2nd Year Gaelic Football
The 2nd Year footballers of Marist College had a busy period either side of the mid-term break. Following an opening round loss to Colaiste Choilm Tullamore, the Marist hosted St. Mel’s of Longford on Monday 14th October.
A cagey opening meant scores were at a premium but the Marist settled into the game when Conor McEnroe finished to the net. Points from Aodhan Fallon, Adam O'Brien, Andrew Currid and Luke Stankard followed to extend the lead before a goal from Ruairi Nicholson on the stroke of half time left the home side leading by 2-5 to 0-2. With the lead boosting the team's confidence, the home side kicked on through a further 1-3 from McEnroe, along with points from O'Brien, Currid, Cillian Silke and Stankard to seal the game with ten minutes remaining. Substitute Conor McCormack made a big impact in this time with two further goals as the Marist ran out comfortable winners.
Scorers: Conor McEnroe (2-3), Conor McCormack (2-0), Adam O'Brien (0-3), Ruairi Nicholson (1-0) Aodhan Fallon (0-2, 0-1f), Luke Stankard (0-2), Andrew Currid (0-2), Cillian Silke (0-1), Conor Johnston (0-1)
The last game of the group stage was a winner-takes-all clash with neighbours Moate CS, which took place on Friday 18th October in the Marist. Moate were quickest out of the traps with an early 1-1 and the signs looked ominous for the home side. However, Aodhan Fallon capitalised on a loose ball in the 10th minute to score a goal and this was soon followed by an Adam O'Brien free. Moate regained the lead through two points but the Marist took the lead through another Fallon goal, this time after Currid put him in behind the Moate cover. The half finished with McEnroe exchanging points with the Moate full forward as the Marist led by 2-2 to 1-4 at the interval.
The home side found another gear after half time, with Nicholson's run along the end line and finish to the net giving the Marist some breathing space. O'Brien followed this with another free and a shellshocked Moate were rocked when Frank Pettit's point effort went straight to the net. Trailing by 4-3 to 1-4, Moate rallied with two points but O'Brien responded with another free. From the resulting kickout, Pettit deftly intercepted and finished superbly over the stranded goalkeeper. Some stout goalkeeping from Fionn Cotton and defending from Fearghal Kelly and Jack Preston restricted Moate to two further points, as the Marist won out by 5-4 to 1-8.
Scorers: Aodhan Fallon (2-0), Frank Pettit (2-0), Ruairi Nicholson (1-0), Adam O'Brien (0-3f), Conor McEnroe (0-1)
The result meant the Marist finished second in the group and qualified for a North Leinster Semi Final against competition favourites Colaiste Mhuire Mullingar, played on 6th November. This was very much a step up in class for the Marist lads and this proved the case as Colaiste Mhuire ran out comfortable winners. The strength of the Mullingar team was indicated by the fact they scored ten points from their first ten shots. The Marist lads stayed working throughout and improved as the game went on, with late scores from McEnroe, Stankard, Fionn Cotton and 1-1 from Fallon reflecting this.
Scorers: Aodhan Fallon (1-1, 0-1f), Andrew Currid (0-1), Conor McEnroe (0-1), Fionn Cotton (0-1)
This brings the 2nd Year campaign to an end. Coaches Mr. Wilson and Mr. Farrell put a lot of effort into the team and there were improvements as the championship games went on. The team played the two finalists in the competition (Colaiste Choilm and Colaiste Mhuire) and playing at this standard will benefit the players in the long run. Many thanks to David Lowe for generously sponsoring tops for the team and to all the players for their efforts throughout the past two months.
Panel: Fionn Cotton, Oisin Burke, Eoghan McCormack, Fearghal Kelly, Cillian Silke, Jack Preston, Conor Duffy, Harry Costello, Andrew Currid, Conor McEnroe, Ruairi Nicholson (Captain), Frank Pettit, Aodhan Fallon (Vice Captain), Adam O'Brien, Luke Stankard, Finn Sheridan, Conor Kinahan, Conor McCormack, Caelan O'Neill, Brendan Nally, Bruno Aymerich, Fionnan Finnegan, Harry Lowe, Odhran Finnegan, Oisin McCormack, Redmond McHugh, Ronan Regan, Rory Gethins, Ryan Cunningham, Ryan Farrell, Ben Gilligan, Jay O'Brien, Cillian Fallon, Conor Johnson, Caimin Gunning, Daniel Crosbie, Shane Glennon