BUILDING REAL BRIDGES WHILE SCORING GOALS ...
HUBERT MURPHY was at United Park to see a match with a difference
FOR the past four years, United Park has hosted a fierce friendly when the officers from Drogheda Garda Station take on the representative side from the Boyne and Cable Project.
It’s fun in many ways, highly competitive at times too, but the aim is pretty simple, building bridges through sport.
Each year, the match raises funds for charity too, some €5,000 raised so far from the meetings and the latest venture going towards SOSAD.
Mayor Pio Smith attended the match and was delighted to see such a venture take shape.
‘‘It’s great to see such commitment purpose on behalf of the policing unit in town and also from the Boyne and Cable Projects who do such wonderful work.
‘ The fact that the teams came together to support SOSAD is important as they struggle for funds like many charities,’ he stated.
The game itself was highly competitive, keeping Thomas Little on his toes and went the way of the gardai for the third year in a row on a 4-3 scoreline.
But the Boyne and Cable team can rightly claim the man of the match in birthday boy Alan Dyas who had a stormer.
He came in just ahead of the garda’s Gerard Haran, a Mayo GAA member. Noel Loughran was also in the hunt, while Mick Kelly rolled back the years again with a couple of vintage touches.
Peter O’Callaghan put the garda side ahead and Loughran and Kelly combined to set up Haran for the second, just eluding Adam Tuohy in the Boyne nets.
Dyas got one back before half time and garda keeper Seamus Walsh was a real shot stopper as the ‘youngsters’ chased an equaliser.
Alan McDonagh made it 2-2 only for Eddie Carr to tap in after Haran’s free hit the bar and O’Callaghan added a fourth late on. A super strike by Jack Newman brought it back to 4-3 in the end.
It’s reported the Boyne and Cable Projects are in training already for next year - Allen O’Donoghue and Stephen Harrison making sure of that.