U-14’s through to Féile Qualifiers Semi-Final

Oldcastle 4-05 Inny Gaels 1-03
The U-14’s made it through their Féile Peile na nÓg Group Stage qualifiers today, although it was a very different day than that anticipated! The original group of four – Oldcastle Gfc, Round Towers, Inny Gaels and St. Mary’s – were originally to play their group matches in Stamullen today. However, with the withdrawal of St. Mary’s during the week, the venue was changed to Millbrook. Round Towers seem to have missed that development, and headed for Stamullen this morning, with misinformation there sending them to Dunshaughlin, but unfortunately not to Oldcastle. The upshot was that it was just neighbours Oldcastle and Inny Gaels who played for a spot in the Division Semi-Final tomorrow.

The game started well with a nice point from Tomas Kizelis, swiftly followed by one from Tom Lynch. Good work from Pat Crawley got the ball back in to Tom for the next, while the speedy Eoin Smith then took two in a row. Ciaran Connell had to work hard for the next ball but secured it and safely delivered it to Rory Crawley who made a great run upfield, before delivering the ball perfectly in to the waiting Padraig Brady who took a lovely goal! All the while Alan Gilsenan, James Gibney and Thomas Sheridan were manning the defences and making life hard for the Inny Gaels forwards, while Ryan Halpin’s man was finding him hard to keep up with him: the half-time score Oldcastle 1-05, Inny Gaels 0-01.

The second half saw Oldcastle assert their dominance with a Paul Hennessy goal followed by a penalty from Cormac O’Connell after Eoin Smith was brought down. Inny Gaels responded with a goal of their own but it wasn’t to be their day. The game ended as it had begun with a Tomas Kizelis score: it came from a fine Rian Mulvanny kick-out to Pat Crawley, on to Fionn McCabe, to Tomas and back again to himself in a classy basketball type move, and fired to the back of the next for a goal. With time up, referee Peter Skelly blew the whistle on a score of Oldcastle 4-05, Inny Gaels 1-03.

That result sees the lads safely through to the Group Semi-Finals. That match is scheduled for Stamullen at 9.45 tomorrow morning (24/3/2019), however with a full round of ACFL matches also on tomorrow morning and a shortage of referees that may be postponed.

Oldcastle: Rian Mulvanny, Alan Gilsenan, James Gibney, Thomas Sheridan, Pat Crawley, Cormac O’Connell (1-00), Fionn McCabe, Rory Crawley, Eoin Smith (0-02), Tom Lynch (0-02), Tomas Kizelis (1-01), Ryan Halpin, Padraig Brady (1-00), Paul Hennessy (1-00), Ciaran Connell, Jamie Pakenham.