadied any nerves. This was followed by scores from Jack, James and Mel who all managed to break through the Sarsfields defence. There was some great defensive play from Donnacha, Darragh, Rory, Niall and Saoirse who continually broke down the Sarsfields forwards. The game ended Brid Og 2-2 – Sarsfields 0-2.
The second game of the day was against St Johns. The players were somewhat apprehensive about this game but with some encouragement from the mentors and parents the team got off to a flyer with an early point. It was great to see the confidence of the players develop during this game against a very skilful opponent and this encouraged our players to make use of their handpassing and short passing skills. Skills which have been the focus of recent training sessions. Brid Og remained in front for most of the game until a quickly taken free enabled St Johns to draw level. The game finished 0-1 to 0-1.
The last game of the day took place on a makeshift pitch where we were to face Davitts. The game was dominated by Brid Og from start to finish and the lifting and passing skills of this young team caught our opponents by surprise. This provided the opportunity to continually rotate players during the game and Brid Og ran out comfortable winners.
Thanks to the players for their effort today, thanks to the parents for travelling to the games and for their encouragement and support. Thanks to Kieran for organising the games and Declan and the Sarsfields Club for hosting the games. Also thanks to Colum for helping with the team.
The P3 team at the South Antrim Go Games had another very successful day. The games were all full rules and it was great to see many young Brid Og players picking the ball up and striking the sliotar in the air.
There were 8 children playing for the team and they got off to a flyer in their first match against Sarsfields. Brid Og scored 3 goals early in the first half through Techin, Oisin and Liam. After this the game became more of a battle for possession and although the Ogs continued to dominate there was no further score. Adam and James protected Darragh in goals and the Ogs net was never under any serious threat.
The next game was against St Enda’s and as St Enda’s only had 1 team the younger Ogs were facing older opposition. Our opponents only had 7 players, but Joe made my job a lot easier by volunteering to be the substitute. St Enda’s had a couple of players who could lift the ball and they had a number of chances. Tetchin made some good saves but St Enda’s did get some reward when they scored a point. Up until this point St Enda’s had done most of the pressing but Brid Og worked the ball up the field and Joe, who had come on as sub, bundled the ball into the net for the winning score. Maybe Joe had a masterplan to keep himself fresh on the sideline for the later part of the match.
The third and final game was against the 2nd team from St John’s and all 8 players got to play. This was a physical battle with the Ogs and the Johnnies fighting to try and get possession of the sliotar. Chances were few and the game looked like ending scoreless until Liam made a break from midfield. As he neared goal the keeper held him up with good tackling and although he was unable to get the ball across the line, James followed up to strike the sliotar to the net. Liam did manage to get a goal later though when he managed to force the ball over the line after a melee in front of the goals.
So, the P3s followed up their 100% record from the Go Games of two weeks ago with straight wins again.
Thanks to dads, Niall and Jimmy, on the sidelines for helping to get the subs on and off when I was refereeing
Date: 25/05/14
Venue: P6 Games Falls Park
Thanks to Gavin for compiling the report
Our P6 hurlers took part in another week of the games at Falls Park. For once the rain stayed away and temperatures held up, resulting in much more pleasant conditions than of late.
On the day 16 players turned out. This was fantastic to see but would make it difficult for everyone to get some game time. After quick consultation with the organisers it was agreed that Brid Og would field a second team at the event.
Our first game was against Loch Mor. The Brid Og team had suffered a heavy defeat to this team a few weeks previous and this was foremost in the mind of the mentors and players. A quick huddle with the players was used to dispel this apprehension and the game began. The game was refereed by a Loch Mor mentor and it must be said that this was done very fairly in a tough and physical game. From the outset the game was a white knuckle ride which did not do much for the blood pressure of the mentors. The Loch Mor men marked tightly and our players struggled to break free. Young Niall D had a fantastic game in mid field and tortured the Loch Mor mid field and backs. At the end of the first half we had edged ahead with a point. During the break the players were reminded that their opponents would come out fighting and that they did. The second half was played at break neck speed which saw Loch Mor equalise before the Brid Og team responded to edge ahead. The game finished Brid Og 0-2 – Loch Mor 0-1.
Our second game was against St Pauls and the Bird Og team dominated the first half of this game scoring 3 points. The St Pauls frontline could not penetrate the Brid Og defence and at half time the scoreboard read Brid Og 0-3 St Pauls 0-0. With 16 players present St Pauls ran out virtually a new team in the second half, all with fresh legs. This quickly showed as the Bird Og panel struggled to keep pace with the fresh legs. The players rallied and fought hard to defend their scoreline, however St Pauls managed to score a late goal which brought the scores level. The second half of the game was played well beyond the 7 minute time but the Brid Og players held on and managed to finish with a draw.
At this point players were rotated between the 2 Brid Og teams. The third game was against Sarsfields. At this stage the Bird Og team were truly exhausted and entered the game with the fuel warning light on. The Sarsfields team contained some rather large and skilful players and they tormented the Brid Og back line throughout the game. The Brid Og team fought hard and tried their best throughout but Sarsfields ended the day with a win.
In the other side of the fixture list a young Brid Og team came up against Sarsfields in their first game. The first half was a one-sided affair with Sarsfields dominating initially and brought great defensive displays from Caelem, Adam and Daniel. In the second half, Brid Og pressed the Sarsfield defence, Katie and Michael making scoring chances but Sarsfields held out.
The second game against O’Donnell’s was a more balanced match. Brian covered the entire pitch, working hard defend and make chances for Loracn and Faith in forwards. In the end O’D’s won through by a goal
The final match was against the Loch Mor team again. This was another very competitive match with a few fresh legs added in. Niall M, Conlon and David were introduced and worked hard throughout. Adam in goals was very effective at keeping the Loch Mor attack out but couldn’t stop the points. In the second half, David broke away to score a goal but we couldn’t get the final score which would have brought us level on the day. For some of the players this was their first opportunity to get game time and to play competitive matches and credit must go to all our players who rose to the occasion.
It was fantastic to see so many players turn out today and to see them gel and perform as a team. Thanks to all the players (all of whom should sleep well tonight) and to the parents for travelling and supporting the team. Thanks to John and Tara for helping out with the team. Finally thanks to Kieran and Michael for organising the games.
Brid Og Panel: Zack, Michael, Eoghan, Faith, Katie, Niall D, Gerard, Adam, Conlon, Pearse, Lorcan, Brian, David, Daniel, Niall M and Caelem.
