Seniors Na Gaeil play Churchill in the quarter Final of the Premier Junior Championship at home in Killeen on Saturday next at 6.30pm.
Minors Na Gaeil played Round 4 of the County League away to Firies on Tuesday evening last. With the Division 1 points table being so tight between four teams Na Gaeil knew a win here would qualify them for a semi final placing.
On a nice evening, Na Gaeil played uphill on this Farranfore pitch in the first half and Firies exploited us early on with their strong and dangerous full forward. We conceded a goal but then with some defensive adjustments got on top and brought a hard working game to the opposition and got back in this tight game.
While we created chances and played good football erratic shooting for points and missed goal chances kept the game tightly balanced. Half time score Firies 1-03 Na Gaeil 0-4.
Playing down hill on a calm evening Na Gaeil started the second half brilliantly scoring a goal and 2 points early on, with Niall O’Mahony, showing a return to form, got a great goal to give us a 2 point lead.
After some pressurised play on the Firies backline resulting in a turnover and another point to move us three points up indicating that we were in ascendency in this 3rd quarter.
Our defence were holding well and limiting Firies to very few attacks and scoring chances. However with our midfield on top and with us driving forward and creating numerous scoring opportunities we somehow managed to kick wide after wide in an uncharacteristic manner.
Poor shot selection and rushed kicking left the door open for Firies to come back in to the game and with 3 minutes to go and with a two point lead we conceded a goal in a rare second half Firies attack.
Against the run of play we now found ourselves down by a point in a game that should have been closed off that that stage. Two attempts upfield and a last kick of the game free to get an equaliser failed and we lost on a scoreline of Firies 2-06 Na Gaeil 1-08.
Bitterly disappointed afterwards in a game we should have won but for some wayward kicking. Management expressed the many positives of playing at this level and proud of the players’ performances and hard work shown in their games.
We played the last round game at home against Dr. Crokes on Friday April 21st and were unlucky to lose by a couple of points. Losing Dara Devine through injury midway through the first half was a big blow to the team.
However the lads played with great heart and spirit to the very end. Playing in the top division this season has been a great experience for the whole panel and will greatly enhance the development of these young players for the future.
Team: Jack Rogers, Ruairi O’Sullivan, Fergal Barry, Damien Bourke, Rory Murphy, Ryan O’Neill , Enda O’Connor, Niall O’Mahony, Diarmuid O’Connor, Patrick Roche, Tadgh Lynch, Aaron Dewey, Darragh Reen, Darragh Devine, Dan Goggins. Subs: Shaun Duggan (injured) James O’Connor, Seamus Harty for Darragh Reen ( HT ) , Lee Bryne, Basit Oyebanji for P. Roche (50) , Arran Ward
U14 Our Under 14 team had a break from the County League last week and instead took part in the 2017 Féile qualifiers. We were drawn in the same group as Miltown/Castlemaine and An Ghaeltacht. The games were in Miltown and our first game was against the host club. We won that game and followed up with a victory against An Ghaeltacht in our second match. We have now qualified for the semi-final of this competition.
Our next game in the County League is Wednesday when we travel to Kenmare for our Round four fixture.
U12 Na Gaeil Boys U12’s played Finuge at home last Sunday. Finuge took an early lead and built on it. Our lads battled hard in the second half and pulled the deficit back. However time ran out and we ended up on the losing side. Well done lads, and don’t forget to keep working on your skills! We will have a training session on Wednesday next at 6.30pm in Killeen. Our next game is at home to Gneeveguilla on Sunday 30th April with throw in at 6pm. Players will meet at 5.30pm.
U10 Our boys had a great time at the U-10 blitz in John Mitchels last Thursday (20th). We played 3 games, firstly against Sneem/Derrynane, then Lispole and finally Tarbert. We competed excellently in all three games. Well done everyone. Thank you to J.J. & Bernard who took time off work to coach us on the day.
We’re due to play in the first of the Town Board blitzes this coming week. It’ll be held in Kerins O’Rahillys pitch, probably on Wednesday evening. Watch out for a text with the exact details. Training again next Sunday at 11am. Please remember to bring your mouth guard & a bottle of water.
U8 We had over 30 players training on Sunday last. We will continue training next Sunday at 11am at the Na Gaeil pitch. Keep Saturday, 6th May free as we will compete in a local town blitz. More details to follow. See you all next Sunday. Keep practising.
U16 Ladies This was our first match of the season and conditions were perfect for a game. We were missing a few players due to Easter holidays and injuries but still had sixteen players on the day. Ria Walsh our fullback was captain on the day and along with Sophie and Megan provided solid cover for Aine in goal.
Some of the players have had very little football so far this year and that bit of sharpness on the ball was missing. Having said that everyone put in a good performance and prospects look good for the year ahead.
The first half was finely balanced with Clodagh and Mary breaking even in midfield. Our half backs Eimer, Sarah and Isabelle worked well to contain much of the Legion’s runs forward and helped to set up some of our own attacks.
Legion were working better as a team, their extra game was proving to be an advantage. Our own girls were putting together some good passages of play but were getting caught out by a few poor decisions and unforced errors. Muire and Ciara made good inroads from the left but were unlucky not to get any score. Mary opened the scoring with a nice point from play.
Two minutes later Na Gaeil were putting Legion under pressure when Dearbhla and Emily attacked from the right and sent a ball across the box to the incoming Brid who palmed the ball into the net. Legion cancelled this out with a goal at the other end. Abi at centre forward picked off a nice point under pressure followed by another Na Gaeil goal this time from Mary.
We were getting the upper hand at this stage and Mary pointed again. Midway through the half Kayleigh Costello came on in the forwards. Against the run of play Legion pulled a goal back.
Abi got another point, which on another day would have gone under the bar. Legion got the next two points to leave the scores level at 2-4 a piece at halftime.
The second half started very evenly with both sides fighting for every ball. Abi, Mary and Clodagh each got a point for the visitors while the home side picked off three of their own. Na Gaeil were starting to tire and Legion pushed ahead with a goal and two points.
We were now five down and under the cosh. Mary came back to help the defence and turned over the ball and went on one of her trade mark runs, you could tell she had only one destination in mind for the ball!
She passed both midfielders then got through two defenders before being one on one with the keeper, she let fly and rattled the back of the net. This was the standout score of the game. We were now two points down and throwing everything into the game. Legion won a free in front of goal and went three ahead.
It looked as if we had time for a couple of more attacks but the ref blew up what appeared to be three minutes early. This was disappointing as you felt there may have been more from the brave Na Gaeil girls. Well done to all and hopefully better results ahead.
Na Gaeil Ladies Na Gaeil Ladies v John Mitchels, Div 2 County League
We played at home in the 3rd round of the County League on Sunday afternoon against John Mitchels. We started brightly with Eilis scoring an early point after Erika made some space for her.
Meagan gave a great ball to Meabh to score her 1st point. Ayesha made a great run from midfield to score a goal with Meagan making the next run and scoring a fine point from distance after Sarah found her with a good pass, When our defence was called into play, Susan, Sheilah and Eimear were not found wanting, letting Mitchels score only 3 points in the 1st half.
We finished off the half with points from Meabh , Sibeal and Kate Anne. Our half backs Clodagh O’ Connor, Sarah and Kate Anne got stronger in the 2nd half as we held Mitchels at bay scoring 1 point and the couple of times that Mitchels broke our ranks, Laura was in control of our goals.
Erika and Meagan were working hard on the wings creating space and chances for our forwards. Clodagh McHugh found Meabh with a pass for her early goal in the 2nd half followed by a point by Eilis. Meagan found Ayesha with 30 yard kick pass and Ayesha found the back of the net with a great finish.
Martina came into the backs to stiffen up our defence. Ayesha scored another 2 points before Aine and Caoimhe came into the forwards. Erika set up Sibeal for her 1st goal and Aine found Sibeal with an exquisite low hand pass to set Sibeal in on goals to score her 2nd goal.
Meabh played in Caoimhe to score her 2 points before Kate Anne finished off the game with a well taken point. Well done to everyone on a great team performance.
Team: Laura Fitzgerald, Aine O’Sullivan, Clodagh O’Connor, Susan Fernane, Eimear Nolan, Sarah Quigley, Eilis O’Connor, Meabh Barry, Ayesha Roche, Meagan Sheehy, Sibeal Casey, Clodagh McHugh, Mary O’Connell, Sheilah O’Riordan, Caoimhe Hanafin, Kate Anne O’Connor, Martina O’Connor.
Best of Luck to Jadyn Lucey and Nora O’Connell and the Kerry Minor Team as they take on Cork in the Munster Final next Monday.
Na Gaeil Ladies U14 v Spa, Div 3 County League
We played Spa on Sunday in Na Gaeil. On the day we were too strong for Spa with our defenders Megan, Kayleigh Murphy, Ailbhe, Cara Grealish, Eimer and Aoife very strong in the backs with Sarah and Freya dominating in midfield.
Winnie made a couple of saves when called upon. Our forwards Cara Gannon, Siena, Caoilinn, Muire, Ciara and Kayleigh Costello all got scores along with Sarah, Freya and Eimer getting scores as well. Well done with our next outing v Milltown/Listry this Sunday
Team: Winnie Burke, Megan Fernane, Kayleigh Murphy, Cara Grealish, Eimer O’Sullivan, Ailbhe Daly, Sarah Barrett, Freya O’Connor, Muire Kingston, Kayleigh Costello, Emma Dewey, Siena Lucey, Jessica Harrington, Caoilinn O’Brien, Aoife Barrett, Cara Gannon
Na Gaeil Ladies U12 v Kerins O Rahillys
We played in Ballyrickard on Friday evening. We started strongly dominating possession but not getting the scores. Rahillys got the 1stscore, we rallied back used the ball but Rahillys were defending well and not letting us run through them.
Sorcha got us a point but Rahillys replied with a goal. Rahillys scored another goal and a point before half time.
We settled for the 2nd half with Aoife Barrett, Grace, Priya, Niamh, Roisin, Elsie Peg and Aisling defending better, Siena went into the forwards with Sorcha and Cara in midfield. With Siun and Cara getting a point apiece. Chloe, Aoife Hartnett and Grace were unlucky not to score a couple of points apiece with Caoilinn also unlucky not to score a goal after Katie found her with a good pass.
We turned the screw on Rahillys with Siena scoring a goal from distance but we didn’t have the luck on the day to get the scores we needed.
Team: Aoife Barrett, Aisling Casey, Roisin O’Mahony, Aoife Hartnett, Caoimhe Fernane, Cara Gannon, Siena Lucey, Sorcha Casey, Grace Savage, Katie Casey, Chloe Quillinan, Caoilinn O’Brien, Elsie Peg Rogers.
Na Gaeil Cycling Club Na Gaeil Cycling Club is now up and running with its spring schedule: Monday and Wednesday evenings at 6.30pm and Saturday mornings at 9am from the clubhouse. ALL ARE WELCOME, high vis essential.
Na Gaeil Annual Cycle Na Gaeil Annual Cycle takes place this year on Saturday August 26th. Pencil it into your diary.
Fir Na Gaeil Light Football Training for Men who have retired from playing football and for those that have not played and would like to try it out. Very little skill is required. This is a great way to keep fit with light training, ball games and a bit of a laugh. Contact Eddie at 0876791460 for more info. Indoor Core Training on Mondays from 7.00 to 8.00 in the gym and Friday nights from 7.30 to 8.30pm in the I.T.
Mná Na Gaeil We are a Gaelic for Mothers and Others team who come together and do a bit of exercise, football training and socialising. Anyone who would like to join are most welcome, No skills are required, just a good attitude and a sense for fun. We are now doing indoor Core work for the winter on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. Contact Eddie at 0876791460 for more info.
Lotto The draw for the jackpot of €1,700 took place on Tuesday evening last. Numbers drawn were 13, 18, 24, 28. There was no winner. €50 winners were Bernard Dennehy, Racecourse Lawn and Pat Joe Murphy, Listellick. €25 winners were Charlie & Mary Hartnett, Meadowlands, Emer Uí Ógáin, C/O Na Gaeil, Scotia 31 Cards C/O Na Gaeil, Colm Nelan C/O Na Gaeil. Next week’s lotto is worth €1,800. All are welcome for the draw in the club each Tuesday night at 10.30pm.
Bingo Bingo is on every Monday night at 8.30pm sharp. We have prize money of over €1,000 guaranteed every week with a mini jackpot that increases fortnightly when not won. A door prize and a half-time raffle with lovely prizes will also take place every week. A bus service is available at 087 2817577. You can ring this number for pick up and drop off. 100% of the funds raised go back directly into the club. The bingo is run on a total voluntary basis. A huge thank you to all the parents who offer their time to run this vital fundraiser for the club. If anyone wants to donate a spot prize for our weekly bingo raffle, please leave it at use and mark it “Bingo”. Thanks to all our patrons who support this event on a weekly basis.
Cards A card game is held every Wednesday night in the clubhouse. This is a very sociable occasion where you meet your friends for a great night’s entertainment and
