Write a commentFirst of this week is the Bosco Senior team. After a two week lay off and on the back of a poor performance away to Saul, Bosco seniors started slowly and nervously away to a strong, determined St Johns team on Friday night. With a big full forward line St Johns asked questions that Bosco struggled to find answers to and St Johns went into a 3 – 0 lead 15 minutes in. Some indiscipline and talking back to the ref from an unexpected and respected source lead to the ball being moved up 10 metres (Joe Ryan! Yes Joe Ryan!!). A bit of reorganising at the back by the tactical genius in charge on the night seen our full back line of Robbie Mc Donald, Ethan Toner and Stephen Byrne get a firm grip which they never relinquished for the remainder of the hour. Some wasteful finishing kept Bosco under pressure but with strong performances at midfield by Decky Byrne and particularly Brian Dillon we slowly came to terms and by the break had levelled at 3 -3 with good points by Brian Dillon and particularly by the impressive George Mc Cann.
The second half started similarly to the first with St Johns bringing a big physical threat that had to be met head on before Bosco could get to the task of playing football. This they did admirably with half backs Ciaron Murtagh, Ryan Lynch and Aidan Rooney proving particularly strong in the third quarter. With Steven Moan, Paddy Magill and Paul Mc Keown finding their feet in the full forward line Bosco started playing some good football lead by Neil Tumilty at centre half. In fact it was a brilliant move up the field involving 8 different players that saw Steven Moan turn his man and unselfishly fist a ball to the eager Kevin Fallon to knock to the net, which proved to break the St Johns spirit. Bosco finished strongly picking off points in the final 10 minutes to run out 7 point winners.
Final score St Johns 0 – 4 Bosco 1 -8
Very satisfying performance by the lads after a long layoff and particularly pleasing to see them stand up to the physical threat away from home. The seniors face 5 more away games on the trot which will effectively decide the outcome of their season and physicality will be key to how they progress. A great crowd of Bosco supporters made the trip to support the boys and definitely made a difference on the night and greatly appreciated by both management and players, so hopefully we can get the same support (and result) on the arduous journey to Ballymartin next Friday.
Man of The Match: George McCann
Junior Ladies
Kilcoo vs St John Bosco
Bosco Junior Ladies travelled to Kilcoo on Saturday evening to face Aughlisnafin in the 1st round of the Junior Championship and lived up to their favourite tags by winning by a very comfortable 26 points. The Bosco girls dominated from the start and throughout with the forward line scoring nearly at will and the defence reducing the Finn to only 4 points in 60 minutes of football. Star for the Bosco was corner forward Marie Burke who slotted over 6 fine points from play and was unlucky not to net in the opening half. Manager Maurice Rooney knows that the further his team progress the challenges will get tougher but he knows his girls are up for it. Best for Bosco - Marie Burke , Nicola O,Gorman, Michella Downey, Danielle McCourt and Ash Turley Final Score - Bosco 4-18 Aughlisnafin 0-4
Minors
ACMFL Div 2 St John Bosco vs Clann Na Derg Tuesday, 15th May
Bosco minor’s flat performance from last week was forgotten inside the first seven minutes as the home team raced into a 1-4 to no score lead. Points from midfielders Gallagher (2) and O’Hare and half-forward Ruddy steadied the nerves before Ruddy finished a fine move to the net. But total dominance from the home team for the next fifteen minutes wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard as they shot five wides and dropped one short into the goalkeeper’s hands. Playing with a strong breeze the home team really needed to take their chances to establish a commanding lead. It took the rampaging Ruddy to score his second goal then crash another shot against the bar and over for a point to increase Bosco’s lead. But credit to the Banbridge/Aghaderg combination for their fighting spirit as they scored the last two points of the half. Half-time score Bosco 2-5 Clann Na Derg 0-2.
It took Bosco seven minutes to score their first point of the second half from the boot of the returning Aaron Beattie. But this only inspired the away team and they rattled off four points in a row to reduce the home side’s lead to two goals. Lee Ruddy fired over another point to stretch the lead to seven in the sixteenth minute. The game stuttered a bit until Dario Cafolla finally settled it with a well taken goal in the twenty-second minute. A goal in the second minute of injury time by the away team left the full-time score reading Bosco 3-7 Clann Na Derg 1-6.
Given that Bosco shot seven more wides in the second half and dropped a few short the scoreline could have been more flattering but perhaps undeserved as Clann Na Derg played a great part in this game. Bosco only played in patches but those patches were very good. For the rest of the game they were flat like last week and have a lot of work to do before the league resumes in three weeks.
There is now a three week break to allow the players to sit their exams.
Bosco team and scorers: Rory O’Loughlin, Shane Crummey, Ryan Collins, John McKevitt, Feargal Lavery, Conor Boyle, Ben Cafolla, Conal Gallagher (0-2) and Jonathon O’Hare (0-1), Niall Burns, Dario Cafolla (1-0), Lee Ruddy (2-3, 1F), Aaron Beattie (0-1), Ryan Byrne and Sean McStay; Darren McShane, Daniel Graham, Dylan Morgan, Jack O’Hare, David Hughes
U14 Girls
U14 Girls had their first competitive outing of the season away to Saul.The U14’s travelled with a full strength squad bolstered by a number of players from the U12 squad which made team selection somewhat difficult.
Weeks of training and the anticipation of the first competitive match was evident throughout the team from the first minute, as centre half back S O Hare raced forward to open the seasons tally with a goal. D Quinn and V Gratton soon followed with a series of goals and points. The Bosco girls were definitely determined to leave the experiences of last season behind them as the Saul defence found it near impossible to cope with the surge of scores from A Jackson, N McCullough, L Cunninghan and B Collins.
A Shorthall, S O Hare, C Doherty and the Hickey sisters patrolled the defence with excellent tackling and tight marking which meant that our goal keeper R Kelly had little to contend with .
A new midfield partnership of D Quinn and N Osbourne dominated midfield with a fine display of highfielding and effective ball distribution to the forwards. Match captain, D Quinn, continuously surged forward at every opportunity, racking up a tally of goals and points.
A number of changes were made throughout the second half seeing impressive performances from B Connolly , M Gilbert,A Quinn and R Hannah.
Final score BOSCO 8:20 SAUL 2:03
U14 Girls next match is at home against Teconnaught 27th May
U 14’s
Last Monday night Bosco U14’s faced Saval at home. Initially just 13 Saval players turned up for duty against a healthy representation from Bosco, so 13 a side it was. The odds were surely with the home side with a deeper panel to choose from, however Jack Mackin Park is a big pitch and with just 26 on the field and an ensuing rain storm, anything can happen.
Bosco started out well with the opening score - a well taken point by Paul Hadden. They continued their good form with points from Devin Quigley and Micheal Dillon. Indeed Micheal was in fine form tormenting Saval and he added a goal to his tally after less than 10 minutes. At this point Saval were struggling and Devin Quigley worked his way in and rattled the back of the net.
It was about 15 minutes before Saval registered a score as they had been wasteful up to this point. They scrambled a goal and started to claw their way back into the contest.
Decent defending by Bosco and a high level of intensity and further scores including a goal and a point from Toby Woods and a goal from Michael O’Hare left the half time account Bosco 4:6 to Saval’s 3:4. This score-line did not do justice to the possession Bosco secured in the opening half, particularly the first quarter. Bosco went on to squander a total of 12 missed chances in the first half and were to rue this poor finishing by the end of the game.
The second half was similarly intense and in truth there was very little between these teams. As Bosco began to lose their shape Saval remained focussed, were more eager to win the ball and more economical in possession. Jack Quinn made a great save 10 minutes in but by this stage Saval had steadied and started to boss the home side around. With 10 minutes left on the clock Bosco were 2 points adrift and did work hard to try to reduce the deficit. The home team were much too wasteful with poor passing in their own half which was quickly punished. A disallowed Bosco goal towards the end for over-carrying would not have made much difference in this contest other than to ease the sting of this loss.
Besides the good performances mentioned earlier, Rory McParland, Ciaran Byrne and Kevin Boyle deserve credit for their tenacity and work rate in a game that was played with passion and intensity but ultimately a game in which Bosco contributed to their own downfall.
Final tally St. John Bosco 5:10 Saval 6:12
Next up is an away game to Bailieglas (May 22nd) followed by a home game 2 days later against Drumgath.
Seniors Social Initiative
St John Bosco GAC are organising tickets and bus transport to the Statio Orbis (final Mass) of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress that will take place on Sunday 17th June 2012 in Croke Park, Dublin.
These tickets are for seniors from the Club, seniors/parents of club members, seniors from our community and their carers. We are organising a bus also to ensure transport to and from Croke Park. ( Our definition of seniors are those aged 60+) The cost for those attending is £10 to cover the cost of transport, the St John Bosco Club are covering the cost of the Croke Park admission.
Tickets and places are limited – final booking date Wednesday May 30th.
