14-06-2021
What a start to the season! Since Monday evening Kent Park has been a hive of activity and the games have been coming thick and fast and it’s only the beginning! Here are some updates from the club:
Senior men
Our senior men’s team got their season off to a winning start on Saturday evening in Kent Park. A very youthful senior team defeated Eastern Harps on a scoreline of 0-11 points to 0-8 in the Kieran Cup. A number of last years minors made their debuts and acquitted themselves very well. We begin our league campaign this coming weekend against St. Molaise Gaels.
Junior ladies
Sunday morning marked an important day in the development of Ladies football in St Mary’s as for the first time in our history we fielded a second adult ladies team. The St Mary’s ladies junior team faced St Nathy’s in Kent Park and fielded a panel of 16 players, made up of 8 from the senior panel & 8 from the minors. A strong wind was a big factor in the game with the home team getting a strong start and working some great scores to end the half leading 5-09 to 1-0. Aided by the strong breeze, Nathy’s made a strong start to the 2nd half with a succession of scores. St Mary’s dug deep and held on to win on a scoreline of 5-12 to 4-8. Well done to all on this historic occasion. Next up is an away trip to Drumcliffe next Sunday.
Great credit is due to all the ladies and girls coaches who have worked tirelessly developing ladies football over the years.
Junior men
The junior men’s team narrowly lost to Cloonacool on Sunday morning in the Abbott Cup. A tight game finished 1-13 to 0-12 to the hosts after a spirited battle by our lads. Next weekend our Division 3 campaign gets underway with a trip to Cuilbeg on Saturday night to face St. John’s at 7pm.
u14 girls
On Sunday evening our u14 girls had a great win over Drumcliffe/Rosses Point. With a socially-distanced crowd watching on from our new clubhouse terrace, the girls ran out 10-8 to 4-3 winners.
u12 boys finals
A sun drenched Markievicz Park was the venue for the rescheduled 2020 U12A Boys County Final on Sunday where Drumcliffe/Rosses Point provided the opposition. A big thanks to Coiste na nOg for re-arranging this competition as yesterday really did erase the disappointment of last year when the competition was postponed. It was also great that Markievicz Park was made available to host this game. Both teams were very evenly matched in the early stages of the contest but as the game progressed St. Mary’s did get a strangle-hold on the game and there was some excellent scores taken on the day by both sides. Dara Keane was coolness personified in goals for the first half before doing some scoring of his own in the second; Aaron Keane, Conor O’Hehir, Joe Hickey, Rian O’Connor and one of the most improved players, Charlie McNamara, were like Fort Knox at the back. At midfield the powerful running of captain Marc Clifford and the aerial ability of Bryan Meehan provided the platform for the team’s attacking game.
Up front Ben Bannigan continued on his previous excellent performances mixing his scoring with selflessly setting up others; Conor Davey was another who continues to impress with his strong running and great score-taking; Daniel Mullaney, Dara Kilcullen, Ryan Colreavy and Jasper Gimena – they all contributed to the scoring and great support play throughout. As a group they are a joy to coach mixing discipline, competitiveness, ability and team-work in the right equal amounts.
Special mention to Ronan Mullan, Evan Rooney, and Charlie Connolly who picked up nasty injuries recently but without whom we would not have contested the final yesterday.
Drumcliffe/Rosses Point battled throughout as we knew that they would and we would like to thank them for a competitive final and a lovely occasion.
In the division 2 final our younger side playing against a strong Calry/St Joseph’s team in Scarden just came up short after a titanic battle throughout. Huge credit must go to these lads who did the Club proud in reaching this decider playing a year out of their age-group. Our players belied their years with a performance of courage, bravery and massive intensity to take the game to the more physical Calry side where we led for the first 3 quarters. Unfortunately the more experienced opposition finished stronger to claim a narrow victory.
A big thanks to Enda Brady of Bord na Og for organising a pizza party for the extended U12 boys panel – with the help of our current U11 squad (last years U10’s) we were able to field 3 teams at the age group to ensure plenty of football for all levels and qualify for two finals which was a great achievement logistically for the club. None of that could have been possible without the assistance and co-operation of the parents. So thank you for all that.
Our attention now turns immediately to the U13 competition and details will be forthcoming by text shortly to all concerned.
Reopening of Clubhouse & New Terrace
Our newly refurbished clubhouse garden terrace opened for outdoor service last Thursday night 1st of June in line with the latest easing of covid-19 restrictions. The balcony has been renovated into an outdoor terrace and a big thanks must go to the club volunteers who have made it look so well. Shane Nealon is likely to be sought after by businesses nationwide after building an outdoor terrace fit for a 5-star hotel, Glenn Young and Paul Curley have given the clubhouse a new lease of life with a fresh lick of paint, and the new bar team of Kevin Molloy, Aidan Murphy and Aaron McGoldrick have the place running like clockwork. Not to mention the countless others who helped out with lifting picnic benches, painting tables and preparing the area! The clubhouse will be open Thursday-Sunday and is well worth a visit if you haven’t already been.
Keep Walking, Keep Well
This week is our 6th and final walk of the ‘Keep Walking, Keep Well’ initiative. It has been a great campaign and invites community members to meet on Wednesday evening at 7pm in Kent Park to walk together. There are a number of routes outlined to choose from:
Check out the latest fixtures and results here.
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