By Rory O'Donnell
The first sights and sounds of Gaelic games at the ICC is a
sure sign that Winter is in the rearview mirror and Spring is here. It is a long winter break this side of the
Atlantic and by the time the snow is melted and milder weather rolls in, the
itch to get back on to the field of play is irresistible. Saturday afternoon saw the commencement of the
Pat O’Brien Cup with six teams getting the chance to shake off the winter cobwebs
and translate some of the last several weeks of training onto the football
field. Clubs also had a chance to take a
look at some of their new signings in action and start thinking about the first
round championship lineouts a little over a month from now.
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| Pat Moriarty on his bike for the Blues. |
Donegal, Aidan McAnespies, and Connemara Gaels were the
winners. Donegal ran up an impressive
win over Shannon Blues. Jason Noctor, a
holdover from last year’s championship winning team, made an early impression
after finishing an incisive first half move with a goal. Rory Dunleavy, another veteran of the 2015
Boston season, popped over a number of nicely taken points. The Blues made several foray’s into their
opponents territory. Pat Moriarty, Conor
Fitzgerald and James Feeney were frequently involved, however the yield for
their efforts at the half was two points.
Donegal added two more goals through Noctor and Buncrana native, John
Campbell.
The second half saw the Blues put in a better shift and on a
couple of occasions could have netted.
Maurice Young accounted for a couple of well taken points, however,
Donegal were able to maintain their advantage.
Kieran Russell at midfield and Alan McLaughlin at center forward did
well, while Campbell in the forward line looked strong throughout. Donegal with a 3-10 to 0-6 win.
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| Ballybofey man, Rory Dunleavy, in possession for Donegal. |
Connemara Gaels defeated Christopher’s by a score of 2-13 to
2-7. Corner forward Jack Kielt accounted
for 1-6 of his side’s tally. It was all
square at the break with the teams looking evenly matched, however the Gaels
inched ahead as the second half wore on.
Westmeath native and one of last year’s championship team members, Ryan
Caffrey, did a lot of work in the middle of the field. David Black, Brian Joyce and Noel Graham also
toiled hard for the Gaels in their victory.
Christopher’s fielded a good number of new faces. Scores came from a couple of Jack Murphy 50
meter kicks, a goal from Levine Hodgkins, and Conor O’Brien played well in the
middle of the field.
Cork, who were without aa number of players, fell victim to a rampant Aidan McAnespies in
that contest. McAnespies, containing
many new faces, looked strong. Offaly
man, Ritchie Reynolds, Antrim’s Kevin McKernan, and Tyrone men Mark Devine and
JP Gallagher all impressed for the northerners.
Old soldiers, Collie Donnelly and Gareth O’Neill made hay in the middle
of the field as Cork struggled to compete.
Ryan Connell, a product of the youth league, made his adult debut at
wing forward for Cork, while Ollie Murphy, Darren O’Donovan, and Mike Carolan battled
hard in the rearguard. Eoghan Flaherty
accounted for Cork’s score, and the rebels will meet the Connemara Gaels in
next week’s first round proper, while McAnespies will face a stiffer test
against the Gaels.
Next Round of Games TBD.
