Éire Óg Greystones 0-8

Confey (Kildare) 0-6

In Aughrim

Éire Óg Greystones produced another heroic performance to come from behind to beat Confey from Kildare today and seal the AIB Intermediate Leinster Club Championship writes Alan O’Brien.

Kildare Champions Confey were quick out of the blocks today and raced into a 0-3 to no score lead against Éire Óg Greystones. The Wicklow champions took almost 20 minutes to open their account and when they did Confey moved swiftly down field to cancel out the home sides score. Confey had a strong wind but were failing to capitalise on their possession and when Billy Cuddihy fired over a long range curling effort the teams were only separated by 0-2 with the ref calling time on the first half.

Conditions underfoot were heavy and Éire Óg Greystones youthful line up were quicker to the ball right from the throw in the second half. Gino Fuisciardi reduced the arrears to the minimum with the first score of the second half before a Confey free restored the 0-2 advantage for the visitors. Despite the quality of the opposition I have seen enough of Éire Óg Greystones to know that the best was yet to come and when Darren Haydens pass found Daniel Webb who pointed one couldn’t help but feel something special was about to unfold.

Webb sparked the home support into life with a fine score to level the game just before the turning point of the tie. Robert Mac Mahon was shown a straight red card for a high tackle by Meath official Briain Mac Gough. Darren Hayden flicked the switch after that and pointed two wonderful scores to edge Éire Óg Greystones into the lead.

As time ran down Gino had the chance to put the gloss on the scoreline but his attempted lob came back off the cross bar. The final effort was soon forgotten however as the man in the middle called for the ball to spark joyous scenes of celebration from the blue and white Éire Óg Greystones army.

Man of the match: Stick a pin in the programme (Éire Óg Greystones page!!)

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Kilmacanogue 0-10

Rathnew 0-8

Venue: Rathnew

Ref: Pat Hickey

Kilmacanogue ‘Burned the Boats’ and in the process returned to the village with the Johnny Fox Cup after defeating Rathnew to win Division 3 of the Football League writes Alan O’Brien

I was told a story today that warmed my heart even on the coldest day. ‘Burn the Boats’ is a legend that has it that when Cortes (a Spanish Explorer) landed in Mexico in the 1500s, he ordered his men to burn the ships that had brought them there to remove the possibility of doing anything other than going forward into the unknown. Today Kilmacanogue ventured into Rathnew without history on their side and left with a cup that was etched into the heart of the sugarloaf and those who live around it.

A week after the game was due to throw in Kilmacanogue and Rathnew finally done battle for the Division 3 title today in cold and wet conditions. The visitors (Kilmac) were on top from the start and had ran into a 0-6 to 0-4 lead by half time.

The second half in this game was a credit to both teams. Despite the poor conditions each team tried to play football with attack followed by attack. Rathnew drew level with a free and the momentum seemed to be with the green and red. However Kilmac dug deep to showcase the heart of a lion and Christy Foxs pass found Kevin ‘Cap’ Molloy who fired the visitors into the lead. Young ‘Cap’ followed that score with the insurance point to secure the trophy and send the visiting support into a outpour of emotion.

Susan Fox has presented the Johnny Fox Cup fifteen times in honour of her late husband but today surrounded by family and friend Susan got to present the cup to Aaron Creavin with the young corner forward having the privilege of taking the cup home.

Johnny’s son Christy spoke before the presentation and remembered the gaels that have left us in recent times. Johnny had been speaking at a Rathnew Gaa dinner dance in 1995 when his life was tragically cut short but his legacy lives on and the emotion showed by all in attendance today demonstrated the positive effect he had on everyone he met.

The match was a credit to both teams who played the game in the finest spirit.

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Éire Óg Greystones (Wicklow) 2-11

St Bridgets (Offaly) 0-12

Aughrim 20/11/2011

Éire Óg Greystones produced one of the finest displays of football Aughrim has seen in recent times to win an epic semi final against St Bridgets of Offaly writes Alan O’Brien.

Both teams lined out in the jerseys of their respective Counties for this afternoons clash and one could have been forgiven for thinking that an Inter County match was being played out considering the quality on show. Éire Óg Greystones were the quickest out of the blocks with late inclusion to the team line up Daniel Webb splitting the posts to open the scoring. The Offaly champions were winning all the ball at midfield and were dangerous in the inside forward line. David Egan got them moving on the scoreboard before Ken Casey, Sean Casey and David Boland notched points to push the visitors into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead. Bridgets were attacking the town end goal and had the benefit of the wind. The Casey’s (Ken & Sean) were very sharp in the full forward line for Naomh Bhride  but Ken in the corner  was constantly coming back onto his right foot and Jack Tanner was able to tighten up as the half went on.  Egan fired over two more frees with Darren Hayden responding to reduce arrears to 0-4 at half time. Éire Óg Greystones would have considered themselves lucky to have only gone in 0-6 to 0-2 down at the interval with Chester Kelly responsible for two great covering blocks that could have cost the home side goals.

In hindsight the first half only served as the opening act to a classic drama which was about to enfold in the County Grounds. Hayden’s opening point of the second half was followed by a goal from Karl Manahan who sent the small Éire Óg Greystones support into a hysteria as the team pulled level despite playing second fiddle up to that point. Bridgets hit the next two points with Egan again on hand to take advantage of a placed ball. Éire Óg Greystones were growing in belief however and although they were still under par at midfield and in arrears on the scoreboard they were bursting into challenges ten foot tall and full of belief. Hayden was on fire and reduced arrears with a free before booming over a huge effort to tie up the match. Daniel Wood on as a first half sub pointed a free before Liam Fox in the Bridgets goal misjudged a bouncing ball which came back off the post. Billy Cuddihy tried to score for Éire Óg Greystones but the visitors cleared the danger. Casey levelled the match again for Bridgets but Conor Daly who had joined the party from the sub bench pushed the Wicklow team back into a slender lead with full time approaching. Thomas Gbelovevia came through a couple of challenges to get a sight of goal as the clock ticked down but instead of kicking the ball dead he opted for a dangerous hand pass that was intercepted by Alan Kennedy for Bridgets. The travelling support urged their charges forward and that support was rewarded when the Offaly champions pulled level with just minutes remaining. The game was on a knife edge for the last few seconds and Bridgets could have stolen it but in the end the scores were level when the referee called for the ball to send the tie to extra time.

The second half was as good as it has got in Aughrim this year with two teams intent on playing the game in the right spirit. Extra time was to be no different with both teams flying into challenges as the energy sapped from their legs with the heavy pitch. Bridgets took the lead in extra time just before the Darren Hayden show started. The Éire Óg Greystones centre forward levelled the match with a free before Karl Manahan struck his second goal of the game to open daylight between the teams for the first time in 40 minutes. Hayden lashed over another couple of points with the second effort from the outside of his boot worth the entrance fee alone. Bridgets full forward Sean Casey tore his hamstring which held up the game for a couple of minutes (we wish Sean a speedy recovery) and when the game resumed Billy Norman in the Éire Óg Greystones goal was called upon to make a great save to keep the home teams advantage. The stage was cleared once again for Darren Hayden to bring down the curtain with another point to seal an epic win and see Éire Óg Greystones into the AIB Leinster Intermediate Final where Confey (Kildare) will be waiting.

Man of the match: Darren Hayden – scored 0-8.

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St Mary’s 2-5

Rathnew 0-10

Referee: Ciaran Kenny (Tinahely)

St. Mary’s held off a spirited second half performance from holders Rathnew as they lifted their first Senior Football Championship in Aughrim this afternoon writes Alan O’Brien.

Keith Byrne was a late addition to the St. Marys team in place of Gary Murphy and Enan Glynn was listed ahead of Chris Healy for Rathnew just before throw in. St Marys had the benefit of a strong wind blowing into the scoreboard end that dominated the Junior match before the main event. The opening exchanges were keenly contested but nobody could make an impact on the scoreboard. Marys were first to miss and then Tommy Gill was guilty of wasting an opportunity when he fired wide from 20 yards. The darling of Wicklow football was showing his class as usual and it was Leighton Glynn who finally got the scoreboard going with the opening point for Rathnew after 12 minutes. St Marys were enjoying a lot of the ball and soon had a score of their own when Paddy Byrne fired home a goal to spark the contest into life. Jackman who was playing very well at midfield fired wide for St Mary’s as it appeared they would not get the scores to reward their dominance all over the pitch. A couple of debatable challenges followed with Enan Glynn and then Damian Power (high tackle) perhaps lucky that referee Kenny was not card happy and let both players away with the minimum sanctions. Paddy Byrne knocked over a free and then followed that with his second goal of the game as the amalgamated clubs from Coolkenno and Shillelagh pushed themselves into a 2-1 to 0-1 lead. Gill got in on goal at the other end but took a point when perhaps a goal was on. Keith Byrne took up the fight next and pushed over a huge point from an acute angle after St. Marys had countered with speed and precision. Tommy Gill (free) and Eamon Rossiter traded scores to leave the half time score St. Marys 2-3 Rathnew 0-3 with the village facing an uphill battle to regain their crown.

At half time over the cup of tea I reminded anyone that would listen to me that Rathnew wouldn’t be known for lying down and how right that would prove to be. The Champions set about the second half with a purpose that was missing in the first half. Leighton Glynn got the show on the road as the red and green attacked in waves. The pressure on St Marys was only relieved when David Cullen was on the receiving of a very strong challenge from Stephen Byrne with the St Marys corner forward requiring extensive treatment and a stretcher to remove him from the field. (We wish David well and it appeared to be an arm injury after the game so hopefully he is fine).

Rathnew continued where they left off and a Tommy Gill point was followed by 0-2 from Leighton Glynn before Gill was on hand again to slot over a free and reduce the arrears to a single point. Paddy Byrne pointed for St Mary’s only to see Mark Doyle fire over (‘45) to leave just a single point in the game again. Leighton Glynn got on the ball again and the crowd drew breath as the dynamic corner forward made a dash for goal but he missed the effort and St. Marys breathed a sigh of relief. Declan Nolan lashed over a great point for St Mary’s with time just about up to extend the cushion to 0-2 but as expected the fourth official indicated seven minutes of additional time. James Stafford and Keith Byrne both seen red for an off the ball clash and it was Rathnew to strike next with Leighton Glynn scoring a great point to set up the finale. Rathnew were camping in the St Marys half and Steven Canavan could have levelled but missed and St. Marys broke and won a free that should have settled the match. However Paddy Byrne’s nervous free dropped short and Rathnew broke again. The men from Shillelagh and Coolkenno were not to be denied however and some die hard defending finally got them to the final whistle as they won a classic by the tightest margin.

Man of the match was given to Eamon Rossiter. Congrats to Eamon. From my position I think Paddy Byrne or Don Jackman would also have been worthy winners of the accolade.

Well done St. Marys on your first Senior County Championship. Rathnew will compete for the Leinster title as St Marys are viewed as a team and not a club so good luck to Rathnew in the Leinster Championship.

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St Patricks 1-9

An Tochar 0-11

Referee: John O’Brien (Newcastle)

St Patricks fought back from a 0-9 to 1-1 half time deficit to beat An Tochar by a single point in today’s Swan Cup Final in Aughrim.

Junior B champions An Tochar looked on course to upset the odds and beat St Patricks at half time this afternoon but the old cliché of “a game of two halves” came true to ensure a tight finish went the way of the Wicklow town side as they added to the Junior A crown they won against Kilmacanogue.

A late first half penalty gave St. Patricks a lifeline as they struggled with the heavy ground and strong wind but they emerged for the second half a different team. With the wind in their sails they reeled An Tochar in before taking the lead with seven minutes to go. However they took their foot off the pedal and should have paid for it deep into injury time as Robert Eyre settled himself and shot to level the match from twenty five yards. However the ball dropped wide and with the wave of the umpires arms came the final whistle.

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St. Patricks Wicklow 1-13

Glenealy 2-5

Aughrim

Referee: John Keenan

St. Patricks recovered from losing a six point half time lead to eventually win the Intermediate Championship against Glenealy today in Aughrim writes Alan O’Brien.

This year’s Intermediate Championship always looked like giving us this final but it took 15 minutes for the game to spark into life. St. Pats were leading by a couple of points when the key score of the first half came in the last minute of the thirty with County star Andy O’Brien gathering in a ball and firing past Keith Snell to give the town a 1-6 to 0-3 half time lead.

Glenealy left their opponents waiting at half time but it was the village that were quick out of the blocks when the ball was thrown in. David Nolan fired the red army back into the game with Glenealy’s first goal and Alan Conyard followed that up to push Glenealy into the lead for the first time in the match. However that was as good as it got for Glenealy as the James Quirke show clicked into gear with the Waterford native firing over 0-4 in the next few minutes from distance to push St. Patricks into the lead once again.

Wayne Farrell hit an inspirational score as the clock ticked down and yet the Wicklow town side could not shake of their opponents with only 0-3 between the teams with five minutes left. Glenealy got a free on the stand side into the town end and young Gavin Weir who was excellent for Glenealy stood over the ball to reduced arrears. However the ball went wide and was quickly followed by a second wide from an even better position as the fight left Glenealy and St Pats tagged on another couple of points to put a gloss on the win.

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Rathnew 1-9

Aughrim 0-7

Rathnew won the Junior C Football Championship with a solid first half display doing the damage as they led 1-5 to 0-3 at half time. Aughrim were not as bad as the first half score appeared but they were not clinical in front of goal. Rathnew were winning the game when the Aughrim keeper was penalised for a foot block and Anthony Mernagh dispatched the penalty to put daylight between the teams.

The second half was a tighter affair but the men from the Rathnew were in control with a lead to protect and seen out the game to claim the title at the second attempt.

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Glenealy 1-8

Donard Glen 0-5

Ashford – 22/10/2011

Glenealy produced a confident display to dispatch Donard Glen and in the process seal their third trophy of the season at a rain soaked Ashford this afternoon writes Alan O’Brien.

The weather was particularly poor but that did not stop Glenealy and Donard Glen serving up a titanic battle for the Senior Camogie crown today. Laura Manley put the ladies from Glenealy into an early lead but Donard Glen fired over 0-2 from frees to push themselves in front.

In a closely contested first half a long ball fell to Patriece O’Gorman who broke onto the loose ball and fired a perfect ground stroke past the Donard stopper to put daylight between the teams. At half time Glenealy led by 1-3 to 0-4 with the wind behind Donard Glen for the second half.

Glenealy opened the scoring in the second half with Laura Manley keeping the scoreboard ticking over from dead balls. Donard were competing well and almost got a lifeline when a highball flew past the full back line and keeper but somehow Laura Manley cleared the ball over her head inside the square when running towards her own goal. The clearance was miraculous and spurred Glenealy on as they fired over 0-4 to Donard’s single point to win the Senior Championship and spark joyous celebrations.

County chairman David Murray presented Glenealy captain Vicky O’Gara with the trophy who called for three cheers….one for each cup they won this year!

Congratulations to Glenealy.

Wicklow League, Leinster League and Wicklow Senior Championship winners 2011!!

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Semi Final Replay

Rathnew 0-8

St. Patricks 0-7

After Extra Time

Aughrim – 22/10/2011

Referee: D Peppard

Rathnew won this war of attrition to book a Senior Football final date with St Mary’s in dreadful weather conditions this afternoon writes Alan O’Brien.

Both teams will have felt they should have won the first game six days ago but it was destination Aughrim today to decide who would book the final berth at the second time of asking. The rain belted down on a dark dreary day for football. St Patricks named Paul Earls in the side despite losing his early to an injury last week and that decision looked an unwise one when the County star was called ashore early in this tie. Like last week it was the Wicklow town side that flew from the blocks with Darragh O’Sullivan impressing at full forward. Gail Dunne’s men were rampant and led by 0-4 to no score after 15 minutes with a strong showing from the backline keeping Rathnew out.

Handling conditions were terrible with both sets of players struggling in the rain. Just staying up on their feet was a challenge and with the match going at 100mph the referee had his work cut out to adjudicate on a number of collisions. When Rathnew did finally score they followed it quickly with another white flag to half arrears. Peppard played four minutes of additional time given the number of stoppages in the first half but neither team added a score and at half time it was St. Patricks 0-4 to Rathnew’s 0-2.

The rain continued to pour from the sky which stripped this match of the quality moments both these teams can produce. St. Patricks were again guilty of barren spells without a score in this game but they did open the scoring in the second half to give them a 0-3 cushion. The rollercoaster of a game was being felt in the terraces with both sets of fans very vocal with their encouragement and opinions. Leighton Glynn started to come into the game and scored a free to reduce arrears before the Village struck again to reduce the deficit to the minimum. With time ticking away Australia bound Glynn weaved through the St. Pats defence once again and like last week levelled the game. Both teams went in search of a winner and Rathnew were incensed when they felt they should have had a late free in but the referee chose to throw the ball up. In fairness to the man in the middle I was right beside the incident and the green and red were looking for a free for the St Pats defender lying on the ball but the defender kept his body off the ball even though he was over it. A throw ball was the fairest option! The ball was cleared and the crowd settled in for extra time.

Rathnew had the wind at their backs for the first half of extra time. Veteran corner forward Tommy Gill raced onto a ball in the corner forward position and after gathering the ball in Gill moved away from goal and then shot over his shoulder with his back to the town end goal. The ball sailed high and straight over the black spot to spark jubilant scenes in the covered stand where the majority of Rathnew fans were located. Rathnew added another score to push their lead to 0-2 which given the pattern of the game was a big lead. St Patricks did outscore Rathnew 0-2 to 0-1 in the second half of extra time but that wasn’t enough and the reigning champions were back in the County Final.

The County Final will now take place on the 13^th of November to give Leighton a chance to represent Ireland in Australia.

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The Minor hurlers are slipping in quietly under the radar in their Minor “A” Championship bid. They have played out their group stage, registering a big win against St Pats, draws against Carnew and Bray and a loss to Glenealy. They have performed very well in all of the games. This is a tough competition. We reached the final in 2007 and the team have the potential to repeat that achievement. On Saturday last we hosted Glenealy in Greystones under lights. We lost on a scoreline of 3-7 to 0-8. Goals either side of half time left the side with a mountain to climb. We trailed by 2-5 to 0-5 at the break. Shane Nolan was outstanding in the middle of the park but the man of the match award has to go to Andrew Walsh playing at full-back. He gave a great display of catching and reading of difficult angles which would be impressive in daylight but which is made particularly difficult at night when the flight of the ball can be lost in the floodlights. He regularly cleared his lines under the severest pressure.

Intermediate hurling.

Facing into a stiff breeze the Intermediate hurlers put down an early marker with a stunning goal from wing-forward Peter Keane in their game against Carnew last week in the championship/league. Scoring was low due to the conditions. Daniel Salmon scored two goals from the full-forward position to leave us with a healthy lead going in for the break. His second goal on 27 minutes was the score of the game. Billy Cuddihy shipped a heavy challenge in the middle of the field from two Carnew men. Lesser men would have been seeing stars and the magic water bottle would have been called for. Not so the big man, who regained his feet, threw back his ample shoulders and unleashed a massive puck into the large parallelogram. Salmon collected and rewarded Billy’s tenacity. Thus, it was 3-01 to 0-5 at half time.

Ger White may have been playing at left corner- back but he seemed to be all over the place in giving a man of the match performance. He capped a great night with a point in the fifth minute of the second half. The team played with a wild abandon in that half. There was a confidence amongst the forwards that we haven’t seen all year. At long last we saw some quality point taking from long distance as we scored 9 unanswered points, the pick of the bunch being a great strike from wide on the right sideline 50 metres out by Gino Fusciardi. There was a variety of scorers as the players showed that they know where the goalposts are on their home pitch. Carnew had the final say with a point to leave the final score at 3-10 to 0-6 in favour of Greystones. The scorers were Daniel Salmon 2-0, Billy Cuddihy 0-4, Peter Keane 1-0, Gino Fusciardi 0-2, Stephen Kelly, Ciaran Goff, Ger White and Michael Walsh 0-1 each.

Wedding congrats:

Hearty congratulations are extended to Kevin Keyes and Lorraine Murphy who were married recently. A great day was had by all at the reception in the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan. Lorraine is a Bohernabreena woman with her heart set on a Dublin All-Ireland title this year. Kevin was a significant presence on our sideline over the last few years as we won Junior “B” and Minor “A” football titles. This year he is plying his trade with St Annes in Dublin. Lorraine has been a glamorous supporter of our teams over the years and was very noticeable in her pink polo shirt with the Eire Og Greystones crest.

Junior “A” football.

Whilst our whole management team were taking a welcome break at the wedding from the pressures of games, our Junior “A” team played Rathnew in a league game. A big thank you is extended to a unique management team that put the team out that Saturday. Three of our senior stars, club captain James Leonard, Jonny Barry and Darren Hayden were dipping their toes in the shark infested waters of the sideline. We are riding high at the top of the table. Rathnew however are in the Junior “A” championship semi-final and are getting into the winning groove as only Rathnew can. Their pre-match talk outlined the importance of getting the heads on right and approaching the game with the right attitude. We gave them a speedy lesson in the first half but did not capitalise on our possession with a series of wides. We trailed by two points at half-time.

The Rathnew men left the field at half time for what must have been a stern talk. They came out in the second half and fought for every blade of grass. They ran out comfortable winners in the end. Ronan Hanaway at full back and John Deeney at centre-back gave stunning performances for our team, which may just have a few in loftier places looking nervously over their shoulders. There was also a great display from Minor captain Daniel Keane who has hit a purple streak lately. Jamie Mc Donald gave an honest hour and registered some good scores.

Bon voyage.

Every week someone seems to be leaving our shores. The latest export is ace hurler and footballer Leon Browne. He bid farewell last week as he headed off to Australia for a year. He will be sorely missed by our hurlers. He was part of the Wicklow Senior Hurlers that won promotion to Division 2 of the National Hurling League and played in the Christy Ring Final in Croke Park this year. He is a marksman of great note. I’m sure there’ll be a great sigh of relief around Glenealy when they hear this news.

Leon was the captain of the first ever major underage success for the contemporary Éire Óg Greystones club since the amalgamation of the two clubs in 1984. He led the club to an under 16 ‘A’ championship in football in 2004. Anyone that was there that day will never forget his articulate and intelligent acceptance speech.

He is also a Rugby player of great prowess and featured at centre on the Pres Bray team that reached the Leinster Schools Junior Cup final in Donnybrook a few years back, the first for the school in a long time. We wish him all the best in his adventures and hopefully we’ll see him back in the Greystones colours.

Junior C football.

Our Junior “C” footballers bowed out of their championship on Sunday in Arklow. They lost out to Aughrim on a scoreline of 3-7 to 0-8. Three second half goals put paid to our hopes. We led at half time 0-5 to 0-3. There was nothing between the teams except a bit of cuteness up front by that wily Aughrim veteran Eugene O’Brien who manufactured a bit of space to create the goal scoring chances. Our boys scored the final three points of the game which was a fitting testament to their spirit and battling qualities. There were good performances from Lee Mc Donald and Gary Elliott in the middle of the field. Kristin Flynn and Luke Bradley did well at the back whilst Daniel Salmon worked hard in the full forward position. Well done to all and many thanks to managers Keith Monaghan and Barry O’Reilly for all their hard work during the season. The side was captained on the day by Gary Elliott.

Intermediate football.

Don’t forget the big game this coming weekend. Eire Og Greystones v Avondale in the Intermediate Football Championship semi-final this coming Saturday in Aughrim at 5.45 p.m. Come along and support the team.