Under 16 County Final

A very misty and damp Sunday brought us to Ballinagore to face Mullingar Shamrocks in our Under 16 County final. We all knew that this was going to be a tough battle and some unsporting actions from Mullingar Shamrocks before the game had even started brought a little rise in temperatures. According to the rules if two teams normally play in the same club colours, both teams are required to wear their away strip, but that was not taking on board by the Mullingar team.

Straight from the throw in, Mikey Lynam broke the ball down to Daniel Keegan and the ball was worked quickly and effectively into the forwards and Dylan McDonnell finished a great move with the game’s first goal. A long range point from Mullingar Shamrocks got them on the scoreboard but soon after we netted our second goal with a fantastic finish by Alan Conlon.

The first 15mins of the game was dominated by a very determined and gutsy St Joseph’s side and with some nice scores by Ben McDonnell and Mickey Lynam it improved our lead to 2-02 to 0-01. The referee then awarded a penalty to the Mullingar side which was slotted away to the bottom right hand corner. Shamrocks got a new energy about them after scoring that penalty and we seemed to have lost our shape and concentration for the next 9-10mins letting the lead not only shorten but letting it slip away from us. We went in at the break with a scoreline of 2-04 to 2-06 in favour of Shamrocks.

I have to say some very unusual decisions from the Mullingar Referee, let shamrocks get a run on us and we had to fight very hard to keep them at bay. Thomas Conlon who had to be substituted in the first half due to a heavy collision to the head was a big loss in the defence. Ryan Forgarty, Frankie Day, Mark Lynam and Adam Kelly had to battle very hard especially in the first 10mins of the second half and they defended with pure heart and determination. Mikey Lynam who ended up with 5 points to his name, alongside Daniel Keegan fought and hassled in the middle of the field to slow up the supply of ball going into the shamrocks forward line.

After the purple patch in the opening 10-15min of the second half we found ourselves trailing by 8 points 2-06 to 3-11. Some indiscipline from the Mullingar side, gave our lads the fire in their bellies and we began our counter attack. Jake Gannon and the McDonnell brother of Ben and Dylan ran their socks off and dispossessed a number of vital balls to turn them over and reward us with scores. Jamie McDonnell and Alan Conlon caused nothing but grieve for the men who were trying to mark them. Lovely passages of play throughout the game rewarded us with great scores. The Introduction of Joseph Cusack, Kieran Keegan, Peter Reid and Josh Gannon proved to be effective in many ways bringing a new energy to the side, a new dimension to the forward line.

The game could have ended differently, but a dubious decision from the referee not to award a penalty for a deliberate foul in the last few minutes would have left only a point between the sides if the penalty was awarded and converted. The scoreline when the final whistle blew was St Joseph’s 2-11 to Mullingar Shamrocks 3-13. You could see the disappointment on the faces of the players, mentors and supporters as the final whistle sounded. It was a great achievement by this young bunch of players to get to the final, the result just unfortunately didn’t go our way but the entire community and club are very proud and we look forward for another fantastic year in 2020.

Team: Stephen Fennessy, Mark Lynam, Frankie Day, Thomas Conlon, Adam Kelly, Ryan Forgarty, Mikey Lynam (0-05), Daniel Keegan, Jake Gannon, Dylan McDonnell (1-01), Ben McDonnell (0-02), Alan Conlon (1-01) and Jamie McDonnell. Subs: Kieran Keegan, Peter Reid, Joseph Cusack (0-02), Josh Gannon, Gerard and the injured Noah McDonnell.

Ladies Minor

The St Joseph’s Ladies Minor Team went out on Sunday morning to play Clan Gaels in a tough competitive game and came out on the right side of the result winning in the end by a nine point margin. Well done to all involved a great win indeed.

Lotto

We have still had no winner of our €10,000 jackpot. Our Next Draw will take place on the weekend of the 10th of November in Ryans of Horseleap. Please get your tickets bought and don’t forget you can join the yearly lotto at any time just contact a committee member for details.