Senior: Churchill ran out comfortable winners in this Round 3 tie in Division 5 of the County League, played in Churchill on Sunday afternoon.
The home side rushed into a 5 points to 1 lead early on with scores for Ivan Parker (2), Mikey Brennan, Micheal O’Brien and Oisin O’Brien, to a Donal O’Sullivan score for Kilgarvan. O’Sullivan added his second to reduce the deficit to three points. Micheal O’Brien registered two points in a row for Churchill, before Killian Fitzgerald found the net for the first goal of the game, following a lovely flick pass from Ger McCarthy.
It was all Churchill at this stage with Mikey Brennan, Cathal Rogers and Ivan Parker proving very effective around the middle of the field and Micheal O’Brien, Liam O’Donnell and Oisin O’Brien showing well in the forwards. For Kilgarvan, Gearoid Fennessy and Donal O’Sullivan were giving their all and in full forward Patrick O’Shea Kilgarvan had a willing runner.
However, they could not retain enough possession to really trouble Churchill. Churchill added three more points, before Liam O’Donnell slotted Churchill’s second goal finishing nicely with the inside of the boot following a great pass from Ger McCarthy.
Christopher Creedon (Kilgarvan) and Ger McCarthy exchanged points before the break, but at half time Churchill led by 13 points with a scoreline of 2-11 to 0-04.
Churchill continued from where they left off at the start of the second half with another Ger McCarthy point followed by a fine score for JJ Prior. Donal O’Sullivan replied for Kilgarvan, but it was only a temporary respite as Churchill emptied the bench to bring on fresh legs.
Ger McCarthy, starting his first game for Churchill in 2 years following injury, kicked over his third point of the afternoon and this was followed up with scores from Parker and Cathal Rogers.
At the other end of the field, full forward Patrick O’Shea and Churchill’s Gary Rolls were having a great battle, but there wasn’t enough quality ball into the final third for Kilgarvan to really challenge their hosts.
Donal O’Sullivan scored his fourth and Kilgarvan’s sixth with the score of the match on the run from a tight angle. Oisin O’Brien scored the last two points of the game for Churchill, and Eogan O’Brien in the Churchill goal produced a stunning save to deny Christopher Creedon what would have been a consolation score.
Churchill’s focus will now turn to the Junior Premier Semi-Final next weekend against Beaufort, while Kilgarvan have a local derby against Tuosist in the quarter final of the Novice Championship. Final score from Churchill Churchill 2-18; Kilgarvan 0-06.
Minor: Churchill made it 5 wins out of 5 in Division 3A of the County League with a 4-14 to 2-10 win over John Mitchels in Tralee on Friday evening. The win ensured that Churchill topped the table and will have a home semi final against Listowel Emmets on Friday 11th May.
U12 Div 2A Legion 1-14 Churchill 5-06. This was some battle and after scoring 5 goals in the first half, we dug deep to hang on against the wind. Courage and never give up is testament to this group. Leading 5-03 to 1-05 at HT we dug deep. Jayden Deady was a revelation in goal, long accurate kickouts and 3 point blank saves in second half. Art O’Sullivan and Rory Boyd showed superb discipline coming out on top of their most physical battles of the year. Josh Fabidon and Ryan Hickey linked brilliantly with Hugh Lenihan and Billy Doyle in midfield. Maurice Lenihan, Cian McKenna, Tom Quilter, Daithi Murphy and Mark Gazi ran Legion ragged any time we attacked. Well done boys and next up is Ballyduff at home in 2 weeks.
U12 Division 2B: Churchill 5-20 Legion 5-5
Our B team got their first win of the league following a great team performance in Legion on Sunday evening. Churchill started well and had a few early points on the board thanks to Gregory and Conor O’Sullivan. Conor also pitched in with a goal and Sean added a few frees. However, whenever Legion attacked, they looked dangerous and they got a few great goals following unstoppable shots.
However, this didn’t deter our lads and, as our subs were rotated on, the scores kept coming. With our defenders, Michael, Paddy and Donnacha playing well, Charlie got a great point and Sean added to his tally with a good goal and a few more points. Alex also hit the net before half time to give us a comfortable lead. Half time: Churchill 3-11 Legion 4-0.
In the second half, the instruction to the lads was to keep moving the ball around but also to protect our defence, as Legion were likely to slip through for more goals. While Legion got a few early scores to narrow the gap, the Churchill lads followed the instructions well and started to assert themselves again.
Jack O’Dwyer was finding his men with the kick-outs and Aaron was driving forward at every opportunity and got a great goal. Cialan was a bundle of energy up and down the sideline and the forwards were also finding plenty of space and proving a handful for the Legion defence.
They picked off their scores nicely, with points from Noah, Jack Nolan and Conor McGibney, who also hit the net. This was a great win and congrats to all the boys. There’s a break next week, then Ballyduff at home in the final game.
Lip Sing: There are less than 2 weeks to go to the inaugural Churchill GAA Lip Sing battle, which takes place in Ballyroe Heights Hotel on Sunday 6th May.
There is still time to get your tickets through any of the acts or the organising committee. Check out our Facebook page, Churchill Lip Sing, where you can find all the details and meet the acts.
Scor Na bPaisti: Well done to Lily Parker, who put in a great performance in the County Final of Scor Na bPaisti in Foilmore on Sunday.
Lily, who was performing in the Solo Singing category, can be very proud of her achievement in reaching this stage of the competition. She is a very talented performer who has a great future ahead of her.
