Club news 14 August 2017

Senior hurling: Dacia motors senior hurling championship played in Pirc na bPiarsach in Arklow – ire g, Na Clocha Liatha 2-17, Kiltegan 0-12.

Glancing at this score, an apparent runaway victory for Greystones, your excitement-obsessed junkies would no doubt conclude that the game held little interest for the spectator and had an air of weary inevitability about it from early on.

Indeed it did become clear from Anto Byrnes goal just before the break that ire g were unlikely to be beaten but this did not make the remaining thirty minutes of the match irrelevant nor did it divest it of entertainment value.

Kiltegan is a small but proud club with a great hurling tradition and so was never in danger of throwing in the towel and it was not surprising that the team battled fiercely to the end and never allowed the Greystones lads to relax. In fact, overall, it proved to be a very entertaining contest between two sporting and committed teams.

There were excellent camn skills on show: ball-control under stress was good, some excellent striking and well-taken scores from difficult angles and from long outfield distances and plenty of well-timed blocking.

An t nach bhfuil lidir n folir d bheith glic (a lack of physicality has to be compensated for by cleverness and skill). A seanfhocal which aptly applies to the performance of James Pooch Cranley in this match.

James may be somewhat slight but he made up for this in his clever anticipatory runs, in the dexterity of his wrist action and in the accuracy of his shooting. He scored 7 points in all. Anto Byrne was responsible for 1-4 of the ire g tally. Up to his well-taken goal a few minutes before the short-whistle, Greystones, while in the ascendant, were failing to fully stamp their authority on the game and were an unconvincing 0-9 to 0-4 ahead.

Kristin Buster Flynn and Shane Chunky Nolan worked tirelessly in the middle third and played an important part in the win.

Daniel Doc OConnor was very solid in the corner and Danny Nolan and Hugh ONeill were prominent among the forwards.

That 8 players got their names on the score-sheet must have been a great source of satisfaction for the teams management: James Cranley (0-7), Anto Byrne (1-4), Danny Nolan (0-2), Mick Walks (0-1), Gavin Parslow, Peter Keane, Hugh ONeill and Leon Browne all scored a point each.

As a result of this win, ire g has accumulated 5 points in the league stages and is in a good position to qualify for the knock-out games of the Championship.

Senior footballers advance to quarter finals:EIRE OG secured their place in the SFC quarter-finals with a thumping win over Newtown in this Renault SFC Group 2 clash at Pearses Park, Arklow on Friday evening.

The win ensured that Greystones topped the group while condemning Newtown to the Keating Trophy, where theyll have to battle it out to ensure their Senior status for next year.

The Greystones men were far too strong, fit and athletic on the day and by half-time they had racked up an incredible 16 points and held an unassailable lead.

Darren Hayden was outstanding as time and again he won balls around the middle before sauntering past tackles while Enda King was also a stand out for the winners before being dismissed in the final moments of the first half for a second bookable offence.

With a man less to take on, Newtown did improve somewhat in the second half but there is no disguising the 15-point drubbing shown on the score line and they will be bitterly disappointed with their showing.

They battled hard at times and showed glimpses of good football but were beaten by a much fitter and well drilled side.

Eire Og were very effective at filtering back in numbers and strong in the tackle which made it nigh on impossible for Newtown to get through their rear guard at times. They also broke fast and supplied good ball into the likes of Daniel Woods and Sen Lawless who were afforded far too much time and space.

Ironically, it was Newtown who registered the first score as Ross Davis converted a hard won free after good work from Sen Heffernan in attack. That was about as good as it got for Newtown though and after being fouled Darren Hayden dusted himself down to send over a cracking score from the stand side.

It seemed like there might be something of a match ahead when Ciaran McGuirl hit over a lovely score on the turn but Eire Og soon signalled their intent with five points in as many minutes to open up a gap early on.

The pick of the scores came after two delicious long balls in a row from Craig Smullen and Enda King set up Daniel Woods to swivel and shoot over on the left side.

King was immense in the first half for the winners. He claimed four brilliant catches in the air and supplied great balls into the forward line time and again as well as kicking two points himself. He has a real physical presence and a great engine so if Greystones are to challenge at the latter end of the championship they will need him for the full 60 minutes.

The rest of the first half was effectively a game of backs and forwards as Newtown simply struggled to win any of either their own or Greystones kick outs with Darren Hayden, Justin OBrien and Eoghan McHugh cleaning up.

Junior Football: Our juniors recently added an important scalp to their Boom Platform trophy cabinet with their defeat of St Pats in the Junior A championship in Rathnew. The margin of victory was 2 points: 0-7 to -05.

Another dour defence-dominated contest? Thankfully not. On the contrary it was a game full of movement and open play in which the players had plenty of freedom to express themselves. Pats played with the strong breeze in the first half but through pour shooting failed to use it to full advantage. Their tally of 10 wides in this period was a topic of dissatisfaction amongst their followers after the game.

Outfield the game was evenly contested so even with the wind, the ire g build-up of scores was painfully slow and their lead when it came well into the second half never felt secure and that it did not disappear had much to do with the oppositions inaccuracy.

Many of the players who had played for this team in the league had been promoted to the senior panel so it was encouraging to see that Eddie Davis and his management team were able to put together a group of this quality. Willie OHagan (0-3) showed great leadership, and dual players James Cranley and Anto Byrne made important contributions. Scorers: Fintan OShea, David Behan, Conal Deeney, James Cranley (a point each). Maith sibh, lads.

Under 11 boys football: Our u-11 footballers were at home to Blessington on Wednesday evening but as it turned out matters did not proceed in a totally satisfactory manner.The normal format for events at this age group is 2 simultaneous 11-a-side games with scores being combined to determine the winning outfit.Unfortunately the visitors arrived with less than the required complement so the games had to be played at 9-a-side.Blessington won 2-17 to 2-13.

ire g had 24 players so there had to be much juggling to ensure that each of them received reasonable game time.The evening also had its GUBU moment with an ire g player receiving a straight red.An action which at this age level has surely to be described as drastic.One would think that speaking to the player or the manager should suffice.It was a huge punishment for his team as the loss of a player in a 9-a-side game has consequences way beyond that at a 15-a-side or even an 11-a-side game.

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