Having finished top of the Under 18 League the Geraldines had home advantage over 4th placed Cooley in the League semi final.
Having drawn in the league earlier in the season a tight match was expected - as the game unfolded that’s exactly what happened.
Cooley started well with a goal and a point but a hand passed goal by Mal Madine following up an Owen McGahon shot and a brace of points by Joe Lynch brought Gers back into the game. Accurate shooting by Sean McKenna and two by Maciek Dobros kept Cooley at bay with their reply of.two points. The next two minutes saw Cooley grab the game by the neck. They won two kickouts and hit the jackpots with two quick goals - an additional
point left them six up with twenty minutes of the half gone.
It was sink or swim time for the Gers. Finn and Noah started to control midfield again, the defence tightened up and forwards made better use of the ball. Over the next five minutes points from Macjiek, Owen McGahon and Shea brought them back into the game. This was followed by a well taken major from Jamie Soraghan which made it game on. A point from Cooley finished off the half leaving it a tie with Cooley 3-5 to Gers 2-8 .
As the whistle blew for the second half the expectant crowd were anticipating similar fare. Wind was rising in favour of Cooley and they opened up with an early point
It was nullified quickly by a point from Noah Lauaki .
The next fifteen minutes saw football go from end to end but with the scoreboard staying static. Strong tackling , handling errors and not taking shots on contributed to the lack of scores. A solitary Cooley point nudged them ahead again.
After a few close misses by the Gers the whole team all moved up a gear and played some beautiful flowing football for the last 10 minutes and additional time.
Points were taken from all angles with Sean McKenna ( 2 ) , Noah Laukai (2) , Joe Lynch(3) , Jamie Soraghan(2) , Maciek Dobros (2) and Eoghan Sweeney all keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
Despite all efforts Cooley could only reply with two. When the final whistle went Gers had out scored Cooley by 12 points to four in the second half leaving final score Gers 2-20 to Cooley’s 3- 9.
Once the team settled in the first quarter it was a great team performance . Keepers Evan O Callaghan and Jacob Perkowski played safe and sound keeping their defence in order. Aodhan Gibbons , Jack Greene, Conor Ward ,Shea Neary, Cormac Broe, Ronan Duggan and Mal Madine worked well as a unit especially second half.
The midfield of Noah and Finn Madine worked tirelessly from end to end breakng up attacks , supporting colleagues and taking scores.
As already highlighted forwards worked best when using early ball . Conor Whitmarsh, Thomas Quinn Stuttard and Eoin Rogers also put in good shifts at various stages of the game .
A great result for a group who has worked hard over the past few months. This Thursday sees the final against current Louth Minor Champions St Pats .
All support very welcome in Lordship.
Sports Direct Ireland is proud to support our minor boys, and we appreciate their continued support for this season.
Having drawn in the league earlier in the season a tight match was expected - as the game unfolded that’s exactly what happened.
Cooley started well with a goal and a point but a hand passed goal by Mal Madine following up an Owen McGahon shot and a brace of points by Joe Lynch brought Gers back into the game. Accurate shooting by Sean McKenna and two by Maciek Dobros kept Cooley at bay with their reply of.two points. The next two minutes saw Cooley grab the game by the neck. They won two kickouts and hit the jackpots with two quick goals - an additional
point left them six up with twenty minutes of the half gone.
It was sink or swim time for the Gers. Finn and Noah started to control midfield again, the defence tightened up and forwards made better use of the ball. Over the next five minutes points from Macjiek, Owen McGahon and Shea brought them back into the game. This was followed by a well taken major from Jamie Soraghan which made it game on. A point from Cooley finished off the half leaving it a tie with Cooley 3-5 to Gers 2-8 .
As the whistle blew for the second half the expectant crowd were anticipating similar fare. Wind was rising in favour of Cooley and they opened up with an early point
It was nullified quickly by a point from Noah Lauaki .
The next fifteen minutes saw football go from end to end but with the scoreboard staying static. Strong tackling , handling errors and not taking shots on contributed to the lack of scores. A solitary Cooley point nudged them ahead again.
After a few close misses by the Gers the whole team all moved up a gear and played some beautiful flowing football for the last 10 minutes and additional time.
Points were taken from all angles with Sean McKenna ( 2 ) , Noah Laukai (2) , Joe Lynch(3) , Jamie Soraghan(2) , Maciek Dobros (2) and Eoghan Sweeney all keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
Despite all efforts Cooley could only reply with two. When the final whistle went Gers had out scored Cooley by 12 points to four in the second half leaving final score Gers 2-20 to Cooley’s 3- 9.
Once the team settled in the first quarter it was a great team performance . Keepers Evan O Callaghan and Jacob Perkowski played safe and sound keeping their defence in order. Aodhan Gibbons , Jack Greene, Conor Ward ,Shea Neary, Cormac Broe, Ronan Duggan and Mal Madine worked well as a unit especially second half.
The midfield of Noah and Finn Madine worked tirelessly from end to end breakng up attacks , supporting colleagues and taking scores.
As already highlighted forwards worked best when using early ball . Conor Whitmarsh, Thomas Quinn Stuttard and Eoin Rogers also put in good shifts at various stages of the game .
A great result for a group who has worked hard over the past few months. This Thursday sees the final against current Louth Minor Champions St Pats .
All support very welcome in Lordship.
Sports Direct Ireland is proud to support our minor boys, and we appreciate their continued support for this season.
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