Match Reports - 2001's
Dublin Féile 2015
On Saturday last, April 25th,
the club entered 2 teams in the Dublin Féile.
The first team were placed in division 1 along with Kilmacud Crokes, Na
Fianna, Cuala, Lucan and hosts Ballyboden.
The second team were placed in division 5A with St. Anneâs, Craobh
Ciaran and the hosts Round Towers Clondalkin.
Both panels had been training diligently since the start of the year and
were anxiously awaiting the big day.
From early in the week, Met Eireann had been forecasting rain for
Saturday. Everybody hoped that Met
Eireann had got it wrong and this appeared to be the situation when they
gathered in a sun-kissed Kilbogget Park early Saturday morning.
First up for the division 1 team was a 10 a.m. start against
Na Fianna on pitch 3. The team arrived
in plenty of time to get settled in for the day and just as they arrived in
Ballyboden, the rain started â¦. Met Eireann got it rightL. Foxrock Cabinteely and Na Fianna met in the
league the previous week where Foxrock Cabinteely came out on top after a very
physical battle. The team knew the tough encounter that lay ahead and it took
them a while to settle down. Roisin
McGovern settled the team with a very well taken goal after 5 minutes. This was
followed by points from Jessica Connolly and Jodie Egan. Na Fianna never gave up and scored 2 points
before half time to leave a goal between the sides. The second half started with the rain getting
heavier (Met Eireann were still right) and Roisin McGovern found the back of
the net again with the first attack of the half to put 2 goals between the
sides again. As it turns out, that was
the last score of the game with Foxrock Cabinteely winning by 2-2 to 0-2.
Next up was Kilmacud Crokes again on pitch 3. With players
from both teams attending the same schools, most were familiar with other
because apart from being fellow students, some of them actually play on the
same school Gaelic football, hockey and basketball teams! On this occasion Foxrock Cabinteely came
out on top by 4-1 to 0-1. Roisin McGovern scored 3 goals, Emma Dawson scored
the other goal and Jodi Egan scored the point.
All the while, the rain kept falling. Met Eireann were still right.
Game 3 saw Foxrock Cabinteely take on hosts Ballyboden St.
Endaâs on pitch 2. With all the rain that had fallen since the first game
against Na Fianna, it probably should have been renamed pool 2 instead of pitch
2. For some reason the game went ahead
on this pitch and the girls literally found it hard to find their feet. Snorkels and fins were probably more
appropriate attire rather than gloves and boots. In the end Ballyboden won by 2-3 to 0-1 with
the Foxrock point coming from Jodi Egan.
With 2 games remaining, 1 more win was required to be
assured of a semi-final spot. Cuala were
the next opponents and after a very tight game Foxrock Cabinteely ended up
winning by 2-0 to 1-1 with the goals coming from Lily OâRourke and Jessica
Connolly.
Lucan were the opponents in the final game of the league
stages. In their last 3 outings against Lucan, Foxrock Cabinteely beat them by
a point in the U13 division 1 shield final, drew with them in the last U13
league game and lost to them by a point in the first U14 league game so there
was no doubt that this was going to be a tight affair. After a thrilling game,
Lucan ended up winning by a point on a final score of 1-1 to 1-0 with the
Foxrock Cabinteely goal coming from Roisin McGovern.
Despite the loss, the team finished in second place so this
meant that they would be playing the team that finished in third place and that
turned out to be Kilmacud Crokes. Some
of the Foxrock Cabinteely girls picked
up a few injuries in the last couple of games in the league stages and team
physio Niamh Moriarty (who is a grandniece of legendary GAA commentator MÃcheál
à Muircheartaigh) was kept busy. After a titanic battle, Kilmacud Crokes won by
4-2 to 1-4 and thus ended Foxrock Cabinteelyâs 3 years reign as Dublin Féile
Division 1 champions. Roisin McGovern got the goal and Jessica Connolly scored
the 4 points.
Full credit must go to the players, mentors, parents and
supporters who braved the 6 hour downpour. Although they were disappointed at
not making it to the final, all concerned can be extremely proud of the way the
team conducted themselves throughout the day.
Sincere thanks to Ballyboden for the hospitality shown to all from
Foxrock Cabinteely.
The first game for the division 5A team was at 10:50 when
they took on Craobh Ciaran. Like the
division 1 team in their first game, it took them a while to settle down, but
once they got their first score, they couldnât stop scoring and they got the
competition off to the ideal start with a great 8-3 to 0-1 win.
Next up was St. Anneâs at 11:50. St. Anneâs are joint second
in the division 4 league but the grading meeting somehow saw them being placed
in the division 5 Féile. Foxrock Cabinteely battled throughout but just came up
short when losing by 3-5 to 0-1.
The third game was a must win for the girls when they faced
Round Towers. Towers had also won 1 of their previous 2 games so they too need
to win to secure a semi-final spot. It
was end to end stuff for whole game and while Foxrock Cabinteely won by 3-6 to
1-5, 2 of the 3 goals only came in the last few minutes of the game so the
score line isn't a true reflection on how close this game really was.
The work was done and a semi-final place was secured.
Trinity Gaels topped the group in division 5B so they were to be the opponents
in the semi-final. The Gaels are also
top of the division 5 league having won all 3 games that theyâve played so far
so they were the form team coming into Féile.
However, form stands for nothing when it comes to knock-out football and
Foxrock Cabinteely blew their opponents away with a magnificent 3-2 to 0-6 win.
A place in the final was the least this team of warriors deserved.
The message for the team was clear from manager John
Gallagherâ¦. Go home and relax, soothe the tired muscles, go to bed early on
Saturday night and meet in Kilbogget at 11 on Sunday morning for the trip to
OâToole Park where division 4 league team St. Anneâs would be the opponents. A
call was sent to all club members asking them to come and support the team in
the final and a large number of supporters answered that call. The game was
scheduled for 1 p.m. but due to the division 7 final going to extra time, all
games were delayed by 20 minutes. Once
the team made their way onto the pitch, the large number of Foxrock Cabinteely
supporters made themselves heard and this really boosted the girls. From the throw in, each girl gave her all and
battled for every ball. There was only 4 points between the teams at half time
so it was all to play for in the second half.
The experience of playing in a higher league benefited St. Anneâs in the
second half and they got a few early scores which Foxrock Cabinteely didnât
have time to recover from. While the
team fell at the final hurdle, they must be complimented on their play
throughout the whole tournament.
Participating in a final â in any sport â is a huge achievement and is
something that these girls will remember long into the future.
Thanks to Round Towers and Crumlin GAA for their hospitality
over the weekend.
The players who represented the club with distinction over
the weekend were: Kate Boland, Ava Clarke, Beth Clarke, Jessica Connolly, Ciara
Cullen, Emma Dawson, Lisa Davies, Jodi Egan, Helen Fisher, Kez Higgins, Grace
Keane (Captain Div 1 team), Rhoslyn Kirwan, Ann Marie Lynch, Eve Lynch, Roisin
McGovern, Danielle Myles, Aisling Ni Raghallaigh, Molly OâConnell, Sarah
OâLeary, Lile OâRourke, Aobha Russell, Jodie Carter, Eve Cotter, Emily Cryan,
Rebecca Currivan, Anna FitzGerald, Jasmine Gallagher (Captain Div 5 team), Lucy
Kiersy, Ciara Mangan, Sorcha McFadden, Ciara Mills, Niamh OâConnell, Clodagh
Walsh, Sarah Dillon, Ava Egan, Emma Flatman, Eva Gilroy, Sadhbh Lowry, Amy
Mahon, Ella McCambridge, Eve Moloney, Saoirse Moloney, Niamh OâBrien, Lauren
OâHalloran and Aisling OâKelly.
All teams rely on a good backroom team and the club
certainly werenât lacking in this space when it came to these teams. Thanks to the following for their help and
support during the campaign: John OâRourke, Tony Myles, Glynn Davies, Niamh
Moriarty, Marla Candon, Anne Marie Murphy, Stephanie Duffy, Alva Boland, John
Gallagher, Ciara Murphy, Mick Egan, Niall O'Kelly, Marc Lowry, Sheenagh Cotter,
Joanne Maloney and Brian Walshe.
Kitting out 45 girls is an expensive task and apart from the fund raising that was done by the girls, the club would also like to acknowledge the very generous sponsorship of the following:
While the Féile chapter is closed for 2015, both teams still have a lot of football to play for the remainder of the year. The league has to be finished and the championship will start in late August. Letâs build on the solid foundations that have been laid by the Féile weekend.