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Weekly Notes - 2nd August 2006There was a great crowd on hand in Newtown on Sunday for the Junior A Ladies final and they were not disappointed. They witnessed a game of good football, closely contested, full of endeavour, some great scores and with enough plots and subplots to fill a few Agatha Christie novels. Éire Óg had wind advantage in the 1st half and we camped in Kilcoole territory for most of the 1st quarter. Yet after all that time we had only 4 points to show on the scoreboard. Then disaster struck. Kilcoole moved the ball at pace out of the defence, worked it past our midfield to an unmarked forward who shot it to the net. That was only the start of our woes. In the ensuing period our girls were having difficulty coming to terms with the pace of the game and were making uncharacteristic errors in marking and ball-handling. Kilcoole capitalised. The ship steadied before half-time but the effort-deserving goal did not materialise and we went in at the break 9 points in arrears. Against the wind in the 2nd half. Éire Óg's case seemed to be hopeless. However a courageous and determined fightback had the margin down to 4 points with 10 minutes to go. Once more we were knocked back on our heels - a diving save by Ruth McElroy sent the ball to the feet of an inrushing forward who buried it in the back of the net. Great credit to our girls - they recovered well from this set-back and soon had the margin again at 4 points. An injury to Caoilfhionn Deeney as a result of a crude tackle as she bore down on the Kilcoole goal greatly reduced the effectiveness of our attack in the period towards the game's end when we were well in the ascendant.Laurie Ahern showed some wonderful touches of skill and crowned her efforts with a well-taken goal after the ball had twice hit the upright. In a game in which every Éire Óg player gave of her best, Louise Young, Caoilfhionn Deeney, Aisling Leonard and Niamh O'Connor are deserving of special mention. A disappointing outcome - but a trojan effort, what more could one ask? Beidh lá eile ag an bPaorach. The minors crossed The Gap on Wednesday to play St. Nicholas in the championship. The temperature reached an uncomfortable 34 degrees on the bus so a long journey was made longer by a need for the occasional stop to allow everyone to cool down. St. Nicholas must have fancied their chances at the sight of the dishevelled, lethargic and red-faced bunch of players that descended from the Éire Óg bus in Dunlavin. And indeed there was nothing in our 1st quarter's play that disturbed any notions of victory which St. Nicholas might have harboured - we were 0-4 to 0-1 behind at this stage. However, management refused to panic and confined themselves to a few strategic changes in positions. These had the desired result and, with the effects of the "journey from hell" wearing off, Éire Óg soon began to gain the upper hand and won with something to spare. With holidays making it difficult for clubs to field their best fifteens, it has been agreed to put back fixtures by a fortnight. The minors next game, against Emmets, is now, therefore, in the middle of August. The Intermediates play Dunlavin in a fate-determining championship match on Saturday evening - see fixtures for details. Back to the Junior B win over Donard/Glen in the championship. This was no empty victory as Donard/Glen were a team with credentials and were not without confidence of progressing to the next round. That they did not, was due to a fine team effort and the overall superior fitness of the Éire Óg squad - training with the Intermediates is certainly paying off. Derek Lynch and his magnificently fielding partner at centre-field, Oran Bambrick, were key to our win. Derek's point, 'swerved' in from 14 yards on the sideline, came at a vital point in the game and galvanised the Éire Óg effort. Seán Horan, tenacity itself, when moved to the half-back line did much to nullify the threat from Donard's most dangerous forward. Alan Keating and Dominic O'Brien defended well and John Coveney worked hard at centre-forward. Martin Healy scored the goal which us on the road to victory. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery go to Jamie Ward who received a serious knee injury in the Junior B game against Enniskerry. Jamie was a key member of this team. His loss will be sorely felt. The week-long V.H.I. Cúl hurling camp begins in the Gaelic field on Monday 14th August at 10am. - registration from 9.30. Late entries accepted. For further information and registration forms contact 2871223 or 2875522. The camp affords a wonderful opportunity for children from 8-13 years to become acquainted with arguably the world's greatest field game, a game which incorporates a wider range of skills than any other "stick" sport. Children delight in the challenge which mastering of these skills presents. |
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