Omeath lads unlucky at All Ireland Tournament
THE Cuchulainn Gaels had a brilliant day in Cooley at their Michael Malone All Ireland U12 blitz. There were 24 teams involved from all over the country.
Cuchulainn Gaels were drawn in a group with a team from Cavan and one from Armagh. The top team went on for the cup, the second went for the shield and the third played out for the plate. We started against the Cavan team, 5pts to 3 up at half time and going well. Cavan came out strong in the second half and they finished up winning by 1-10 to 1-8. A two point loss for the lads. They were upset as it was such a tight game and our lads could have won it. Next up was the Armagh team, we found the going a bit easier now that the lads got into their stride. We ended up winning on a score line of 2-6 to 3pts. This meant we were second in the group and progressed to the quarter final of the shield.
In the quarter final we were up against old foes Roche. It was a very tight game and as the game was heading towards a draw we got a goal just before the final whistle. The score was 1-8 to 1-5. Now the semi final against Templeogue from Dublin. A great game of football, unfortunately we lost Adam Sharkey to injury close to the end but we managed to win on a tight score line of 2-3 to 1-3.
We were now in the final and a team from Mullingar were our opponents. We were leading at half time by a point but had a breeze behind us. The lads battled hard and unfortunately lost by 2pts at the end but having a couple of goal chances and missing Adam the lads done superb. The final score 1-8 to 1-6.
Our U12s were all outstanding and deserve massive praise for how well they done. Our U12’s are made up of U10’s up to U12’s and when playing against these bigger teams they played every bit as good and have just proved they are a match for most teams out there.
A big well done to Eugene, Mark and Garry who managed the team today helping the kids with their highs and lows of the day and teaching them good football.
A great day, fair play to Cooley - It was a well run competition.