6/9/2024 - Senior Football - Donegal Boston vs Aidan McAnespies

By Neil McEnaney

Full Time:

Donegal Boston 3-20

Aidan McAnespies 1-6

 

The dreary rain that started the day had stopped by the time the ball was thrown in for these two Boston Senior Football rivals. The match started quite evenly with both teams trading early scores before Donegal started pulling ahead and running out comfortable winners.

 

Donegal started the brighter with Carthy winning the breaking ball from the throw up and moving it quickly into Donal O’Sullivan who was fouled as he took on his man. O’Sullivan stepped up and converted the free to get the scoring underway. He added a second point from a free when a Macs player was blown for overcarrying.

 

Conall Devlin for McAnespies did brilliantly to catch Croft’s kickout on the right wing under pressure before taking it himself on a solo run and a brilliant point too with the outside of his boot. Macs kept the pressure up and leveled with Donegal with a well taken score by Adam Fanning with his left foot.

 

Donegal started getting into their groove, with strong running from Morissey setting up Jimmy O’Grady for a point and Donal O’Sullivan adding another point from play. A holding the jersey off the ball led to a converted point by Brolly for the Macs leaving them within one point of Donegal (0-4 to 0-3).

 

From here to the rest of the game, it was all one way traffic in favor of Donegal. Ruari Gormley picked up a yellow for pulling Morissey to the ground. Corey Gallagher made a strong run from wing back to set up O’Grady for an easy point.

 

Donegal started moving the ball very well with Carthy assisting Lowry and O’Dwyer for points before adding himself to the scoresheet with a well taken score from the left wing. Ruari Gormley broke through the Donegal defence at one stage but hit his shot wide, just trailing left of the post.

 

Half Time Score:

Donegal Boston: 0-12

Aidan McAnespies 0-4

 

The second half started with a bang and any chances of a Macs comeback were dealt a huge blow right from the throw in. A high tackle by Gormley in midfield led to him picking up a second yellow and was sent off.

 

Donegal weren’t long making their man advantage count extending the lead with points from Morissey, O’Sullivan and O’Grady. The killer blow for the Macs came from Lowry who used all his speed to take on his man and set O’Sullivan up for the first goal of the game. O’Sullivan wasn’t long getting another goal after he rounded the goalkeeper to put it into an empty net.

 

The McAnespies, to their credit, kept on battling to the end with Fanning looking dangerous in the full forward line and picking up a goal after a long pass from Croft.

 

Man of the Match: Shane Carthy

Team and Scorers:

Donegal Boston:

Darren Grant, Anthony Diver, Neil Mulcahy, Sean Winston, Ben McCarron (0-1), Cory Gallagher, Shane Carthy (0-2), Jordan Morissey (0-2), Ciaran McDevitt (0-1), Jimmy O’Grady (0-3), Sean Lowry (1-2), Donal O’Sullivan (2-4), Ryan O’Dwyer (0-4)

 

Aidan McAnespies:

Robbie Croft, Darren Gibney, Cormac McKeogh, Conall Devlin (0-1), Owen Ward, Cian Quinn, Ruari, Gormley, Steven Ward, Cian Grime (0-1), Eoin Gormley, Rurai Scott, Adam Fanning (1-3), Rory Brolly (0-1)

Boston Senior Football Championship Begins

By Rory O'Donnell 

The Boston senior football championship kicks off next Sunday, May 26.   The 2013 championship will feature eight teams, all of which will be in action on Sunday.  The playoff format remains the same as previous years with the top two teams into the semi-finals, and the next four in quarter final playoffs. 

First up are Aidan McAnespies  and the Connemara Gaels.  McAnespies, who won this year’s Pat O’Brien Cup, last won the championship in 2011, going unbeaten all season long.  Last season  McAnespies appeared dead and buried late in the year, but made a run to the semi-final where they lost out to the eventual winners, Shannon Blues.  The Gaels missed out on the playoffs in 2012 but will be hoping will be hoping for a good year, especially with some good additions to the home based ranks.  The Connemara men will be looking to go one better than they did in 2011 when McAnespies beat them in the championship final.  

The second game features Galway and Kerry, Boston’s two oldest clubs.  It has been a while since these clubs have seen Glory.  Kerry last won the championship in 1999 amid some controversy, and have struggled to emulate the glory days of the 1990s since then.  For Galway it has been even longer, Galway’s last senior football championship victory was in 1989.  Galway have knocked at the door the last two seasons, reaching the semi-finals.  This is an important game for both teams to get some early championship points. 

Shannon Blues: The 2012 Champions begin the defense next Sunday

Champions, Shannon Blues, start their defence of the championship against the Wolfe Tones.  After a couple of years of putting in a big effort, the Blues finally tasted glory last year and beat a highly fancied Donegal side in an epic final.   The Tones on the other hand have never contested a senior football final, though the Blue and Navy side have fielded teams full promise.  The Tones will be looking for a much improved performance since the disappointing outing in the Pat O’Brien Cup Final last weekend.   

The final game of the day involves Donegal and Christopher’s.   Donegal’s season ended in bitter disappointment last year, and the northerners will be looking to regroup.  Donegal pride themselves on being one of the signature clubs in town and an early win will settle the ship.   Since bursting on the scene at senior level in 2009 with an unexpected championship win, Christopher’s have the look of a club hungry to repeat that success.  Christopher's home based ranks have also been added to this year and they will be hoping for big things this season. 

While we are only getting off the mark, early season points are important and where the early season work pays off.  Lots of questions to be answered.  Will the Tones finally make the breakthrough?   Can Christopher’s taste glory once again?  Will it be Aidan McAnespies winning the championship for the seventh time in their eighteen year history?  Can Galway or Kerry restore the glory of past years?  Will Donegal make up for last year's disappointment?  The answers will begin to emerge on  Sunday! 

Wolfe Tones Back on Track with Win over Christopher's

Wolfe Tones 1-14 Christopher’s 1-10

It was a tremendously exciting 60 minutes with Wolfe Tones looking for a win over Christopher’s to get back on track in their quest for the 2012 senior football championship title.  The Blue team from Southie got the two points but not without some concern as Christopher’s had a one goal lead heading into the final quarter of the game.  The Tones lifted themselves in the latter stages and showed signs of being worthy of the early season tag of favourites.

Gavin O' Grady on the attack for Christopher's. 

The Tones looked very good when in possession and passed the ball around well.  Plenty of running in the forward line opened up the Christopher’s rearguard on several occasions, though Noel Ryan and Chris Murphy stuck to their task well at corner back for Christopher’s.  Marty Farrell was on the mark and popped over three points, while Gary Brilly, Barry Grogan and Charles McCarthy also got on the scoreboard.  Christopher’s looked dangerous when going forward however, and when the ball got into the hands of Daithi Casey at center forward the possibilities opened up for the Hyde Park side.  The Wolfe Tones rearguard proved to be a tough barrier to overcome however, and broke up several attacks.  Pauric McGuirk is about as solid a corner back as you will see and Davy Dalton in the opposite corner caused plenty of problems for his man, Gavin O’Grady.  One such turnover caused by Dalton resulted in the Tones sweeping upfield and putting the ball between the sticks.  Christopher’s kept in touch through points from Paddy Manning, O’Grady, Eoin Gorman and Casey.  At the break it was three to the good in favour of the Tones, 0-7 to 0-4.

Gary Brilly gets the pass away for the Tones.

After the Tones added to their lead by two points after the restart, Christopher’s went on a scoring streak thanks for some impressive play in the half back line by Paudie Kenneally, as well as Shane Flanagen and Pat Delaney in the middle of the field.  O’Grady pointed twice, and Chris Brady once before Paudie Kenneally put a wonderful point over the bar from distance.  After Shane Flanagan and Brady brought the teams on level terms, it was O’Grady who fired Christopher’s into a one goal lead with a well taken goal following a great move upfield.  Thirteen minutes to go and how would the Tones react?  Michael Newman pointed twice and Farrell once to bring the teams level once again as the Tones lifted their game in response to the setback.  Christopher’s introduced Danny Kenneally for the last 10 minutes but in a twist the Tones netted within seconds of the big man’s introduction.  With an awkward ball bobbling around the corner of the small square, Barry Grogan fisted the ball into the far corner of the net over the head of the advancing Jerry Kenneally who will look back and wish he stayed on his line.  The Tones now had the initiative once more and the midfield ball fell into the hands of the blue shirts.  Farrell added another point to make it a two score game.  Christopher’s needed a goal and had to settle for a point from David Aherne as the Tones defended in depth.  Brilly added the insurance point in the dying minutes as the Tones tally another 2 points.

Tones:  R. McKeown, P. McGuirk, D. Dalton, M. O’Brien, B. Kenihan, D. McGuire, C. McCarthy, K. Lynch, G. Brilly, M. Newman, M. Farrell, C. Joyce-Power, B. Grogan.  Christopher’s:J. Kenneally, N. Ryan, C. Murphy, P. Kenneally, T. Clancy, D. Aherne, P. Delaney, S. Flanagan, C. Brady, D. Casey, P. Manning, G. O’Grady, E. Gorman.

By Rory O'Donnell