Dublin Go Ahead Adult Football League – Division 1 North: Round 2
Cluain Tarbh v St. Brigid’s Saturday 26-06-2021
A Clontarf trivia question: “when was our last home league match before Saturday?” Answers on an envelope into the club letterbox (not really, just have a think…😊). Anyway, the welcome return of Division 1 football to Pitch 35 saw a Clontarf team searching for their first league points facing a St. Brigid’s team in a similar position.
Brigid’s had the better start with a 45 and a free to go 2 up after 5 minutes. Meanwhile Clontarf dropped two shots short. Then Jack McCaffrey worked his way forward to feed Andy Foley who steadied the ship with a great point from distance. This was followed by points from Charlie Meehan and Shane Walsh, whose intelligent running from wing back was causing problems for the Brigid’s defence.
0-4 to 0-2 at the first water break.
Clontarf settled into the task in quarter two, and the game settled into a pattern. Plenty of Clontarf chances, good Brigid’s kick outs resulting in promising positions for them, only to be dispossessed by a composed and effective Clontarf defence, some pacey home team counter attacks and occasional Brigid’s penetration, with one great point from their number 5. Then a super pass from Foley put Kieran McKeown into a scoring position and he popped it over. A further point from Nathan Doran left Clontarf three up at the break and looking comfortable.
Half time: 0-6 to 0-3.
In the first 10 minutes of the second half, a point and a free form Nathan book ended Clontarf’s best spell of the match. In between, Charlie scored another two and a strong run from Kieran McKeown put him through for an excellent point. Brigid’s got one back but looked under pressure, and Clontarf enjoyed a 7-point lead after 40 minutes.
It would have been nice to stop the clock then. Instead the Brigid’s attack, led by Paddy Andrews, were not for giving up. They set about pegging back the Clontarf lead, and anyone who thought the game was over at that stage was wrong. Meanwhile Clontarf, with a number of personnel changes, seemed to lose shape and concentration. We were still dominating around midfield, thanks to some great catches from Foley and Charlie in particular, and we were still creating chances, but just not converting them! In contrast, an efficient Brigid’s team picked off score after score to increase the pressure.
0-11 to 0-7 at the second water break.
The final quarter continued in the same fashion and with five minutes to go, it was level! Injury time arrived, and another great point from the Brigid’s wing back put us 1 down! It was now 20 minutes since the last Clontarf score, despite superior possession and better fitness!
Time for one last Clontarf attack deep into injury time, and with a patient build up, as we searched for an opening, up stepped Dave Egan to take the responsibility and he hit a majestic score off his left. The full-time whistle sounded! A draw and our first point of the 2021 league. In the circumstances, we’ll take that!
Overall a good full squad effort, including welcome second half appearances for Fergal O’Byrne and Sean Prendergast, and solid senior team debuts for Mark Winters and Niall McCaffery. But lots of learnings for the next day, when this young Clontarf team will play St. Maurs, in a mid-week away match at 7.30pm on 7th July.
And, by the way, our last home league game was a win against Ballinteer in the first (and only) league match of 2020! 1st March 2020 BC (Before Covid!).
Final Score: 0-12 to 0-12.
Clontarf Team: Ross O’Hanlon, Ciaran Kyne, Conor Doran, Declan Monaghan, Shane Walsh (0-1) Jack McCaffrey, Stephen O’Quigley, Andy Foley (0-1), Dave Egan (0-1), Patrick Monaghan, Charlie Meehan (0-3), Joe McDonagh, Brian Bernie, Nathan Doran (0-4, 2F), Kieran McKeown (0-2). Subs: Mark Winters, Niall McCaffery, Fiachra (Theo) Dodd, Fergal O’Byrne, Sean Prendergast.