Div 4 Co. League Churchill 1-7 Cordal 1-9
Ill-discipline cost Churchill at least a share of the points in their first outing in this year’s County League away to Cordal last Sunday.
With 5 minutes to go and Churchill a single point in arrears, Cillian Fitzgerald was awarded a free straight in front of the goals. In what can only be described as a rush of blood, he struck one of the Cordal defenders as he picked himself up off the ground. Following consultation with his umpires, the referee showed him a second yellow and a red and sent him to the sideline.
He reversed his decision and threw in the ball. With that went Churchill’s chance of getting something out of this game, as they were the dominant team at the time. On paper, Churchill, who welcomed back Peader Stack and Conor Daly to the starting 15 after a number of years’ absence, had a strong line-up, despite the absence of a number of regulars through injury. They got off to a great start and were 2 points up after 5 minutes, courtesy of a point from Ivan Parker and a free from Mike O’Brien. However, after this, Churchill were very wasteful, spurning point scoring opportunities for goal chances.
Cordal started to get on top at midfield and after 22 minutes, had built up a 0-5 to 0-2 lead. A couple of Cordal’s points were as a result of sloppy play or turnovers in the Churchill defence. It wasn’t until the 24th Conor Daly embarked on one of his trademark runs and finished with a point off his left leg. He repeated the feat 4 minutes later and the gap was down to a point. However, in added time at the end of the first half, Cordal hit the back of the net, with a great goal.
Half Time: Churchill 0-4 Cordal 1-5
Cordal continued where they left off after half time and scored three unanswered points to extend their lead to 7 points. Their tormentor in chief was their full-forward Philip O’Connor, a member of the current Kerry panel. With Churchill struggling for ideas, they got a slice of luck when a high ball in from Daly was fumbled over the line by the Cordal keeper. Churchill made a number of changes at this stage, replacing both wing backs.
Mike O’Brien doubled his tally with a volleyed point after Churchill had made hard work of scoring. The same player was black-carded a few minutes later for giving back-chat to the referee. Brian Hill, on as a sub, pulled another point back for Churchill, and an unlikely victory was on the cards. When Ivan Parker scored a great point from play, the margin was down to the minimum. Cordal’s wing back received a black card and Churchill were doing all the pressing. Then came Fitzgerald’s sending off. Try as Churchill might to get the equaliser, they couldn’t create an opportunity.
With time running out, Cordal were awarded a free after a late tackle on the Cordal corner forward. They duly converted and claimed the victory and 2 County League points. Churchill have an immediate chance to bounce back with a home match in The Spa vs Cromane next Sunday at 12 noon. If they can keep their discipline, there is no reason why they can’t register their first victory.
Full time: Churchill 1-7 Cordal 1-9 Churchill: P O’Sullivan, Mitchell Holland, Shane Crowley, Peadar Stack, PJ O’Mahony, Garrett Walsh, Matt Finnerty, Mikey Brennan, Ciaran Crowley, JJ Prior, Ivan Parker (0-2), Cathal Rogers, Conor Daly (1-2), Cillian Fitzgerald, Mike O’Brien (0-2) Subs: Ger McCarthy for PJ O’Mahony (40 minutes); Brian Hill (0-1) for Matt Finnerty (40 minutes); Fiachra Griffin for Mike O’Brien (Black Card, 46 minutes), Jack O’Connell for Ciaran Crowley (55 minutes)
Senior Membership: Senior membership is now due. Closing date is 31st March – please contact Registrar Derek Nolan or any member of the Executive. Anyone who pays membership after this date will not be eligible to enter a draw for All-Ireland tickets, should Kerry reach the knock out stages.
Juveniles: Thanks to everyone for a great turn-out for the Juvenile registration evening held on the 6th March. There were 116 juvenile Members registered on the night. Although the registration evening has passed the deadline for juvenile player registration is still open until 31th March so any parents still wishing to register their child with the club should make contact with Peter O’Brien (Juvenile Chairperson) or Aidan Murphy (Juvenile Secretary) or any lead team mentor as soon as possible.
The U10s started back with their first training session held in the Tralee Sports complex last Sunday morning. There was a great turn-out with the players showing a great eagerness for the new year ahead. Their next training session is on Sunday 29th March, again at the Tralee Sports Complex at 11AM.
As mentioned at the registration evening, the U6 & U8 panels will commence training on 29th March. They will also meet at the Tralee Sports complex for their session at 10AM.
In a few weeks we intend to be back training in our own facilities at the Spa with a set time to be communicated by the mentors.
The other juvenile age groups will be informed of their training schedules by their lead mentors.
Sympathy: On behalf of Churchill GAA, sympathy is extended to the Murphy family Fenit on the death of Patrick Murphy at the weekend. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.
