St Vincents/Curraha Under 15 Report St Vincents/Curraha team Photo ...
CURRAHA GAA CLUB MINOR BOARD REPORT 2014
St Vincents/Curraha Under 15 Report St Vincents/Curraha team Photo 2014
Front row L to R, Adam Tuite, Eoghan Corry, Andrew Moriarty, Conor O Farrell, Danny Tuite, Leo Corry, Diarmuid Moriarty. Back row L to R, Jack O Connor, Jack Byrne, Conor Harford, Nigel Hand, James Fox, Evan Connor, Ian Battersby, Patrick McGill, Jamie Cleary, Charlie O Brien, David Corry. (Missing from photo Niall McLarnon and Yusuf O Driscoll)
Despite only have 5 players at 15yrs of age and a tight enough panel St Vincents/Curraha under fifteens made it through to the semi finals stage of the league. Good wins over Donaghmore/Ashbourne and Carnaross helped by a walkover Boardsmill were to see us through. Overall, though it’s been a mixed enough league campaign with our results showing 3 wins (one of them WO), 2 draws and 2 defeats. A victory now in the semi final would be a massive achievement for this group of players who are improving with every game.
Our season got off to a flying start with a great win against our neighbours Donaghmore/Ashbourne. This was a great spectacle with some excellent teamwork and great individual scores taken by both sides. Our lads made the home advantage count and came out on top with a 3-10 to 2-4 victory. We travelled to Slane for our second round game but regrettably the referee never showed and the points were shared. In round 3 and 4 we met the two strongest teams in St Michaels and Longwood/ Clonard. Here we suffered heavy defeats. Despite playing much stronger opposition our lads never gave up and ran up decent enough scores in both matches. We were awarded the points against Boardsmill in round 5 which was a pity as our lads are so eager to play football. We travelled to Bohermeen for round 6. This was the game of the league so far and provided great entertainment right to the final whistle. Both sides were tit for tat in the first half and were locked together 1-5 each at half time. St Vincents/Curraha opened up a seven point gap early in the second half and looked home and dry, however, St Cuthberts rallied and found the net mid way through the half which threw them a life line. This gave them the inspiration they needed to finish strong where they were to share the spoils on a 3-9 to 3-9 scoreline. Our final game was away to Carnaross where a win for us would secure a semi final spot. Our lads duly obliged on an impressive scoreline of 6-15 to 0-2 in a very wet and windy evening in Carnaross. We have 1 game left to play which is the refixture from earlier in the campaign against Slane. This game was eventually played on 12th November in Ardcath and St Vincent’s/Curraha made no mistake winning the match in an emphatically on a scoreline of 6-13 to 3-5. This meant that we finished our
league campaign in 3rd place and qualified to play St Michaels in the semifinal. The semi-final was played on 22nd November in Gibbstown but unfortunately a physically bigger and stronger St Michaels outfit proved too good on the day and ran out convincing winners on a scoreline of 5-14 to 2-6. However, our lads showed great commitment and heart right throughout the game and this team can take a lot of encouragement from the season just finshed and hopefully progress further next season and clinch some silverware. 7 – a side competition A reduced team first came together in May with the commencement of the seasons first 7 a side competition. We were drawn to play in Batterstown in a group of 3 with the home team Blackhall Gaels and Dunboyne. Unfortunately a no-show by the home team resulted in a winner take all game v Dunboyne. However hard the St Vincent’s/Curraha lads battled, the Dunboyne outfit were just too strong and ran out comfortable winners. A good workout for this very young team against very strong opposition and this will give them valuable game-time under their belts. St Vincent's /Curraha Panel James Fox (St Vincent’s), Charlie O Brien (St Vincent’s), Conor Harford (St Vincent’s), Andrew Moriarty(Curraha), Danny Tuite(St Vincent’s), Ian Battersby (Curraha), Yusuf O Driscoll(St Vincent’s), Jack O'Connor (Curraha), Conor O'Farrell (Curraha), Niall McLarnon (Curraha), Adam Tuite (St Vincent’s), David Corry (St Vincent’s), Patrick McGill (St Vincent’s),Leo Corry(St Vincent’s), Jack Byrne (St Vincent’s), Evan Connor (St Vincent’s),
Eoghan Corry(St Vincent’s), Jamie Cleary (Curraha), Nigel Hand (St Vincent’s), Diarmuid Moriarty (Curraha). St Vincent's/Curraha U/16's Report Panel for 2014 Brandon McMahon, Andrew Moriarty, Ryan Hand, Andrew McEntee, Samuel Howard, Mark Phelan, Gavin McKane, Brian Joyce, Sean Keogh, Conor Moriarty, Ian Battersby, Andrew Battersby, Luke Farrell, Conor O'Farrell, Adam White, Nigy Hand, Patrick McGill, Jamie Cleary, David Morgan, Niall Murphy Oisin Fay, Cormac Carey League Division 2 Training for the u/16's started in early February and with a 2 month lead in to the commencement of the league campaign, there was plenty of time for training sessions and locally organised friendlies to prepare the team for action in April. Our first match on 1st April against our near neighbours Ratoath was a close, tense affair which saw St Vincent's/Curraha run out winners by scoreline of 3-13 to 2-11 despite being 6 points down in the first half. Our next match on 8th April entailed a long journey to Enfield and despite our best efforts a physically bigger Na Fianna outfit were too strong on the night and won the match on a scoreline of 2-13 to 1-9. St Vincent's/Curraha were determined to bounce back to winning ways after the Na Fianna defeat and our next match was away to Navan O'Mahony's on 15th April.. Although O'Mahony's were not setting this league alight, they certainly raised their game for our visit and a tough match was settled in favour of the visitors on a scoreline of 2-4 to 3-7 with some fine scores and resolute defending being the highlight of this game. Our next game was a home fixture on 22nd April against a strong Summerhill outfit and on a glorious evening for football a high scoring sporting encounter resulted in St Vincent's/Curraha recording a 3-14 to 2-13 victory. This victory set us up nicely for our final game in the league against Wolfe Tones. On 29th April, we visited Gibbstown and as anyone who was there on the night will testify, a magnificent game resulted in a 1 point victory for St Vincent's/Curraha. Despite being 9 points down at one stage in the game and also losing Conor Moriarty half way through the second half with a head injury, the team showing tremendous battling qualities to edge the match by the narrowest of margins. We were to meet Wolfe Tones again on 13th May in the semi-final knock-out stage of the league and this game was played in Curraha. Unfortunately, St Vincent's/Curraha were not to repeat the heroics of the game of 2 weeks earlier and never recovered
from conceding some early goals. Despite battling to get back in the game, Wolfe Tones were stronger on the night and ran out winners on a scoreline of St Vincent's/Curraha 1-14, Wolfe Tones 6-11.
Summer League Division 2 St Vincent's/Curraha commenced their summer league campaign on 1st July with a hard fought win over near neighbours Dunshaughlin, eventually coming out on top by the narrowest of margins, on a scoreline of 5-11 to 3-16. This was followed up a week later with an away game against Trim with the boys in the green and yellow playing some of their best football all year to come away with the 2 points. Final score was Trim 3-7, St Vincent's/Curraha 7-14. Our next match was scheduled to be played on 15th July, but our opponents Jenkinstown Gaels conceded the match and St Vincent's/Curraha were awarded the match. Our 4th game in this league was at home to Na Fianna and in a very high scoring game with goals galore, St Vincent's/Curraha pipped Na Fianna on a 7-8 to 5-15 scoreline. The final game in the league saw St Vincent's/Curraha continue their fine form and with another home game against St Oliver’s, the home team ran out comfortable winners by 5-14 to 3-4. Our semi-final was played on 15th August in Ardcath against Trim. On a wet and windy night, the game was played at a frantic pace but some well taken scores at key points during the game ensured victory for St Vincent's/Curraha on a score line of 212 to 3-6. U/16 Summer League Final 2014 St Vincents/Curraha 2-12 Na Fianna 3-8 Na Fianna suffered a heartbreaking one point defeat to a St Vincent’s / Curraha in the final of the Meath U16 Division 2 Summer League at a damp Pairc Tailteann on Thursday night. Na Fianna got off to a whirlwind start with a soccer style goal from Sean Martin in the first minute but the St Vincents/Curraha team had the better of the first half exchanges. Points from Ryan Hand (45), Sean Keogh and three fine efforts in a row from the left boot of Conor Moriarty gave the combination side a 0-5 to 1-1 lead after 20 minutes. Then in a three minute spell full forward Andrew Battersby scored 2 goals followed almost immediately by a 4th Conor Moriarty point to give the East Meath side an 8 point lead coming up to half time. However on the stroke of half time Michael Keogh stole in behind the Saints defence to score a great goal to leave the interval score St Vincents/Curraha 2-6 Na Fianna 2-1. Battersby opened the second half scoring with a point. Ethan Devine replied with 3 points but further white flags by Sean Keogh and Patrick McGill had
the winners 5 points clear with 15 minutes left to play. However the Enfield/ Baconstown/ Rathmoylan parish team were coming more into the game and points by Sean Martin (2), Cian Slattery and another Devine free in the next 10 minutes against 2 pointed free by St Vincents/Curraha left only 3 points between the team with full time approaching. Then following a couple of minutes of sustained pressure on the town goal that St Vincents/Curraha were defending, Ethan Devine fisted a loose ball to the net to leave the teams level and the possibility of extra time looming. However in injury time a pointed free from midfielder Sean Keogh was to prove the difference between the sides and the final score line read St Vincents/Curraha 2-12 Na Fianna 3-8. Best for the winners were Ryan Hand, Brian Joyce, Sean Keogh, Conor Moriarty and Andrew Battersby while Ciaran Holton, Sean Rafferty, Ethan Devine, Will Flynn and Sean Martin tried hard for Na Fianna. After the game Meath Minor Board Secretary Damien O'Reilly presented the Under 16 Division Division 2 Summer League Shield to St Vincent’s Curraha captain Conor Moriarty. St Vincents/Curraha: Brandon McMahon; David Morgan; Mark Phelan; Andrew Moriarty; Andrew McEntee; Ryan Hand (0-1); Conor O’Farrell; Brian Joyce; Sean Keogh (0-4); Patrick McGill (0-1); Conor Moriarty (0-5); Ian Battersby; Adam White; Andrew Battersby (2-1); Gavin McKane.
St Vincent’s / Curraha's Andrew Battersby with Na Fianna full back Daniel Devine during the U16 Division 2 Summer League final at Pairc Tailteann
Brandon McMahon clears the danger closely watched by Andrew Moriarty.
The final whistle! Players and mentors celebrate!
St Vincent's/Curraha U/17's Report Panel for 2014 Sean Moore, Brian Murphy, Luke McCarthy, James Gibney, Kevin Laffey, Brandon McMahon, Conor Moriarty, Andrew McEntee, Gavin McKane, Adam White, Sean Keogh, Brian Joyce, Mark Phelan, Ryan Hand, Andrew Battersby, David Morgan, Samuel Howard, Patrick McGill, Adam Bolger, Luke Farrell, Ian Battersby, Nigy Hand, Andrew Moriarty, Conor O'Farrell, Ciaran Phelan.
7 a-side competition This competition was run off in June prior to the league campaign commencing. We were drawn to play in Slane on 7th June and qualified for the finals by beating the host club Slane in a very fast and skilful match where the quick ball in to the forwards and the overall team fitness was the key in seeing off a very gallant Slane effort. We regrouped to compete in the finals on 21st June in Dunganny on a scorching hot day where water supplies were in high demand. Our first match was against Wolfe Tones and eager to gain some revenge for an earlier defeat in the league at u/16 level, the St Vincent’s/Curraha lads set a blistering pace with a flurry of points in the first 10 minutes. After a short break, the scoring continued and despite a mini revival from Tones, St Vincent’s/Curraha ran out emphatic winners. Our next game was against Jenkinstown Gaels and this was a much tighter affair with the Gaels strong running yielding some early scores. However, the St Vincent’s/Curraha lads weathered the storm and with great support play edged the Gaels out to qualify for the semi-final. The semi-final saw us paired with St Patrick’s. The long break between the previous game and the semi may have impacted some of the team as they lacked that sharpness displayed earlier and were always trailing St Patrick’s. Add this to some very easy chances missed and we were on our way out. In fairness to St Patrick’s, they played good football and took their scores at crucial stages to keep the upper hand and deservedly qualify for the final.
League Division 3 Similar to our u/15 team, the u/17 team had only 5 players of the full age and two thirds of this team is from our u/16 panel. Due to the u/17 League campaign being brought forward to July/August from the traditional October/November timeframe, our footballers saw plenty of action during the summer with a very busy schedule. The first match on 27th June was away to Walterstown and despite being short a number of regulars due to injury and holidays, the team put in a brave performance and despite putting 4-10 on the scoreboard which would win most games, Walterstown proved they were serious contenders for the league by notching up 5-10 to win the game. St Vincents's/Curraha regrouped and played their next game at home in Ardcath on 11th July. The opposition on this occasion was St Patrick's and in another high scoring game with plenty of goals, the home team were determined not to concede the advantage for a second successive game. With typical determination they carved out a narrow 7-6 to 4-12 victory to post our first 2 points on the board. We gained our next points on 18th July but unfortunately without kicking a ball as Rathkenny conceded the game and all focus was then on our penultimate game in the league with a home game against St Michael's. On 28th July we took to the field at home in Ardcath and on a lovely summers evening a tenacious performance from the home side against the Carlanstown outfit saw us run out 4 point winners on a scoreline of 2-19 to 2-15. Once again, a scheduled game of the round robin league games was not played as Oldcastle conceded the points. The final table showed the top 3 teams all on 8 points. For the knock out stages of this competition, an open draw was made with the top 4 teams being drawn at random. This method was employed due to a walkover being awarded in the league stages. St Vincent's/ Curraha drew a short straw and were drawn away to St Michael's. On 8th August, we travelled to Carlanstown to play our semi-final and knew that it would take an exceptional performance to beat St Michael's on their home ground. The game was a very tight affair and the sides swapped points during the first half. St Michael's took the early initiative with some well taken points but St Vincent's/Curraha raised a green flag to keep in touch. In the second half with the away side beginning to dominate the game, a Michael's player was shown a red card and St Vincent's/Curraha powered ahead with deadly accuracy to record an emphatic victory on a scoreline of St Michael's 0-14, St Vincent's/Curraha 5-12. This was easily our best performance of the season and we now looked forward to the final v Walterstown in Park Tailteann.
League Division 3 Final Curraha / St Vincent’s claimed the first Under 17 title of the year by beating Walterstown in the Division 3 decider at Pairc Tailteann. Curraha / St Vincent’s 3-14, Walterstown 2-7 Walterstown started in whirlwind fashion. Brian O'Connell, son of former Meath great and team manager Martin, registered 1-1 in the opening five minutes. Vincent Murphy added another score and the Blacks were five points to the good after eight minutes. Sean Keogh and Brandon McMahon steadied Curraha Vincent’s with points. After twenty minutes Walterstown held a goal advantage 1-5 to 0-5. The combination side finished the stronger. After a great run by Andrew Battersby half back Andrew McEntee pointed and on the stoke of half time McMahon finished to the net and Curraha / St Vincent’s went in at the break 1-6 to 1-5 ahead. Ian McManus' charges laid the foundations for this win in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. Vincent Murphy got the opening point for Walterstown but for the next 12 minutes it was all Curraha Vincent’s. Points from Keogh (2), Conor Moriarty and Sean Moore along with a second goal from McMahon opened up a 2-11 to 1-6 gap. Walterstown to their credit kept going and were rewarded with an O'Connell point and a goal from midfielder Kashif Ali. The combination side needed a score to settle them again. Sean Keogh responded with a sweet point from the outside of the right boot and Curraha Vincent’s were back in control again. Brian Murphy got their third goal in the final minutes to give Curraha St Vincent’s a comfortable win. Curraha / St Vincent’s: Luke McCarthy, David Morgan, Kevin Laffey, Mark Phelan, Andrew McEntee 0-1, Ryan Hand, Conor O'Farrell, Brian Joyce, Brian Murphy 1-0, Sean Moore 0-1, Conor Moriarty 0-5, Sean Keogh 0-6, Andrew Battersby, Brandon McMahon 2-1, Adam White.
Sean Keogh gains possession for Curraha / St Vincent’s as his team mate Adam White and Walterstown's Stephen Byrne look on during the Under 17 Division 3 final at Pairc Tailteann.
St Vincent's/Curraha Minor Report League Division 2 Panel for 2014 Richard O'Sullivan, John Corry, Niall Moriarty, Robert Reid, Sean O'Hanrahan, Neil O'Dowd, Oisin Carey, Ciaran Brangan, Andrew Coyle, Brian Murphy, Sean Moore, Ciaran Phelan, Luke McCarthy, Kevin Laffey, Brian Joyce, Conor Moriarty, Andrew McEntee, Niall Murphy, Sean Keogh, Mark Phelan, Ryan Hand, Andrew Battersby, David Morgan Our minor league campaign started off with an away match against Wolfe Tones in Kilberry on 9th February. On a perfect Sunday morning for football, it was the home team who set out their stall from the throw-in, with impressive point scoring from the Tones men. St Vincent's/Curraha finally managed to get into gear and fought back taking several good scores of their own. However, Tones continued to press forward adding points to their tally with this flow interrupted in the second held by a fine Andrew Battersby goal following by several St Vincent's/Curraha points in a mini revival which temporarily halted the Tones onslaught. The home team eventually raised the green flag towards the end of the game to leave the score Wolfe Tones 120, St Vincent's/Curraha 1-7. Our next game was a home fixture on 24th February against Killary Emmet’s. St Vincent's/Curraha took to the pitch in a determined mood not to have a repeat of the opening game of the season. A fully committed performance followed with all players working extremely hard to support each other and every single ball being chased. With the result never in doubt from early on in this match, St Vincent's/Curraha ran out winners on a score line of 3-10, Killary Emmets 1-7. A more confident St Vincent's/Curraha team travelled to Batterstown for our next match to play Jenkinstown Gaels. This game was a real end to end affair with both teams trading goals and points and desperately trying to gain the upper hand. The breakthrough came when St Vincent's/Curraha netted for the 3rd time in the second half to leave them 7 points up with less than 10 minutes to go. A spirited Gaels comeback in the closing stages yielded 1-1 before the final whistle signalled a hard fought St Vincent's/Curraha victory on a scoreline of Jenkinstown Gaels 2-7, St Vincent's/Curraha 3-7. With confidence high in the team now, St Vincent's/Curraha played some of their best football this year with wins in their following 3 matches. On 14th March, they accounted for Seneschelstown on a 3-11 to 0-8 scoreline, St Michael's on a 0-2 to 014 scoreline and St Pats on a 5-9 to 3-8 scoreline. Apart from the opening day defeat,
St Vincent's/Curraha had now won 5 matches on the trot and duly qualified for a semi-final knockout spot. Our final game of the league campaign was away to Skryne and with both teams already qualified for the semi-final, a meaningless match saw Skryne run out 2-12 to 0-8 winners On 2nd May the semi-final was played and St Vincent's/Curraha once again travelled to face the Tara men. A tough game ensued with a final spot on offer for the victors. Try as they might in the first half, St Vincent's/Curraha couldn't contain a strong running Skyrne outfit and struggled to stay in touch before the half time whistle saw Skryne take a 9 point lead into the break. However, after some soul searching at half time, the dogged determination of this St Vincent's/Curraha team became very evident and they tore into the second half with renewed vigour, taking the game to the opposition to raise hope among the away supporters. Despite losing 2 players to injury in the second half, St Vincent's/Curraha raised 2 more green flags along with a flurry of well taken points. Unfortunately and agonisingly, several late chances failed to be converted and the final whistle signalled a 2 point victory to Skyrne on a 3-13 to 3-10 scoreline. Minor Division 2 Championship On 19th September, St Vincent's/Curraha travelled to Trim to play the favourites for this Division 2 Championship. On a dismal night of lashing rain and high winds, both teams served up an excellent game considering the conditions with both teams taking the initiative early on before St Vincent's/Curraha stretched their lead to 4 points midway through the second half. The away team were then awarded a penalty which only raised a white flag and with Trim being handed a late lifeline, they rallied to draw level in the dying minutes. With both teams having late, late chances to win the match, a draw was a fair result on the night. The replay was played on 29th September in Ardcath and on this occasion St Vincent's/Curraha made no mistake in recording a fine victory with some excellent point taking from all angles. The final score was St Vincent's/Curraha 0-17, Trim 111. With confidence high, St Vincent's/Curraha entertained Seneschalstown at home on 3rd October. Unfortunately, the men in the green and yellow were not able to reproduce the heroics of the first 2 games in this championship and despite starting strongly, several errors let to the concession of some easy goals from which Seneschalstown never looked back and ran out winners, albeit on a flattering scoreline of S Vincent's/Curraha 2-9, Seneschalstown 3-13. Our next game and ultimately our last was a knock-out game against Na Fianna which was played under lights in Ardcath on 10th October. The St Vincent's/Curraha men were desperately trying to find the form displayed earlier in the season and this showed with an excellent display dominating the game. However, a tenacious Na Fianna team refused to capitulate and plugged away adding modestly to their score. Unfortunately, the home team's lack of concentration was to prove their downfall when, in total control of the game, they conceded 2 goals in 2 attacks to totally alter
the course of the game and with a late lifeline, Na Fianna hung on to win by 2-13 to 112. A devastated St Vincent's/Curraha team left the field that night wondering what might have been.
Overall in 2014, the teams under the Minor Board had a very successful year. With victories for our u/16’s in the Summer League Div 2 & u17’s in League Div 3, our u/15’s currently in contention for a semi-final spot in Div 4 and improving with every game and the minor’s falling just short of league and championship glory, we shortly head into 2015 with renewed hope and confidence of further success in the new year.
St Vincents/Curraha Under 15 Report St Vincents/Curraha team Photo 2014
Front row L to R, Adam Tuite, Eoghan Corry, Andrew Moriarty, Conor O Farrell, Danny Tuite, Leo Corry, Diarmuid Moriarty. Back row L to R, Jack O Connor, Jack Byrne, Conor Harford, Nigel Hand, James Fox, Evan Connor, Ian Battersby, Patrick McGill, Jamie Cleary, Charlie O Brien, David Corry. (Missing from photo Niall McLarnon and Yusuf O Driscoll)
Despite only have 5 players at 15yrs of age and a tight enough panel St Vincents/Curraha under fifteens made it through to the semi finals stage of the league. Good wins over Donaghmore/Ashbourne and Carnaross helped by a walkover Boardsmill were to see us through. Overall, though it’s been a mixed enough league campaign with our results showing 3 wins (one of them WO), 2 draws and 2 defeats. A victory now in the semi final would be a massive achievement for this group of players who are improving with every game.
Our season got off to a flying start with a great win against our neighbours Donaghmore/Ashbourne. This was a great spectacle with some excellent teamwork and great individual scores taken by both sides. Our lads made the home advantage count and came out on top with a 3-10 to 2-4 victory. We travelled to Slane for our second round game but regrettably the referee never showed and the points were shared. In round 3 and 4 we met the two strongest teams in St Michaels and Longwood/ Clonard. Here we suffered heavy defeats. Despite playing much stronger opposition our lads never gave up and ran up decent enough scores in both matches. We were awarded the points against Boardsmill in round 5 which was a pity as our lads are so eager to play football. We travelled to Bohermeen for round 6. This was the game of the league so far and provided great entertainment right to the final whistle. Both sides were tit for tat in the first half and were locked together 1-5 each at half time. St Vincents/Curraha opened up a seven point gap early in the second half and looked home and dry, however, St Cuthberts rallied and found the net mid way through the half which threw them a life line. This gave them the inspiration they needed to finish strong where they were to share the spoils on a 3-9 to 3-9 scoreline. Our final game was away to Carnaross where a win for us would secure a semi final spot. Our lads duly obliged on an impressive scoreline of 6-15 to 0-2 in a very wet and windy evening in Carnaross. We have 1 game left to play which is the refixture from earlier in the campaign against Slane. This game was eventually played on 12th November in Ardcath and St Vincent’s/Curraha made no mistake winning the match in an emphatically on a scoreline of 6-13 to 3-5. This meant that we finished our
league campaign in 3rd place and qualified to play St Michaels in the semifinal. The semi-final was played on 22nd November in Gibbstown but unfortunately a physically bigger and stronger St Michaels outfit proved too good on the day and ran out convincing winners on a scoreline of 5-14 to 2-6. However, our lads showed great commitment and heart right throughout the game and this team can take a lot of encouragement from the season just finshed and hopefully progress further next season and clinch some silverware. 7 – a side competition A reduced team first came together in May with the commencement of the seasons first 7 a side competition. We were drawn to play in Batterstown in a group of 3 with the home team Blackhall Gaels and Dunboyne. Unfortunately a no-show by the home team resulted in a winner take all game v Dunboyne. However hard the St Vincent’s/Curraha lads battled, the Dunboyne outfit were just too strong and ran out comfortable winners. A good workout for this very young team against very strong opposition and this will give them valuable game-time under their belts. St Vincent's /Curraha Panel James Fox (St Vincent’s), Charlie O Brien (St Vincent’s), Conor Harford (St Vincent’s), Andrew Moriarty(Curraha), Danny Tuite(St Vincent’s), Ian Battersby (Curraha), Yusuf O Driscoll(St Vincent’s), Jack O'Connor (Curraha), Conor O'Farrell (Curraha), Niall McLarnon (Curraha), Adam Tuite (St Vincent’s), David Corry (St Vincent’s), Patrick McGill (St Vincent’s),Leo Corry(St Vincent’s), Jack Byrne (St Vincent’s), Evan Connor (St Vincent’s),
Eoghan Corry(St Vincent’s), Jamie Cleary (Curraha), Nigel Hand (St Vincent’s), Diarmuid Moriarty (Curraha). St Vincent's/Curraha U/16's Report Panel for 2014 Brandon McMahon, Andrew Moriarty, Ryan Hand, Andrew McEntee, Samuel Howard, Mark Phelan, Gavin McKane, Brian Joyce, Sean Keogh, Conor Moriarty, Ian Battersby, Andrew Battersby, Luke Farrell, Conor O'Farrell, Adam White, Nigy Hand, Patrick McGill, Jamie Cleary, David Morgan, Niall Murphy Oisin Fay, Cormac Carey League Division 2 Training for the u/16's started in early February and with a 2 month lead in to the commencement of the league campaign, there was plenty of time for training sessions and locally organised friendlies to prepare the team for action in April. Our first match on 1st April against our near neighbours Ratoath was a close, tense affair which saw St Vincent's/Curraha run out winners by scoreline of 3-13 to 2-11 despite being 6 points down in the first half. Our next match on 8th April entailed a long journey to Enfield and despite our best efforts a physically bigger Na Fianna outfit were too strong on the night and won the match on a scoreline of 2-13 to 1-9. St Vincent's/Curraha were determined to bounce back to winning ways after the Na Fianna defeat and our next match was away to Navan O'Mahony's on 15th April.. Although O'Mahony's were not setting this league alight, they certainly raised their game for our visit and a tough match was settled in favour of the visitors on a scoreline of 2-4 to 3-7 with some fine scores and resolute defending being the highlight of this game. Our next game was a home fixture on 22nd April against a strong Summerhill outfit and on a glorious evening for football a high scoring sporting encounter resulted in St Vincent's/Curraha recording a 3-14 to 2-13 victory. This victory set us up nicely for our final game in the league against Wolfe Tones. On 29th April, we visited Gibbstown and as anyone who was there on the night will testify, a magnificent game resulted in a 1 point victory for St Vincent's/Curraha. Despite being 9 points down at one stage in the game and also losing Conor Moriarty half way through the second half with a head injury, the team showing tremendous battling qualities to edge the match by the narrowest of margins. We were to meet Wolfe Tones again on 13th May in the semi-final knock-out stage of the league and this game was played in Curraha. Unfortunately, St Vincent's/Curraha were not to repeat the heroics of the game of 2 weeks earlier and never recovered
from conceding some early goals. Despite battling to get back in the game, Wolfe Tones were stronger on the night and ran out winners on a scoreline of St Vincent's/Curraha 1-14, Wolfe Tones 6-11.
Summer League Division 2 St Vincent's/Curraha commenced their summer league campaign on 1st July with a hard fought win over near neighbours Dunshaughlin, eventually coming out on top by the narrowest of margins, on a scoreline of 5-11 to 3-16. This was followed up a week later with an away game against Trim with the boys in the green and yellow playing some of their best football all year to come away with the 2 points. Final score was Trim 3-7, St Vincent's/Curraha 7-14. Our next match was scheduled to be played on 15th July, but our opponents Jenkinstown Gaels conceded the match and St Vincent's/Curraha were awarded the match. Our 4th game in this league was at home to Na Fianna and in a very high scoring game with goals galore, St Vincent's/Curraha pipped Na Fianna on a 7-8 to 5-15 scoreline. The final game in the league saw St Vincent's/Curraha continue their fine form and with another home game against St Oliver’s, the home team ran out comfortable winners by 5-14 to 3-4. Our semi-final was played on 15th August in Ardcath against Trim. On a wet and windy night, the game was played at a frantic pace but some well taken scores at key points during the game ensured victory for St Vincent's/Curraha on a score line of 212 to 3-6. U/16 Summer League Final 2014 St Vincents/Curraha 2-12 Na Fianna 3-8 Na Fianna suffered a heartbreaking one point defeat to a St Vincent’s / Curraha in the final of the Meath U16 Division 2 Summer League at a damp Pairc Tailteann on Thursday night. Na Fianna got off to a whirlwind start with a soccer style goal from Sean Martin in the first minute but the St Vincents/Curraha team had the better of the first half exchanges. Points from Ryan Hand (45), Sean Keogh and three fine efforts in a row from the left boot of Conor Moriarty gave the combination side a 0-5 to 1-1 lead after 20 minutes. Then in a three minute spell full forward Andrew Battersby scored 2 goals followed almost immediately by a 4th Conor Moriarty point to give the East Meath side an 8 point lead coming up to half time. However on the stroke of half time Michael Keogh stole in behind the Saints defence to score a great goal to leave the interval score St Vincents/Curraha 2-6 Na Fianna 2-1. Battersby opened the second half scoring with a point. Ethan Devine replied with 3 points but further white flags by Sean Keogh and Patrick McGill had
the winners 5 points clear with 15 minutes left to play. However the Enfield/ Baconstown/ Rathmoylan parish team were coming more into the game and points by Sean Martin (2), Cian Slattery and another Devine free in the next 10 minutes against 2 pointed free by St Vincents/Curraha left only 3 points between the team with full time approaching. Then following a couple of minutes of sustained pressure on the town goal that St Vincents/Curraha were defending, Ethan Devine fisted a loose ball to the net to leave the teams level and the possibility of extra time looming. However in injury time a pointed free from midfielder Sean Keogh was to prove the difference between the sides and the final score line read St Vincents/Curraha 2-12 Na Fianna 3-8. Best for the winners were Ryan Hand, Brian Joyce, Sean Keogh, Conor Moriarty and Andrew Battersby while Ciaran Holton, Sean Rafferty, Ethan Devine, Will Flynn and Sean Martin tried hard for Na Fianna. After the game Meath Minor Board Secretary Damien O'Reilly presented the Under 16 Division Division 2 Summer League Shield to St Vincent’s Curraha captain Conor Moriarty. St Vincents/Curraha: Brandon McMahon; David Morgan; Mark Phelan; Andrew Moriarty; Andrew McEntee; Ryan Hand (0-1); Conor O’Farrell; Brian Joyce; Sean Keogh (0-4); Patrick McGill (0-1); Conor Moriarty (0-5); Ian Battersby; Adam White; Andrew Battersby (2-1); Gavin McKane.
St Vincent’s / Curraha's Andrew Battersby with Na Fianna full back Daniel Devine during the U16 Division 2 Summer League final at Pairc Tailteann
Brandon McMahon clears the danger closely watched by Andrew Moriarty.
The final whistle! Players and mentors celebrate!
St Vincent's/Curraha U/17's Report Panel for 2014 Sean Moore, Brian Murphy, Luke McCarthy, James Gibney, Kevin Laffey, Brandon McMahon, Conor Moriarty, Andrew McEntee, Gavin McKane, Adam White, Sean Keogh, Brian Joyce, Mark Phelan, Ryan Hand, Andrew Battersby, David Morgan, Samuel Howard, Patrick McGill, Adam Bolger, Luke Farrell, Ian Battersby, Nigy Hand, Andrew Moriarty, Conor O'Farrell, Ciaran Phelan.
7 a-side competition This competition was run off in June prior to the league campaign commencing. We were drawn to play in Slane on 7th June and qualified for the finals by beating the host club Slane in a very fast and skilful match where the quick ball in to the forwards and the overall team fitness was the key in seeing off a very gallant Slane effort. We regrouped to compete in the finals on 21st June in Dunganny on a scorching hot day where water supplies were in high demand. Our first match was against Wolfe Tones and eager to gain some revenge for an earlier defeat in the league at u/16 level, the St Vincent’s/Curraha lads set a blistering pace with a flurry of points in the first 10 minutes. After a short break, the scoring continued and despite a mini revival from Tones, St Vincent’s/Curraha ran out emphatic winners. Our next game was against Jenkinstown Gaels and this was a much tighter affair with the Gaels strong running yielding some early scores. However, the St Vincent’s/Curraha lads weathered the storm and with great support play edged the Gaels out to qualify for the semi-final. The semi-final saw us paired with St Patrick’s. The long break between the previous game and the semi may have impacted some of the team as they lacked that sharpness displayed earlier and were always trailing St Patrick’s. Add this to some very easy chances missed and we were on our way out. In fairness to St Patrick’s, they played good football and took their scores at crucial stages to keep the upper hand and deservedly qualify for the final.
League Division 3 Similar to our u/15 team, the u/17 team had only 5 players of the full age and two thirds of this team is from our u/16 panel. Due to the u/17 League campaign being brought forward to July/August from the traditional October/November timeframe, our footballers saw plenty of action during the summer with a very busy schedule. The first match on 27th June was away to Walterstown and despite being short a number of regulars due to injury and holidays, the team put in a brave performance and despite putting 4-10 on the scoreboard which would win most games, Walterstown proved they were serious contenders for the league by notching up 5-10 to win the game. St Vincents's/Curraha regrouped and played their next game at home in Ardcath on 11th July. The opposition on this occasion was St Patrick's and in another high scoring game with plenty of goals, the home team were determined not to concede the advantage for a second successive game. With typical determination they carved out a narrow 7-6 to 4-12 victory to post our first 2 points on the board. We gained our next points on 18th July but unfortunately without kicking a ball as Rathkenny conceded the game and all focus was then on our penultimate game in the league with a home game against St Michael's. On 28th July we took to the field at home in Ardcath and on a lovely summers evening a tenacious performance from the home side against the Carlanstown outfit saw us run out 4 point winners on a scoreline of 2-19 to 2-15. Once again, a scheduled game of the round robin league games was not played as Oldcastle conceded the points. The final table showed the top 3 teams all on 8 points. For the knock out stages of this competition, an open draw was made with the top 4 teams being drawn at random. This method was employed due to a walkover being awarded in the league stages. St Vincent's/ Curraha drew a short straw and were drawn away to St Michael's. On 8th August, we travelled to Carlanstown to play our semi-final and knew that it would take an exceptional performance to beat St Michael's on their home ground. The game was a very tight affair and the sides swapped points during the first half. St Michael's took the early initiative with some well taken points but St Vincent's/Curraha raised a green flag to keep in touch. In the second half with the away side beginning to dominate the game, a Michael's player was shown a red card and St Vincent's/Curraha powered ahead with deadly accuracy to record an emphatic victory on a scoreline of St Michael's 0-14, St Vincent's/Curraha 5-12. This was easily our best performance of the season and we now looked forward to the final v Walterstown in Park Tailteann.
League Division 3 Final Curraha / St Vincent’s claimed the first Under 17 title of the year by beating Walterstown in the Division 3 decider at Pairc Tailteann. Curraha / St Vincent’s 3-14, Walterstown 2-7 Walterstown started in whirlwind fashion. Brian O'Connell, son of former Meath great and team manager Martin, registered 1-1 in the opening five minutes. Vincent Murphy added another score and the Blacks were five points to the good after eight minutes. Sean Keogh and Brandon McMahon steadied Curraha Vincent’s with points. After twenty minutes Walterstown held a goal advantage 1-5 to 0-5. The combination side finished the stronger. After a great run by Andrew Battersby half back Andrew McEntee pointed and on the stoke of half time McMahon finished to the net and Curraha / St Vincent’s went in at the break 1-6 to 1-5 ahead. Ian McManus' charges laid the foundations for this win in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. Vincent Murphy got the opening point for Walterstown but for the next 12 minutes it was all Curraha Vincent’s. Points from Keogh (2), Conor Moriarty and Sean Moore along with a second goal from McMahon opened up a 2-11 to 1-6 gap. Walterstown to their credit kept going and were rewarded with an O'Connell point and a goal from midfielder Kashif Ali. The combination side needed a score to settle them again. Sean Keogh responded with a sweet point from the outside of the right boot and Curraha Vincent’s were back in control again. Brian Murphy got their third goal in the final minutes to give Curraha St Vincent’s a comfortable win. Curraha / St Vincent’s: Luke McCarthy, David Morgan, Kevin Laffey, Mark Phelan, Andrew McEntee 0-1, Ryan Hand, Conor O'Farrell, Brian Joyce, Brian Murphy 1-0, Sean Moore 0-1, Conor Moriarty 0-5, Sean Keogh 0-6, Andrew Battersby, Brandon McMahon 2-1, Adam White.
Sean Keogh gains possession for Curraha / St Vincent’s as his team mate Adam White and Walterstown's Stephen Byrne look on during the Under 17 Division 3 final at Pairc Tailteann.
St Vincent's/Curraha Minor Report League Division 2 Panel for 2014 Richard O'Sullivan, John Corry, Niall Moriarty, Robert Reid, Sean O'Hanrahan, Neil O'Dowd, Oisin Carey, Ciaran Brangan, Andrew Coyle, Brian Murphy, Sean Moore, Ciaran Phelan, Luke McCarthy, Kevin Laffey, Brian Joyce, Conor Moriarty, Andrew McEntee, Niall Murphy, Sean Keogh, Mark Phelan, Ryan Hand, Andrew Battersby, David Morgan Our minor league campaign started off with an away match against Wolfe Tones in Kilberry on 9th February. On a perfect Sunday morning for football, it was the home team who set out their stall from the throw-in, with impressive point scoring from the Tones men. St Vincent's/Curraha finally managed to get into gear and fought back taking several good scores of their own. However, Tones continued to press forward adding points to their tally with this flow interrupted in the second held by a fine Andrew Battersby goal following by several St Vincent's/Curraha points in a mini revival which temporarily halted the Tones onslaught. The home team eventually raised the green flag towards the end of the game to leave the score Wolfe Tones 120, St Vincent's/Curraha 1-7. Our next game was a home fixture on 24th February against Killary Emmet’s. St Vincent's/Curraha took to the pitch in a determined mood not to have a repeat of the opening game of the season. A fully committed performance followed with all players working extremely hard to support each other and every single ball being chased. With the result never in doubt from early on in this match, St Vincent's/Curraha ran out winners on a score line of 3-10, Killary Emmets 1-7. A more confident St Vincent's/Curraha team travelled to Batterstown for our next match to play Jenkinstown Gaels. This game was a real end to end affair with both teams trading goals and points and desperately trying to gain the upper hand. The breakthrough came when St Vincent's/Curraha netted for the 3rd time in the second half to leave them 7 points up with less than 10 minutes to go. A spirited Gaels comeback in the closing stages yielded 1-1 before the final whistle signalled a hard fought St Vincent's/Curraha victory on a scoreline of Jenkinstown Gaels 2-7, St Vincent's/Curraha 3-7. With confidence high in the team now, St Vincent's/Curraha played some of their best football this year with wins in their following 3 matches. On 14th March, they accounted for Seneschelstown on a 3-11 to 0-8 scoreline, St Michael's on a 0-2 to 014 scoreline and St Pats on a 5-9 to 3-8 scoreline. Apart from the opening day defeat,
St Vincent's/Curraha had now won 5 matches on the trot and duly qualified for a semi-final knockout spot. Our final game of the league campaign was away to Skryne and with both teams already qualified for the semi-final, a meaningless match saw Skryne run out 2-12 to 0-8 winners On 2nd May the semi-final was played and St Vincent's/Curraha once again travelled to face the Tara men. A tough game ensued with a final spot on offer for the victors. Try as they might in the first half, St Vincent's/Curraha couldn't contain a strong running Skyrne outfit and struggled to stay in touch before the half time whistle saw Skryne take a 9 point lead into the break. However, after some soul searching at half time, the dogged determination of this St Vincent's/Curraha team became very evident and they tore into the second half with renewed vigour, taking the game to the opposition to raise hope among the away supporters. Despite losing 2 players to injury in the second half, St Vincent's/Curraha raised 2 more green flags along with a flurry of well taken points. Unfortunately and agonisingly, several late chances failed to be converted and the final whistle signalled a 2 point victory to Skyrne on a 3-13 to 3-10 scoreline. Minor Division 2 Championship On 19th September, St Vincent's/Curraha travelled to Trim to play the favourites for this Division 2 Championship. On a dismal night of lashing rain and high winds, both teams served up an excellent game considering the conditions with both teams taking the initiative early on before St Vincent's/Curraha stretched their lead to 4 points midway through the second half. The away team were then awarded a penalty which only raised a white flag and with Trim being handed a late lifeline, they rallied to draw level in the dying minutes. With both teams having late, late chances to win the match, a draw was a fair result on the night. The replay was played on 29th September in Ardcath and on this occasion St Vincent's/Curraha made no mistake in recording a fine victory with some excellent point taking from all angles. The final score was St Vincent's/Curraha 0-17, Trim 111. With confidence high, St Vincent's/Curraha entertained Seneschalstown at home on 3rd October. Unfortunately, the men in the green and yellow were not able to reproduce the heroics of the first 2 games in this championship and despite starting strongly, several errors let to the concession of some easy goals from which Seneschalstown never looked back and ran out winners, albeit on a flattering scoreline of S Vincent's/Curraha 2-9, Seneschalstown 3-13. Our next game and ultimately our last was a knock-out game against Na Fianna which was played under lights in Ardcath on 10th October. The St Vincent's/Curraha men were desperately trying to find the form displayed earlier in the season and this showed with an excellent display dominating the game. However, a tenacious Na Fianna team refused to capitulate and plugged away adding modestly to their score. Unfortunately, the home team's lack of concentration was to prove their downfall when, in total control of the game, they conceded 2 goals in 2 attacks to totally alter
the course of the game and with a late lifeline, Na Fianna hung on to win by 2-13 to 112. A devastated St Vincent's/Curraha team left the field that night wondering what might have been.
Overall in 2014, the teams under the Minor Board had a very successful year. With victories for our u/16’s in the Summer League Div 2 & u17’s in League Div 3, our u/15’s currently in contention for a semi-final spot in Div 4 and improving with every game and the minor’s falling just short of league and championship glory, we shortly head into 2015 with renewed hope and confidence of further success in the new year.
