THE National Go Games
Blitz took place at GAA headquarters on a glorious
sunny Monday last. The excitement displayed by both
players and parents was easily visible as the young Buncrana
lads took the field to represent their
county against formidable opposition in the form of Clonakilty Cork, Derry and a tough opening match
against a strongly fancied Tyrone side managed by
their very own Stephen O’Neill. Quarter was neither
asked nor given as the two teams truly got stuck in
from the start and the nervous support was soon in
raptures as the Buncrana pressure resulted in an
early goal, a thunderous shot driven low by Adam
Curran rebounded of the cross bar and was dispatched
to the back of the net by fellow forward, Tristan
Friel. This was quickly followed with a point from a
classy Kevin Jordan and as the supporters dared to
dream, Stephen O’Neill got busy reorganizing his
players. The Buncrana rearguard now stood up to the
plate and weathered the onslaught, supported by the
strong tackling of midfielder Liam Doherty, the
defenders Sean Doherty, Caolan O’Neill, James
O’Hagan and Ruairi Doherty and goalkeeper David
Carey. Buncrana held on for a draw in a tremendously
entertaining opening game that delighted family,
friends and spectators alike on the day.
Next up Cork and determined to improve on their
first result they took the game to Clonakilty, Once
again they had a commanding lead of 2-5 to 0-2 with
Michael Bernard McLaughlin starting to dominate in
midfield helped by forwards Caolan Mulholland,
Pauric Doherty, and John Jackson. They played some
wonderfull football but once again our strong
defence with some great tackling from Joseph
McGrenera and Oisin Kelly had to dig out the result
and hold on for a well-deserved first won.
After a few quietly chosen words about playing to
the final whistle and all that the boys finished off
a day to remember by putting our neighbours Derry to
the sword! The boys’ total dominance in this game
gave management a chance to reward the defensive
stalwarts by switching them with the forwards in
order to make sure every player got an opportunity
to score in Croke Park. Every single player to a man
played their part in a memorable occasion for all
family, friends and supporters that travelled on the
day. Team on the day: Tristan Friel, Adam Curran,
Caolan O‘Neill, Caolan Mulholland, David Carey,
James O’Hagan, John Jackson, Pauric Doherty, Joseph
McGrenera, Kevin Jordan, Liam Doherty, Oisin Kelly,
Ruairi Doherty, Sean Doherty, Micheal Bernard
McLaughlin.
Management would like to take this opportunity to
thank all players and family who travelled on the
day and represented both club and county in the best
light possible both on and off the pitch. |
