Eire Og Crowned Division 3 League Champions 2014

Eire Og 2-12    Coolmeen 3-05

Eire Og captured the Division 3 League Crown at the second attempt when overcoming a resilient Coolmeen outfit on Saturday evening. With the drawn game being played in very poor weather conditions three weeks previous, both teams welcomed the excellent playing conditions in Ballynacally.

Coolmeen started the stronger of the two teams and deserved to have 2-02 on the scoreboard after 15 minutes. Eimear O’Connor at midfield was causing all sorts of trouble for the Eire Og defence, while Coolmeens tactic of playing an extra player back was stifling any space that Shauna Keane and Orla Devitt had exploited in the drawn game. Eire Og were then lucky to stay in touch with two goals against the run of play from the excellent Fiona Neylon and then from Louise Kirwan who finished low to the net following a rebounded effort from Sarah Cullinan. Coolmeen did add another point to lead by two points mid way through the first half.

At this stage Eire Og began to get to grips with the Coolmeen midfield with Orla McMahon and Sophie Hanna particularly dominant. Shauna Keane began to find a bit more space and contributed with two points before half time, before Rae Wall and Sarah Cullinan pointed to leave Eire Og with a fortuitous two point lead at half time.

Coolmeen again started the half strongly with an early point from Chloe Normoyle. However their early momentum was halted due to a long delay for an injury to a Coolmeen defender which resulted in her departure. On resumption Eire Og began to dominate the play with Orla Devitt getting on a lot of ball at centre forward, which caused an amount of trouble for the packed Coolmeen defence. Devitt scored four points in a row, before Keane added another to leave Eire Og six points ahead with 15 minutes left. At this stage the Townies should have sealed the win as they had three clear cut goal opportunities, which they failed to convert, with Clodagh Murphy in the Coolmeen goal pulling off an excellent save from Fiona Neylon. Having taken heart from these misses, Coolmeen rallied and scored 1-1 in the next five minutes to leave just two points between the sides with ten minutes left. As Coolmeen pressed forward they were once again hampered in their efforts by the loss of another player through injury. The Eire Og defence was under considerable pressure, but the young full back line of Sarah Redmond and Laura Brown held strong. As the game entered a long period of injury time Orla Devitt struck again with a free before Shauna Keane secured the game with a great solo effort.

After ten minutes of injury time, Michael Fitzpatrick finally called for the ball and Eire Og were declared the Division 3 Champions for the first time. County Board Chairperson Bernie Regan presented the trophy to Eire Og captain Aida Griffey. For the winners, Laura Brown, Sophie Hanna and Aoife Sheehan excelled in defence while Fiona Neylon, Orla Devitt, Shauna Keane and Orla McMahon worked tirelessly throughout the contest. For Coolmeen Clodagh Murphy, Sophie Devaney and Lisa Farrell contributed well to the defence while Eimear O’Connor, Elaine Haugh and Chloe Normoyle worked hard in attack.

Scorers:

Orla Devitt 0-06

Shaunagh Keane 0-04

Louise Kirwan 1-00

Fiona Neylon 1-00

Rae Wall 0-01

Sarah Cullinan 0-01

Result: Junior League Semi Final. Eire Og 5:10 - Doora Barefield 1:07

Eire Og had a convincing win over Doora Barefield in the division 3 league semi final played in Newmarket-on-Fergus on Saturday last. On a still evening with a few showers falling during the match, Eire Og dominated the first half play to give them a lead at half time which they would not relinquish. This was helped in no small part by the birthday girl, Orla Devitt, who chipped in with 3-03 in this half to give Eire Og a lead at half time of 5-06 to 1-02. Sarah Cullinan's tally of 2-02 also contributed to this scoreline, and with the Eire Og defence dominating in all areas, Doora Barefield found it difficult to make headway in their opponents half. Rae Wall and Orla McMahon showed great energy in midfield while Sophie Hanna, Laura Brown and Sarah Redmond played particularly well in the backline. Up front, Fiona Neylon and Louise Kirwan worked tirelessly to create the chances for the inside forwards.

The second half was a much more even affair with Doora Barefield capitalising on some wasteful Eire Og shooting. Orla McMahon and Fiona Neylon scored fine points before Shauna added to her single point in the first half with two more in the second. Doora Barefield continued to push foward but could not beat Elana Bradley in goals, to get the scores that they needed. Aoife Sheehan and Rebecca Crowe continued to cover well in defence and Eire Og saw out the Doora Barefield challenge to earn a deserved place in the division 3 league final.

The final is scheduled for two weeks time on Sunday May 11th.

Scorers:
Orla Devitt 3-03
Sarah Cullinan 2-02
Shauna Keane 0-03
Fiona Neylon 0-01
Orla McMahon 0-01

Result: Round 3 Junior League.

Eire Og 2:07 - Coolmeen 3:05

Played in Eire Og on Sunday evening, Coolmeen staged a strong second half comeback to win by one point. Both sides were evenly matched but Coolmeen made better use of possession in the final fifteen minutes to ensure they finish on top of Group 2 and qualify to play Clarecastle in the league semi-final. Eire Og will now play Doora Barefield on Saturday evening to see who will make it through to this years league final.

Result - Round 2 Junior League - Kilrush 7-06 Eire Og 7-07 12/04/14

Played in breezy conditions in Kilrush on Saturday evening, this was a result that was in doubt up until the final whistle. Eire Og got of to a great start with some early pressure creating a goal for Shauna Keane. Kilrush responded with two goals and a point before Orla Devitt glided through the middle on more than one occasion to score 2-04 which included two frees. Sophie Hanna also scored a goal Kilrush steadied the ship just before the break when they scored 2-02 to bring themselves  to within a goal of the visitors at half time on a scoreline of 4-04 to 3-03. Eire Og who played with a strong breeze in the first half, would need to increase their work rate for the second half. Maria Redmond played well in goal, while Laura Brown, Aoife Sheehan, Elana Bradley and Orla McMahon were getting through some good work around the field.

The second half started well for the visitors with Shauna Keane scoring two points and Sarah Cullinan hitting the net to leave Eire Og in a good position on the forty minute mark. However, Kilrush refused to give in on their home turf and scored 2-02 without reply to put them in the lead for the first time with ten minutes left on a scoreline of 6-06 to Eire Og's 5-06. At this stage Eire Og looked to be in trouble, but they used their experience to work the ball well to the forward line where Shauna Keane scored a breakaway goal to level the scores. Minutes later Keane was yellow carded for a less than impressive tackle on the Kilrush wing back. This gave the advantage to Kilrush and they pushed on in search of the score that would take them ahead again. However some great defending by Laura Brown, Aida Griffey, Sarah Redmond and Sinead Mulcahy kept Kilrush at bay. With Orla McMahon, Louise Kirwan, Orla Devitt and Sophie Hanna working tirelessly around the middle, Devitt scored 1-1 to give Eire Og the lead going into injury time. Kilrush piled on the pressure in the final minutes and scored a goal to reduce the lead to one point, but they could not find that final point to equalise. Referee Michael Talty blew the final whistle after three minutes of injury time with Eire Og winning by the minimum. The Eire Og team showed great character in the second half to battle back from being a goal down. More performances like this will be required if they are to have any chance of winning the league this season.

Scorers:
Shauna Keane 2-02
Orla Devitt 3-05
Sophie Hanna 1-00
Sarah Cullinan 1-00

Player of the Match: Orla Devitt

Congratulations to Aida Griffey who will retain captaincy for the coming league campaign.

Training takes place on Monday 14th at 7pm.

Round 3 of the league has been provisionally set for the bank holiday Easter Monday at home vs Coolmeen. The winners of this match will top the group.

Gaelic4Girls

The Gaelic4Girls programme kicked off in Eire Og yesterday evening with great success. Forty nine girls attended the session which was led by Auriol Considine and held in the all weather pitch. The programme will run for the next seven Wednesdays from 5-6 pm and is especially for girls who have limited or no experience playing football and are not signed for a club.

The committee are appealing to club members who are available at this time each week to lend a hand in either coaching the girls or with helping with meeting and greeting the parents as they arrive and leave. This is a huge opportunity for the club to attract additional members to the underage ranks, so please come up even if it is for just the one session.

Contact Alan or Orla Mc for more details or mail eireogladiessecretary@gmail.com

Result - Round 1 Division 3 League - March 23rd

Eire Og 9-17      East Clare Gaels 0-01

Eire Og started the season on a winning note by comprehensively beating East Clare Gaels in Eire Og on Sunday evening. With Sinead Darcy returning home especially for the game, the winners had a strong fifteen out, with nobody warming the bench. There will be anxious times this week for Katie Malone and Niamh Walsh who will be receiving scans on their ongoing injuries. Let's hope they will be back playing soon.

With many players a bit rusty from the Winter break (or was it night before), it took a while for Eire Og to get a hold on the game, but impressive performances from Sarah, Shaunagh and Shauna in the full forward line made sure that the home team were well in control at half time with the score at 6-12 to no score. A few positional changes for the second half meant that some players were put out of their comfort zones. It was pleasing to see however that everyone got on with the job and played with conviction throughout. Louise added 2-01 and Laura Browne converted a penalty, to add to two points from Maria Redmond. From full back Orla Devitt could not add to her first half tally of 2-03 and Orla McMahon finally straightened up her shooting with a point towards the end.

East Clare Gaels played much better as a team in the second half and should have had more than their one score, but for some wayward kicking in front of goal. Sinead Darcy made a fine save to deny the visitors a goal and persistent defending from Aida Griffey, Sarah Redmond and Aoife Sheehan kept the pressure on the kickers.

There will be stronger tests ahead and this will start with Kilrush in round two of the league when we play them away in two weeks time. Training will resume next Sunday morning at 11am and it is important from now on to make excuses to be at training and not make excuses to miss training.

Scorers:
Maria Redmond 0-2
Sarah Cullinana 1-3
Shauna Keane 2-4
Shaunagh O'Brien 1-3
Orla Devitt 2-3
Louise Kirwan 2-1
Laura Brown 1-0
Orla McMahon 0-1

Upcoming Fixtures
Round 2 April 12/13
Kilrush vs Eire Og

Round 3 April 19/20
Eire Og vs Coolmeen

As mentioned, anybody interested in attending the referees course on Wednesday evening for the GoGames. please contact Orla McMahon or Alan.
The Gaelic4Girls programme is starting next Wednesday from 5-6 on the astroturf in the club and coaches will be required over the eight weeks. We are not looking for a commitment for every week, so if you can give a hand every now and then it will be appreciated.
The Flag Day will be on the weekend of April 5th and we will be looking for participation from everyone for day and night. And remember our deal...

U16 Training
U16 training started last Saturday with good numbers and they will be playing Clooney Quin in the first round of the league next weekend. Best of luck to them

Fixtures 2014 Junior, U16 and Feile

Following a fixtures meeting of the Ladies Football County Board last night, the following are the groupings and first round fixtures for Junior, U16 and Feile competitions.

Junior Division 3
Group 1
Clarecastle
Moy
Wolfe Tones
Doora Barefield

Group 2
Coolmeen
Kilrush
Eire Og
East Clare Gaels

There will be three group games, a semi-final, and a final.

Eire Og's first fixture is versus East Clare Gaels at home. Matches are due to be played the weekend of the 14th March or the following weekend of March 21st. We will be looking to play this match on the weekend of the 21st, with a training session next weekend. This has yet to be confirmed.

U16 Division 2
Clooney Quin
Coolmeen
Eire Og
Burren Gaels

There will be three group games, a semi-final, and a final.

The first round game will be away to Clooney Quin. This match is to be played by March 30th - to be confirmed. Deidre will be in contact regarding a start for training.

Feile U14 Competition.
There were no draws made for this competition yet as they have not received final numbers.

This competition will be taking place over over the weekend of April 12th/13th.

Auriol has already started training with the U14's and this training takes place every Saturday at 10am in Eire Og.