Aghada Juvenile GAA News

Howya folks this scribe is away on a spiritual retreat for a few weeks and I am delighted to say that we have roving reporters at all games bringing the up to date action as it unfolds, so many thanks to all our reporters who have contributed to our weekly newsletter. U12 football report Diarmuid O’ Shea: On a cool August Monday evening our U12 footballers made the journey to Shanagarry to take on local rivals St. Colmans. With no referee appointed, Ben Walsh stepped in to be the man in the middle, not an easy task in the cauldron that St Colmans and Aghada clashes can be! The first quarter was one where the home side dominated. St. Colmans were very organised and were a step above Aghada in their tackling and movement with some early goals to give them a lead of 3-1 to 0-0 at the 1st water break. The water break proved beneficial as some positional changes were made here and also after this leading upto HT - Shay Rooney to midfield, Conor Charles to wing forward and Eoghan O' Shea to the no. 11 slot. Evan Courtney making his first appearance this year slotted into the back line also and soon the game changed for the better for the lads in green. Shay and Matthew worked hard in midfield and darting runs from Eoghan put Colmans on the back foot and drew frees also. Matthew opened our account from play to be followed by 2 from Eoghan, Shay once again converting from a deadball situation and a goal from Peter Mulcahy, always the sniper to reduce the deficit to leave the score at HT 3-2 to 1-4 in favour of the hosts. An intense team talk seems to have done the trick and halftime allowed even more regrouping. Input was sought from the players and Rossa not only spoke here but did his talking on the pitch in the 2nd half also. Aghada were a changed side for the second half, exhibiting a fluidity with their passing game that u6allowed them to inch back the scores. The influential Kaylan Cunningham was a key link to the forwards as part of a stalwart defence led by Jake Morrissey, Rossa White, Ciaran Cashman - showing great belief & determination along with great handling - and Seán O' Reilly playing like a lad possessed winning dirty ball throughout, supported by Shay Rooney and a flying Matthew now at corner back to allow Evan out to midfield. The excellent St. Colmans keeper kept them in the game with a string of clearances from the goal mouth. The continuous hard work and challenges from Conor Charles kept the pressure on the Colmans back and in the last few minutes it was down to 1 score - 3-5 to 1-8 so Matthew was sent to the edge of the Colmans square- in a swap with Conor Padden once again showing the lads willingness to play anywhere. And so it was left to Matthew , captain on the night who played in 3 different positions to find the top corner from a free to level the game and give us a hectic few minutes. Heroic defending at the back kept Aghada in the game, and tit for tat exchanges continued. A draw after a pulsating 2nd half on a score of St Colmans 3-5 Aghada 2-8. Teams and subs on night- Cathal Lowney, Fionn Buckley, Ciaran Cashman, Rossa White ; Seán O' Reilly, Kaylan Cunningham, Jake Morrissey ; Conor Charles, Matthew Condon (C); Aidan Johnston, Shay Rooney, Eoghan O' Shea ; Conor Fleming, Peter Mulcahy, Robbie Oosthuizen; James O' Neill, Conor Padden , Evan Courtney.

U13 Football report by Cathal McAllister: The U13’a made the short trip in the road to Cloyne to take on St. Colemans in round 2 of the football league. On a miserable evening for a match it did not deter the lads from their task. The lads settled into the game very quickly and had scores on the board courtesy of Tom Walsh, Cian Moore, Cillian Burke and Jack Mulcahy. St. Coleman’s rallied after the first water break and started to take a hold of the game but some great defending from Eoghan Walsh, Sam Douglas, Jackson Keirns and the every reliable goalkeeper Cormac Crowley kept the them at bay. This was turning into a ding dong affair with the ball up and down the field at blistering pace. The half-time whistle was a welcome sound for both teams with Aghada leading at the break on a score line of 3-3 to 1-2. The second half was a carbon copy of the first with the lads settling down again very fast and this time it was the turn of Sam Mc Allister, Darragh Meaney and Alex Buckley to get the scores. A highlight of that half was a move between Josh Mc Carthy and Nathan Tynan that led to our 4th goal. Again after the second water break St. Coleman’s came at us again but we had some terrific defending from Austin Shoeman, Adam Lewis, Cillian Scanlon, Donnacha Winters and Max Daly to keep them out. The final score read Aghada 7-4 St. Coleman’s 4-5. This gets us our first two points of the league with games to come against Douglas, St. Colmcillies and Youghal, so it’s all to play for.

Minor Football Report V Valley Rovers by Vince Rohan: Our minor footballers welcomed Valley Rovers to Rostellan last Wednesday in their third and final premier 2 league match of the year. Aghada down a few regulars due to injury started well with Fionn O’Callaghan driving forward on a number of occasions delivering lovely ball into the forwards. Diarmuid Byrne also started fast kicking two fine points from play. Scott Whyte started brightly turning his man on a number of occasions which often resulted in the Saleen man being dragged to ground. The immense Diarmuid Byrne made no mistake with any of these frees, slotting the post confidently on every occasion. Unfortunately for Aghada, anytime we scored Valleys to their credit seemed to come right back at us with their forwards scoring some superb points from play. Our lads kept plugging away with Jack Corkery, Sean O’Callaghan and Aaron Kearns all making some impressive contributions. So, after an absorbing first half the teams went in level at six points each. The second half started as the first ended with Valleys storming into the game scoring three points on the bounce. However, our lads never left the heads drop and with some fine defending from all the backs, Jack Colbert and Fionn O’Connor in particular, Aghada began to rally. The ever-industrious Conall Rooney kicked a fine score and the immense Diarmuid Byrne kicking some beautiful placed balls which was complemented by a nice score from Eoin Motherway to leave us level again at the water break nine points each. Aghada had really got air back into their lungs at this stage and were starting to really come to grips with the very physical opposition. Unfortunately, the third quarter began in the same fashion as the second. Valleys hit our lads for a goal nearly straight from the restart with a quick free catching our lads out. To make things worse Valleys hit two more points to leave us down five points with ten minutes to go. Aghada could have left the heads drop here but our lads never gave up and rallied once again with Jack Colbert and Aaron Atkinson driving the whole team on from the back. Aghada’s subs started to make a difference here with Stevie O’Shea and Oscar Slye getting on the ball and moving the ball through the lines. Aghada showed good patience with Ronan Murphy, Donagh Collins and Pete White holding on to possession, which eventually led to Aghada being awarded two frees which the man of the match Diarmuid Byrne slotted at his ease to set up a grandstand finish. Tommy Oosthuizen and Michael Corkery came into the fray and made an immediate impact. Both Tommy and Michael got their hands on the ball which almost resulted in our lads unlocking the Valleys defence but unfortunately the ball drifted wide. That was to be the final act of a very entertaining game with Valleys winning out on a score line of Aghada 0-11 Valley Rovers 1-11. A spirited performance from our lads who now have one minor hurling league game left next week before the run in to championship. Best on the night were Fionn O’Callaghan, Fionn O’Connor and the above mentioned Diarmuid Byrne along with a special mention for Cian O’Shea who had a great game between the sticks for Aghada. Panel Vs Valley Rovers: Cian O’ Shea, Aaron Atkinson, Jack Colbert, Fionn O’Callaghan, Aaron Kearns, Fionn O’Connor, Pete White, Donagh Collins, Seán O’ Callaghan, Diarmuid Byrne, Conall Rooney, Ronan Murphy, Jack Corkery, Scott Whyte, Eoin Motherway, Tommi Oosthuizen, John Walsh, Issac Mirner, Jack Dunne, Conor Geary, Cian Hegarty, Michael Corkery, Diarmuid Murphy, Joshua Halpin, Oscar Slye, Stephen O’Shea.

U15 Div1 Football Report by Óisín Counihan: Our u15s continued their 100% start to their football season with a hard fought victory against Midleton Saturday morning in Rostellan. Aghada opened with a point from James Hurley which was followed by points from Robert Dean and James Motherway either side of a Midleton score to leave the game 0:03 to 0:01 at the water break. The game began to open as both sides adjusted to conditions however Evan Crowley and Roger Mcgrath helped Aghada with good defending at the back. Samuel O Driscoll traded points with Midleton before they struck their first goal of the game just before halftime. James Hurley kicked a free just before the whistle to leave things level after 30 minutes. Aghada started the 2nd half well with the midfield pairing of David Wallace and Robert Dean beginning to get on top. Points from raiding wing backs Tomas Condon and Eoin Daly alongside two further Hurley frees and a Midleton score gave Aghada a 3 point point lead at the final water break. Cian Murphy who replaced Finn Berry at the break provided a similar good impact to the man he replaced. Midleton came out fighting after the break however and were unlucky to find themselves four down after a score from themselves was sandwiched in between a 2nd for Motherway and another dead ball from Hurley. A controversial black card for Eoin Daly provided Midleton with the break they needed to get back into the game and they took it quickly using the man advantage to score another goal which brought the deficit to the minimum. The game was up for grabs and the defence led by Sean Santos O Sullivan and Hugh Mulchay fought bravely to keep Aghada in the game despite being a man down. Another booming kickout from keeper Sean O Callaghan led to the vital score of the game. The ball found its way to Callum Roberts who handpassed to James Hurley whose side footed effort wouldn't have been out of place in the Aviva. Midleton to their credit came again but couldn't find a way to get enough of the scores they needed to get back into the game. It finished with Aghada winning by 2 points and winning there 3rd game of the round Robin stage. With two further games to play Aghada have put themselves in a good position to drive on now for the last 2 group games and beyond. Sean O Callaghan,Roger Mcgrath,Sean Santos O sullivan,Evan Crowley,Eoin Daly (0:01),Hugh Mulcahy,Tomas Condon (0:01),David Wallace,Robert Dean (0:01),Callum Roberts,Samuel O Driscoll (0:02),Ronan Devoy,Finn Berry,James Hurley (1:06, 0:04 F),James Motherway (0:02) Subs: Cian Murphy,Colm White,James O Donnell,Sean Corkery

U15Div3 Football report by Óisín Counihan: Our U15 second team followed up the first teams victory with an emphatic victory themselves down in Ballyanly against Inniscarra on Sunday afternoon. Having lost the toss we faced a stiff breeze and a slight hill in the 1st half. The conditions made things difficult for Aghada but we fought well, with Sean O Brien and Adam Lewis in particular limiting the damage. Inniscarra raced out to an early lead but a goal and a point from Jack Linehan alongside a point from Fionn O Sullivan kept us in the game. Inniscarra kicked on again however, but we fought to keep ourselves in the game. Quick thinking from Dara O Conchubhair and good work from Tom Walsh and Cian Moore led to a 2nd goal for Jack Linehan which was followed up with a fine goal from Moore himself keeping us in touch with the opposition. Cormac Crowleys good work in goal and kickouts alongside further good work from corner back Jack Kelleher kept the gap to just 3 points between the teams at halftime as Inniscarra led 2:08 to 3:02 at halftime. With the wind now at our backs Aghada kicked on massively in the 2nd half. Andrew Murphy and Joe Connolys hardwork in the halfback made things hard for Inniscarra to get out of their half in the 2nd half. Aghada were clinical in their finishing in the 2nd half and with Ronan Norris and Sam Mcallister working well upfront, Josh McCarthy bagged a brace of points alongside Fionn O Sullivan who burst through to kick his 3rd of the game in the 2nd half. Isaac Oosthuizen and Eanna Crowley both drove through the Inniscarra defence on separate occasions and slotted home great goals respectively. Jack Linehan secured his hattrick from the spot as we ran out comprehensive winners in the end. Special credit to the u13s who came straight from a hurling game and played a big role in the win. With the round Robin stage finished for the 2nd team and 3 wins secured we now await to see what the knockout stages hold for the team. Team: Cormac Crowley, Jack Kelleher, Isaac Oosthuizen, Adam Lewis, Sam Mcallister, Sean O Brien, Joe Connoly, Andrew Murphy, Eanna Crowley, Cian Moore, Dara O Conchubhair, Fionn O Sullivan, Ronan Norris, Jack Linehan, Tom Walsh Subs: Josh McCarthy

Juvenile fundraiser: The juvenile club is running a guess the score prediction for the All Ireland hurling final and the money raised will go towards providing tops for our féile hurling and football teams, keep an eye out in local outlets for entry cards or alternatively contact any mentor or juvenile committee member, many thanks for your support in advance.

The Best of luck to Fergal Rasper Condon and the Cork U20 Hurling team who go in search of all Ireland honours next Wednesday night in Semple stadium against Galway in the decider, hopefully this will be the start of the treble in hurling for Cork in 2021 in the coming weeks with the countys seniors and minors also in all Ireland final action.

Fixtures: Mon 16th Rebel Óg East U12 Div3 Hurling League Kiltha Óg V Aghada 19:00 Kiltha Óg Mon 16th Rebel Óg U15 C3 Hurling League Inniscarra 3 V Aghada 20:00 Inniscarra Wed 18th Rebel Óg East U18 Div1 Hurling League Aghada V St. Catherines 19:30 Rostellan Fri 20th Rebel Óg U16 Group 3 Football League St. Finbarrs V Aghada 19:00 Togher Fri 20th Rebel Óg East U13 Div1 Hurling League Youghal V Aghada 19:00 Youghal top field Fri 20th Rebel Óg East U12 Div3 Football League Aghada V Carrigtwohill 19.30 Rostellan

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