Pat O'Brien Cup First Round
The first action of the 2014 season for the Boston GAA took
place Sunday at the Irish Cultural Center
in Canton Mass. The weather was brisk, conditions soft
underfoot, and the first round of the Pat O'Brien Cup was played on field
C. The main field is looking in
immaculate condition following the resurfacing job in the offseason, and Field
B also underwent work to improve the condition of the surface for the
championship this summer, and North American Finals on Labor Day weekend. There were 5 games played, 11 a-side given
the smaller field. All the teams got a
good run out, with Wolfe Tones, Kerry, Shannon Blues, Connemara Gaels, and
Aidan McAnespies recording wins.
Aidan McAnespies 1-13 Armagh-Notre Dame 0-5
Collie Donnelly wins the ball for McAnespies. |
Armagh-Notre Dame met the 2013 cup champions, Aidan
McAnespies, with some new signings on board as well as some of the veterans
from recent years, and kept pace for much of the first half. The scoring was opened by Dominic Magill with
an expertly taken point, however, McAnespies tallied the next 5 scores. Steven McAleer at corner forward looked
lively, though Shane McKenna toiled hard to keep the Carrickmore man reined in. Jonathan McGourty saw plenty of the ball in
the half forward line, the Leitrim native worked hard throughout. At the break McAnespies led by a score of
five points to two. In the second half
McAnespies pulled away and started to find a rhythm with some well worked moves
that were finished by Collie Donnelly, Cronin Dempsey, and McAleer. Their Brighton
opponents managed points from Frank Meehan and Alex Blake and though they ended
up on the losing the end, showed well in their first outing.
Connemara Gaels 0-10 Galway
1-3
Kevin Cummins was on target for Galway in the first half. |
Shannon Blues 2-9 Cork
0-5
The result of the game belies the nature of the
contest. There was never much in the
game until the Blues Sean Moriarty buried a solo effort with minutes left in
the game. The score killed off the Cork challenge and the
Blues went on to add some points to the final tally. The Blues led by two at the break. Cork
maintained touch with Mick Lyons kicking a couple of well taken points. The second half was where things opened up a
bit more for the Blues. With the middle
of the field anchored by American Born duo, Conor Fitzgerald and Pat Murray,
the Blues goaled early. Cork
fought to keep in it, Cian Clifford worked hard in midfield, and Mike Moynihan
kept the points tally ticking for Cork . Moriarty's goal, however, put too much
distance between the sides and Cork 's hopes of
an early season win faded as the Blues move on and Cork meet Donegal in the back door round.
Kerry 2-12 Christopher's 1-5
Kerry looked impressive as they faced rivals Christophers in
a clash of Munster
rivals. Back in the Kingdom's fold was
Robbie Croft. The Naomh Barrog clubman
showed all of the energy and accuracy of his previous stints with the Kerry
club, and tallied a total of 1-7. The
goal came from the penalty spot. Kerry
fielded 3 local born players, Joe Kennedy, Ryan Evans, and Mike Moriarty;
Kennedy chipped in with a goal for the Kerry tally. For their part, Christopher's Boston area natives,
Danny and Paudi Kenneally doing most of the scoring. Danny with a goal and a point, and Paudi with
a point for the first half tally of 1-2.
Kerry had too much for Christophers to handle in the second half. Dingle native Paul Devane and Clare's Graham
Glenn did well in the green and gold.
Christophers will meet Galway Friday
night in the back door round.
Wolfe Tones 3-9 Donegal 0-7
Wolfe Tones had too much talent on board for Donegal in
their opening cup game. With Keith Gill,
Barry McShea, Mike O'Brien, Collie Carr, and Marty Farrell in the lineout the
Tones looked impressive against the northerners. The game also saw the first back card of the Boston season issued to
Christy Bell for remonstrating with referee, Brian Rooney. Donegal battled hard with Pauric McLaughlin,
Mark Canney, and Declan McBride putting in a big effort, but will end up facing
Cork next
Sunday.
The Junior C Hurling championship also opened with Worcester hosting the
Hartford GAA Club. Reigning champions
Worcester scored their first win with a 4-22 to 1-8 victory.
Schedule
Friday May 2
6:00 Pat O'Brien Cup:
Christophers v Galway
Sunday May 4
2:00 Junior C Hurling:
Hartford
v Barley House Wolves
3:00 Pat O'Brien Cup: Donegal v Cork
4:00 Orla Benson Cup:
Tír na nÓg v Boston Shamrocks
By Rory O'Donnell
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