Under 15 Div 1 & Div 4 Footballers Complete the Double

Division 1 

​Roscommon Herald, Tuesday October 18, 2022
By Ian Cooney at Dr. Hyde Park

Roscommon Gaels:   0-10
Pádraig Pearses:       0-08

"For Roscommon Gaels, this was all about the result.  With losses in the U13 and U17 county finals followed by a poor performance by the seniors in their county semi final against Strokestown, there was a danger that plenty of honest endeavour over the last few months would have very little to show for it.  But a commanding second half performance by a more economical crop of U15 footballers handed the club some thing tangible and went some way towards easing the disappointments of the past few weeks at dr. Hyde Park on Sunday afternoon.

It didn't look that way at the break as Pearses' greater percentage in the possession stakes had yielded a 0-06 to 0-04 lead.  But Roscommon Gaels' craving to get the ball into their towering full forward Leo Anic on the edge of the square unleashed a directness from which other players reaped a dividend.  Anic didnt exactly cause havoc, but his presence spooked the Pearses defence, allowing players like Tom Biesty and Matthew Finneran pick up the crumbs when possession broke their way.  Biesty was particularly influential, especially in the final quarter, when he kicked two points from play.  Further out the field, the impressive Samuel Malec Hannon saw plenty of ball and, for the most part, used it wisely.  

Bertie Satchwell brought a greater physical presence to the Gaels' armoury when he was positioned in the middle third for the second half.  Then there was Daniel Fleming - small in stature but the player with the biggest heart on the field as the Gaels defence enticed Pearses into their web and executed a number of crucial turnovers.  

Pearses' persistence with handpassing the ball was meat and drink to the Gaels rear-guard who directed their opponents down the central channels before, invevitably forcing error.  Daniel Mooney was the only Pearses forward to trouble the scoreboard from play, and those points were booming efforts from distance.  But far too often, Pearses' ploy of working the ball through the hands resulted in possession being lost in traffic, and the Gaels were able to counter-attack quickly.
  
Overall, it was a contest that lacked quality as mistakes and nerves were the order of the afternoon.  Padraig Pearses midfielder Keelan Kelly nudged his side in front, and when Mooney disected the posts in the fourth minute, the South Roscommon side's early dominance had been rewarded. But the game became stuck in a rut, with very little quality for the remainder of the half.  Sam Malec Hannon guided an effort just inside the post to open the Gaels account before Anic made his presence felt, after being picked out by  Malec Hannon, by gaterhing the ball and pointing on the turn to the left of the goal.   Both sides remainded tentative, although Mooney scored one of the points of the afternoon to edge Pearses back in form. 

However, scores during the remainder of the half were confined to frees - a double for Malec Hannon, while Ross Glynn and Mooney (2) added to Pearses' account to give their side a two point interval lead. But Roscommon Gaels threw off the shackles in the second half and looked far more purposeful.  Two frees from Malec Hannon got them back on level terms before Bertie Satchwell ambled forward and split the posts with aplomb to propel his side into the lead for the first time.

The Gaels were purring now and a brilliant run by the lion hearted Daniel Fleming allowed Beisty set up Matthew Finneran for a good score to leave the Gaels 0-08 to 0-06 ahead after 47 minutes.  Within the next three minutes, Biesty tagged on two more scores before Pearses launched a mini-comeback.  Glynn and Kelly (free) grabbed late points and they almost snatched it when substitute John Price parried the ball goalwards, but there was a Gaels defender on the line to avert the danger. 
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Soon afterwards, Michael Brehony blew the final whistle and the Gaels finally had something to celebrate".  

Great celebrations were had by Team, Management and Parents back at the Club Lounge following the game.  
Well done to all invovled.  A great success for both team and Club.  




​

Division 4 

October 22nd, Ballintubber 

Roscommon Gaels: 4 - 13
Kilmore/Shannon Gaels:  1-04

Our Div 4 Under 15 team played Kilmore/Shannon Gaels in the Division 4 Championship Final on the 22nd October in good conditions at Enfield. This Gaels team had lost their group game to the same opponent by a single point, so the lads were out for revenge!  With a full panel to pick from - 26 players togged on the day.

Roscommon Gaels started  the first half playing against the wind and soon got to grips with the game around the middle of the field gaining some early scores on the board which settled the lads into the game.

The first goal came from Cian Kiernan after a long pass from midfield and a good run-in driving it to the back of the net. Two further goals were to follow for Cian in the game who ended with a personal tally of 3-6. The half time score was 2-09 to 0-4 in favour of the Gaels.

With an 11 point lead at half time the Gaels were able to introduce a number of subs early in the second half. David King replaced the injured Myles McSharry at half time.  

The second half continued with Roscommon Gaels adding a number of early points to put the game out of reach for Kilmore/Shannon Gaels.  Mark Biesty finished the goal scoring by adding a 4th goal late in the second half. The game finished on a score line of 4-13 to 1-4.

It was a great team performance with all 20 players that took the field making a massive contribution.
This ended a great season for the Under 15’s adding the Division 4 title to the Division 1 title won the previous week.