Boston Northeast GAA

The superior fitness and goal scoring ability of Wolfe Tones was enough to easily see off the challenge of an Armagh side hoping to build on their defeat of Cork a week before. With the competition for places in this year’s senior championship becoming increasingly tight, the Tones knew that only a win would do if they were to maintain the pressure on those teams on top.
Notre Dame clearly have title aspirations of their own and started this game where they left off last week, storming to an early 1-2 to 0-1 lead. The goal came via the penalty spot after Armagh talisman Darren Gilsenan was hauled down in the box, with Neil Jordan dispatching the penalty past Tones’ goalkeeper Lyons. This was to be the first in a match with many goals and opportunities with both keepers busy throughout. Luckily for the Wolfe Tone’s, they brought their shooting boots to Canton and began their siege of the Armagh net with full forward McCabe planting a low shot to the corner after a mix up in the Armagh full back line.
A poor kick out from the Armagh net minder was then capitalised on by a Tones’ midfielder who found himself instantly one on one with the keeper and the player took his opportunity by smashing the ball to the net from close range. Armagh refused to let go and continued to hit good scores with points from Jordan and Gilsenan but the Tones maintained their early pressure, matching Armagh with some fine points of their own.
Half time came at the wrong time for Notre Dame however and the Wolfe Tones hit them with a sucker punch goal immediately after the restart. This began a completely different game as the Tone’s completely over powered the struggling Armagh and strong runs through the middle were not dealt with as the Dubliners continued with an insatiable hunger for goals. Six times the Armagh net was breached and this was a fair reflection on the physical dominance of a more complete Wolfe Tones team, especially with the athleticism of Sayers in the half forward line and the clever movement of McCabe and Farrell at inside forward. The full time result was 6-10 to 1-7, a poor second half for Armagh giving Wolfe Tones full points.

 

Kerry looked to come and spoil Donegal’s party by being the first team to beat them this year. With O’Neill looking good in the forward line and scoring the teams opening two points, Kerry started well and appeared to be competing with the much fancied Tír Chonaill men.
With the game nearly in the bag and Kerry leading by eight with only minutes remaining, Donegal introduced three subs, each of whom had a bearing on a amazing turn around. Christy Bell came on to fire in a goal that brought new hope for his side and then helped in setting up man of the match Eddie Mannion to grab another before Donegal sealed victory with some expertly taken points in the dying moments to maintain their lead at the top and break Kerry hearts along the way.



 

A mid table clash between Mayo and Connemara’s finest turned out to be a convincing victory for Fir na Gaeltachta as they glided their way past a Mayo side still reeling from the hammering taken at the hands of Aidan MacAnespies last weekend. Clearly, lessons had not been learned on Mayo’s part and from early on they struggled against their Connaught counterparts.
A nightmare start for the green and red of Mayo saw them concede two early goals on the trot from Gael’s full forward pairing of Dougan and Martin, who both found space after good work out the field by their team mates. Mayo replied with their first two, and only points of the half, providing only a brief respite for their busy backline. As in the tie against the Macs a week earlier, the flood gates opened and the Connemara Gaels forwards began shooting points for fun. As the points sailed over, time ticked slowly for the Mayo team and by half time the score stood at 2-8 to 0-2 with Dougan and Martin posting seven between them.
The arrival of half time did nothing to resurrect Mayo and Connemara used the break to conserve their energy for more point scoring in the second half. With McGill emerging ever more in the second half and the rampant full forward duo firing on all cylinders, the Gaels made it 2-14 before Mayo finally grabbed another score with midfielder Coakley firing a consolation goal to restore some pride.
After two heavy defeats it will take much more than a goal to gain back the confidence and enthusiasm lacking form the Mayo play. Connemara simply played with more energy and urgency, with some great running and passing from midfield and Michael McGill making his presence felt but Mayo could not get to grips with the full forward compliment of who opened many gaps and exposed key weaknesses in the Mayo back line from beginning to end as both players were hard to separate for man of the match.

 

A hurling double header in Canton this weekend began with the clash of Wexford and Fr. Tom’s, two sides at opposite ends of the table and entering the contest with contrasting fortunes after Wexford’s thrilling win over Tipperary and Fr. Tom’s ongoing search for league points this season.
The pitch was rather damp after a night of rain and neither team want to play much ground hurling meaning a fast and entertaining encounter was in store for the watching audience. There wasn’t a hint of rain in the air though, and the clear sky allowed Tom’s half forward Callinan to pin point a free straight over from the half way line. The dead ball specialist was in good form, tapping over another soon after but by then Wexford had two points on the board, the first after a nice sidestep from O’Dwyer around his man to finish over for the first. White added Wexford’s second and then third to regain the advantage from a 65. A wonderful bit of hurling then helped double the lead, as the Yellow Bellies’ number eleven O’Dwyer plucked a high ball from the sky, turned swiftly and sped away to fire over the fourth.
The sides traded a point each before Wexford began to assert their dominance with fine scores from Murphy, Maloney and O’Dwyer increasing the gap to five points. By now Fr. Tom’s were relying heavily on the free taking abilities of Callinan for scores, and the forward added one more to take their taly to four points at half time. Another super piece of fielding from O’Dwyer set White up to cap a good half for Wexford and made the half time score line 0-9 to 0-4.
The second half opened with Wexford going in the search of a goal which they were unlucky not to find in the first half thanks to a great save low down from the Tom’s keeper. A long ball in early after the restart led to a free which was blasted over by Murphy, a wise decision with Tom’s packing their goal line. Tom’s then aimed to stay in the game with a well taken score from midfielder Kelly out on the sideline. Callinan then proved his worth to the team by scoring from play but again Wexford rallied, adding four points including a free and a 65 from White.
Proceedings took a turn in Toms’ favour midway through the second half however as they found the net for the game’s first goal. Michael McGill, who had already had a busy day with the Connemara Gaels footballers, ran through the Wexford defence to test the keeper with a rifled shot. The keeper stood tall and saved his effort but Tom’s sub Keenan was at hand to apply the finish and set the green and black side up for a comeback. Time was running out however and Wexford were not willing to relinquish a hard fought victory, adding another couple of scores before Fr. Toms finished with a meaningless goal to make it 0-17 to 2-6 at full time.
Wexford had many fine performances especially around the middle where White and O’Herlihy worked hard to overcome their opponents.

The Macs strolled into Canton on Sunday again trailing their rivals Donegal by two points at the top of the senior league and playing catch up. After having lost to the same team in their last game, the points were arguably more important to the Blues as they continue their interest in competing for places in this year’s senior championship.
The Shannon-siders took this driving factor onto the field and opened the scoring with Eoin O’Neill wriggling through the Macs defence and curling a lovely point over. The Macs  responded as they always do by putting pressure on the opposing team and McRory opened his account with a handy free before Alan Nestor gained the advantage for his team soon after.
The referee did well from a long way to spot an infringement by newcomer MacAdam in the MacAnespies full back line and O’Neill hit his teams second with a simple free. The same player was then the culprit of some poor misses and this allowed the Macs to open the deficit again while the threat of full forward Colm McRory began to emerge. First, the forward nearly had a goal but his path was blocked and opted for the easier point instead. A little later, he kicked a short free to set up teammate Colm Donnelly for another uncontested score while soon after he took another score after rounding his man and punching over. This took the Macs three points ahead and they took this lead into half time as both sides added two more before the break.
Slowly but surely the Macs looked to edge away from their opponents, and their cause was aided with two more points to the Blues’ one after the game resumed. The spirit of Shannon Blues suddenly became apparent, and an opportunistic goal swung the game around as a long ball in caught out the whole MacAnespies back line and the Blues’ Colm McGee swooped in to round the keeper who was too slow coming off his line and the battle was on. A lack of discipline then allowed the Blues to equalise as the trusty boot of Phillip Lydon tapped over a free and then the Blues took the lead to great rapture from the audience as half back Enda Mullarkey burst forward and provided for McGee to finish easily and give his team a one point lead. This marked an amazing turnaround and it wasn’t over as Stephen Gilmartin went on to double the lead with an inspirational point soon after. The Macs appeared to be panicking and were kicking wides as easy as they had previously kicked scores. The reliable McRory did add another point from a free but so did the Blues and that score toasted a victory that few may have predicted but was very much deserved on Shannon’s part.
The performance was hearty and spirited the entire way and the Blues never looked out of it. This was mainly down to the superb defending of Kelly and Wallace in the full back line to shut out the Macs and secure victory.

 

The battle between Cork and Galway provided the second instalment in a hurling double header in Canton on Sunday. The latter began eagerly, gaining the lion’s share of possession but putting it to waste early on with some wayward shooting. The Tribesmen did grab the first score however with the impressive Murphy leading the way. Cork replied with an equaliser but then Galway went on the rampage, scoring four points without reply. This included one fine point by Moylan who beat his man to the ball before turning and shooting over, and two more from Murphy.
Both sides proved that they could score both from play and from the dead ball, with each converting a free and Galway also knocking over a 65. Galway’s supremacy at hitting creating chances in open play led them to a six point lead with Cork now relying heavily on scores from placed balls. However, as luck would have it Cork managed to find a goal as a mishit ball fell into the square where a Cork forward just about squeezed it in, despite the best efforts of the goalkeeper.
This score knocked the wind out of Galway’s sails and Cork went on to retrieve the advantage, taking the score to 1-9 to 0-10 points in their favour at one point in the second half. Again the pendulum swung and the Maroon of Galway hit a purple patch, scoring a goal and three points including a great goal from Moylan bursting through the middle and smashing into the corner.
From here scenes got ugly and a few skirmishes led to a player on either side receiving their marching orders. The game remained tense right up until the end, with Cork missing some crucial late chances and Galway took the points by the narrowest of margins.

Results
Saturday 11 July 2009
SFC
Galway 1-12 - St. Christopher’s 3-10
Armagh N.D. 1-7 - Wolfe Tones 6-10
Donegal 2-11 - Kerry 1-12
Junior A

Cork 1-11 - Celtics 0-10
Sunday 12 July 2009
SFC
Mayo 1-2 - Connemara Gaels 2-16
Aidan MacAnespies 0-10 - Shannon Blues 1-9
SHC
Fr. Tom Burke’s 2-6 - Wexford 0-17
Galway 1-14 - Cork 1-13
Junior A
Donegal 0-11 - Wolfe Tones 1-6