GAA is back
Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. St Canices 4:1 (13pts) D7 ET 3:3 (12pts)
Our D7 Boys team were back in action for the first time in 2 years in Johnstone Park Finglas today. As we arrived heavy black clouds rolled in and the heavens opened up to add some zip to the pitch. Undeterred by the weather or the size of the pitch the lads took to the field in a confident mood.
Playing into a stiff breeze, the lads held their own in the early exchanges but conceded the first score, a pointed free. D7 were working some neat passing moves around the middle but were finding it hard to penetrate the Canice’s defence. Our midfield began to gain the upperhand despite the giant like opposing midfielder.
Mid way through the half we hit a purple patch and grabbed a few hard earned scores to get our noses in front. Our defence was holding solidly but using the wind to their advantage, Canices grabbed a few fortuitous goals giving them a slender half time lead.
We took the opportunity of the break to get some fresh legs on the field as the game was being played at a high tempo and there were plenty of tired bodies on display. The breeze had died down by now so we knew there was a battle ahead of us. Starting brightly, we grabbed a few early scores and began eating into the deficit.
As we reached the last quarter we were camped in the opponent’s half but couldn’t manage to make it count on the scoreboard. We finally grabbed a well deserved lead heading into the last minutes and it looked like our tenacious defending would see us home. As the referee’s watch headed towards injury time, a dubious penalty was awarded against us following some heroic defending.
The goalkeeper, who had been impeccable all day, had no chance from the spot kick. We didn’t have enough time to respond and lost by the minimum margin. Our lads should be proud of their performance and will have learned many lessons from this defeat. We’ll be back training on Monday and we’ll be fighting fit for our next outing next Thursday. Beidh lá eile againn.
Rachael, Michael & Padraig