Boston GAA
By Rory O’Donnell
Finally the season picked back up following what seemed like
a lengthy break between the July 4 holiday and weather related
postponements. Championships are
reaching the business end of things and the next week will sort out a lot.
There were interesting developments in the Junior B football
championship with some make-up games in mid-week. Kerry had to play a Tuesday and Friday night
games against Christopher’s and Sean Og’s respectively, and in each went down
narrowly; a 4-11 to 3-10 loss to Christopher’s was followed by a 2-12 to 3-8
defeat to Sean Og’s. The results put
Kerry hoping that Christopher’s can defeat the Connemara Gaels next Sunday, or
that Trinity can turn Sean Og’s Tuesday night to keep the Kingdom in the
picture with a playoff for a semi-final place.
Donegal and Christopher’s are in, and if the Gaels and Sean Og’s also
win their games, these are the 4 semi-finalists.
Shane Carthy Shoots for Donegal.
(Photo by Rachel O'Driscoll.)
The Senior Football championship saw Donegal and Aidan
McAnespies face off in an ill-tempered affair that saw a 25 minute delay after McAnespies
goalkeeper Jack Lake carted off in an ambulance after he fell awkwardly on his
back and could not get up. Latest news
was that Jack was up and walking and we wish Jack all the best for a full
recovery. The game took a long time to
pick up any kind of head of steam, with injury delays and the 4 weeks layoff
clearly having affected both teams. The
first score of the game was a Nicky Kelly goal with the assist from Sean
Winston. Winston added a point for
Donegal late in the disjointed half, and Peter O’Connell saved McAnespies
blushes with a pointed ’65 before the break to make it 1-1 to 0-1 in Donegal’s
favour.
The second half was much improved with both sides more
cohesive. Donegal opened a 7 point lead
with a string of scores from Lee Carr, Kelly and Shane Carthy. Robbie
Croft provided hope for the Macs, scoring 4 points, 3 frees and nice point from
play and with 4 points between the sides, McAnespies pushed Donegal for the
last 10 minutes and applied some pressure to the northerners defence. Donegal kept the door closed, and finished
the game with a Shane Carthy goal and point to put the game to bed. Donegal still to lose, and will face the Connemara
Gaels next Sunday.
Dan O'Regan Tries to Stop Mike O'Brien.
(Photo by Rachel O'Driscoll.)
The Junior A football championship also had a mid-week victory
for Galway over Cork to keep that competition open heading in the decisive last
few games. Sunday also featured an
interesting match where the Wolfe Tones pulled out a 1-10 to 0-10 victory
against Cork, all in spite of having to keep a trio of injured players on the
field. Pa Collins turned in a warriors
performance, in spite of having one leg for balance only, Collins was involved
in much of the play down the stretch. In
first half it was Shane Hayes the hero with 3 great saves to deny Cork goals,
and there were some well taken point from both sides. The
second half was also neck and neck and Thomas Beckett’s goal late in the game
proved to be the decisive score.
Fran Keenan Lines up a Shot.
(Photo by Rachel O'Driscoll.)
On the hurling front, the Junior C final will be contested between
Hartford and Providence in 2 weeks time with both teams seeking their first
title in the grade. Junior B hurling is
wide open, while a Tom’s v Galway senior hurling final is on the cards after
Tom’s won easily over Offaly on Sunday afternoon.
Lot’s to looks forward to in this novel all home-based
season, and the USGAA finals coming up the weekend of August 20.
Boston GAA Schedule – Irish Cultural Centre, Canton
Tue July 27
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