Austin Stacks GAA Club Juvenile News

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Austin Stacks CrestFAOI 6: (i) Football on Sunday morning at 11am. (ii) Our evening Under 6 football sessions will continue at 5.45pm on Thursday i bPáirc Uí Chonghaile.

FAOI 8/9/10: Diaries at the ready! The band hits the road! Football fun for all in the weeks ahead!! Ar aghaidh linn, mar sin!

(a) Training will take place this Thursday at 5.45pm in preparation for next SUNDAY’s (19th July) Milltown Big Under10 Tournament. (Please be there at 10.45am at the latest. Contact Liam on 087 6189655 re lifts).

(b) On Saturday 25th our Under 8s and our Under 10s will attend the annual John Mitchel Club Tournament.

(c) On Saturday August 22nd we’ll have a go at a 32-team-tournament (footballers from all over Ireland!) in Celbridge, Co Kildare. We’ll travel by bus…turas lae…games for everyone…an exciting excursion!

(d) On Saturday September 6th we’ll be part of the St Finbarr Club Under 9 Tournament in Cork. Big names, big clubs will be there: Nemo Rangers, Douglas, the St Finbarr Club, teams from Dublin and Galway and…and The Boys from The Top of The Rock (ní nach ionadh!). We’ll go by bus…day trip…for Under 9s ONLY…we’ll have a ball!

(e) ‘Well done’ to all involved in the organizing of the Go Games over the last number of weeks. With the Go Games now over, training now will run consistently on Thursdays @ 5:45pm in Connolly Park and on Sundays @ 11am in Caherslee.

FAOI 12/13: (i) Although there is a break in Under 12 football, the action hasn’t stopped! We have a few boys on the Under 13A team, more on the Under 13B team and an Under 11 Town Board Tournament starting very soon and, so, dá bhrí sin, the season’s training activities will continue every Tuesday and Thursday in Caherslee. Peil gan stad, gan staonadh!

(ii) Fixtures ~ Kelliher’s Mills Under 13 League: (a) Division 1, Round 2…AdeS A v Na Gaeil at 6pm on Thursday 16th in Killeen. Round 3 will be played on Thursday 23rd. (b) Division 2, Round3…AdeS B v St. Pats at 6pm on Thursday 16th (c) We’ve a bye in Round 4.

FAOI 14: It has been a busy 2 weeks since our return from Féile na nÓg…Under 14A and U14B Central Leagues, Under 13 Town League games and the 3rd annual John Egan Tournament. Imirt gan sos, gan bhriseadh!

(a) The 14As had a hard-fought win in Annascaul in Division 1 of the Central League. The home team was waiting in the ‘long grass’ for our depleted brigade (post Féile holidays, injuries and the Bs playing the same night). The As, however, produced one of their best performances of the year and won…3-8 to 4-11. Their next game (Round 2) will be v Churchill on Monday in Connolly Park.

(b) The Bs, all under 12s and 13s, had to play away (our request to reschedule turned down) v Laune Rangers on Saturday (4th) against a very strong Killorglin team. We were well beaten but, in true Rock fashion, never gave up!

We played again on the Monday in Connolly Park against the John Mitchel Club but, faraor géar, without our 14 year olds we just couldn’t compete against the bigger boys from the ‘Yellow Road’ who have some fine footballers among their ranks.

(c) The Under 13 Town League kicked off in the middle of all this action with an away game on Thursday 9th in Ballymac. After a tight first half the teams retired at halftime with 0-4 each but we had wasted three glorious opportunities for golden goals.

However, a much better second half display, including two James Fernane goals and another by Greg Scanlon, after good work by Cian Purcell, saw us win with a bit to spare. Mervyn Shalemba also kicked over a beauty of a 45′.

Ballymac: 1-8; AdeS: 3-10. Round 2 will take place on Thursday with an away game v Na Gaeil ag a 6 a chlog i gCillín.

(d) The 3rd annual John Egan Tournament took place at four venues on Friday/Saturday last.

Teams come from far and near…South London, Sneem, Sligo, Lios Póil, Carlow, Naomh Seanán, Galway, Westmeath, etc. We were based in Caherslee and played three group games v West Sligo (our hosts for the weekend; we defeated them in the Division 1 final in 2013), St Senans and Caulry (near Athlone).

Without four of the under 14 Féile starting team (laethanta saoire nó gortuithe) we might have struggled but these Rockites work and play for each other! Sea, we had three wins

(i) AdeS: 4-13; St Senans: 1-1; (ii) AdeS: 1-13; Caulry: 4-2; (iii) AdeS: 5-8; West Sligo: 1-11.

We qualified for the Division 1 semi-final against none other than Abhainn a’Scáil/Lios Póil against whom we had played four days earlier in the Central League.

At halftime the sides were deadlocked and in a tense second fifteen minutes (an dara leath) a Daniel O’Rourke goal (ardfhear, a Dhónail!) was all that separated the sides at the final whistle.

We were in our second John Egan final in two years!

In the final in Fitzgerald Stadium, on Saturday, our Rockies were pitted against Claregalway who were the best of the group that contained Fenagh (Carlow) a team that, like ourselves, had reached the Féile ’14 quarter finals. (Remember that goal in the Féile na nÓg quarter final? See Dave’s Diary in our Juvenile Notes!)

Dúshlán mór eile…an exciting challenge for us! Conor Myers pointed straight from the throw-in.

However, in their very first attack the Galway boys broke upfield and (some slack marking!!) David Oba was beaten! That was to be the only score for Claregalway in the first half! We witnessed some fantastic defending and saw great points by Daniel O’Rourke and Conor Myers (2) and a fine finish to the Galway net by Joe Bastible. Bhíomar chun tosaigh…1-4 in aghaidh 1-0.

In the second half the Galwegians come at us in waves but a pointed free was cancelled out by another Daniel O’Rourke white flag.

A point three minutes from time from Claregalway had the game on a knife edge with just a goal between. Then a ball broke to the Galway corner forward inside the 13 metre line and it seemed that we were in another extra time final but David Oba was off his line like a bat out of hell and brilliantly smothered the shot.

With time almost up a rare Rock break inside the Galway 21’ saw Mervyn Shalemba goal (after their ‘keeper had saved a first attempt) to finish the game in style and put caidhp an bháis on Galway ambitions.

Man-of-the-Match was a tough call with six or seven players in the mix but Joe Bastible gets the nod…he scored a vital goal and frequently dropped back into defence in that final ten minutes to mop up loose ball.

And this was a fifth final so far this year for this age group…winning County League Division 2, Féile Chiarraí, Féile Náisiúnta, Comórtas Peile John Egan and losing one County League Division 10 by a mere 0-2!

This is some achievement…gaisce mór! We must mention Adam Curran whose will to win was so great that he cancelled his birthday party on Saturday so that he could play…some man…that’s the Black’n’Amber for you!!

Is Adam the only player to ever have had ‘Happy Birthday’ sung to him from the presentation stand? David Oba led the ‘choir’ after his acceptance speech.

For the record: Conor Myers has the distinction of being the only man in Ireland (in the world!) with two John Egan medals as he was also part of Geno’s winning team in 2013.

Foireann bhuacach na Carraige: David Oba (captaen), Luke Chester, Danny Draghici, Craig Teahan, David Burke, Daniel Breen, Eoghan Carroll, Adam Curran, Dara Barry-Walsh, Leon Shalemba, James Fernane, Daniel O’Rourke, Greg Scanlon, Jordan Barry, Conor Myers, Joe Bastible, Tom O’Farrell, Cian Purcell, Charlie Curran, Mervyn Shalemba.

FAOI 16: Next games: (i) AdeS A v Dr Crokes A at 7.30pm on Wednesday July 15th in Lewis Road; (ii) AdeS B v Kilcummin B at 7.30pm on Wednesday July 15th in Connolly Park.

CAMPA PEILE EILE: (i) Our own club summer football camp will take place from 4th to 8thAugust. Fáilte roimh chách!

(ii) Last week’s GAA Cúl Camp in Connolly Park was a great success. ‘Well done’ to all organizers and coaches and players and supportive parents!

BEST WISHES: Best wishes to Rock footballer Sorcha Ní Luasaigh (Lucid) who will be taking part in the Comhrá Gaeilge (Faoi 13) competition in next weekend’s Fleá Cheoil na Mumhan in Nenagh. Guímid gach rath uirthi.

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