U-12s lose by one point in Summer League Final

Drumconrath/Meath Hill 0-11 Oldcastle 0-10

Our U-12s just ran out of time in Dunganny tonight (Tuesday, 30 August) in the U-12 Summer FL Group G Final, as they chased the score Drumconrath / Meath Hill had clocked up in the first half. Played on astroturf and under lights, the opposition managed to get 4 scores on the board before Oldcastle got into the action, and would have had more but for a great Eoin Muldoon save.
The first score came from an Eoin Smith pass on to Ryan Kevin, who found J.P. Purcell, who was fouled. The resulting pass found Ryan Kevin again, who got it in to Rian Mulvanny, who scored. The next score was a result of good work by Jack Kellett who earned a free, quickly passed on to Jamie Keatinge and then to Rian who again got it between the posts. Jack Kellett was the recipient of a Rian Mulvanny pass, which he coolly kicked over for Oldcastle’s third point, while a hard earned J.P. Purcell free on to Paul Hennessy brought the next. Fionn McCabe was having a great match and Cormac O’Connell caught some great balls.

However, all the while Drumconrath / Meath Hill were notching up scores at the far side, and by the end of the first half they were leading 9 – 4.

Oldcastle came out fighting in the second half, with Ciaran Connell and Lloyd Colleran going for every ball. Cameron O’Reilly came in to the match and chipped a nice ball on to Eoin Smith who got it forward to Rian Mulvanny for Oldcastle’s next score. On the next kick-out J.P. Purcell collected a high ball, tipped it over to Jack Kellett who was promptly fouled, the free going up-field and staying in Oldcastle possession due to a good Cormac O’Connell pick up, which he fed in to Jamie Keatinge for the next score. Rory Crawley made a fantastic catch to get the next ball which he got to Jamie Keatinge who bounced it over his marker, caught it again and scored!

Now it was Drumconrath/Meath Hill 9, Oldcastle 7, and it felt like the momentum was with the lads, but after a period of wides from both sides it was the opposition who got the next score. Our lads kept battling though, and a nice Paul Hennessy kick-on to Ryan Kevin resulted in the next score. But the opposition came right back with another, before Paul Hennessy fed the ball on to Rian Mulvanny who took the next for Oldcastle.

Once again the opposition replied with a score of their own, so we trailed by 2 with 5 minutes left to play. A string of 45s for Oldcastle finally resulted in a score for Ryan Kevin but all the time the clock had been ticking, as they tend to do, and the fightback simply ran out of time, with Drumconrath / Meath Hill running out winners on a score of 11 to Oldcastle’s 10.
No doubt but all these lads put their heart and souls into this league all summer, and they can be really proud of their work and progress in this tournament. So a big well done to all the players, and thank you for all the hard work and dedication you have put into it, and for all the great matches and entertainment you have provided us with all summer.

Best wishes to all the older lads heading up to U-14 next year, and to the younger lads from this years’ U-12s who will still be there next year, you have a great set of skills and experience to share with your new team-mates.

Also a big thank you to team coaches Vera Connell, Karen Kevin, also to Barry O’Connell, Fergus Mulvanny, Packie Purcell, Gerry Gibson and all who help out! And finally, to everyone who made the trip to Dunganny tonight, and to all the previous matches, to support the team, well done, and much appreciated.

Oldcastle: Eoin Muldoon, Lloyd Colleran, Ciaran Connell, Cormac O’Connell, J.P. Purcell, Fionn McCabe, Ryan Kevin (2), (Captain), Paul Hennessy (1), Jack Kellett (1), Rory Crawley, Eoin Smith, Rian Mulvanny (4), Jamie Keatinge (2). Subs: Cameron O’Reilly, Brian Hetherton, Tomas Kizelis, Darragh Brady, Colm Gibson, Kealan Swinburne

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