Lucan Sarsfields Club Notes Monday 7th May 2018

Football Féile dominated the weekend with our Under 14A’s competing in division 1 in Clontark and B’s hosting Division 8. B’s finished second in their group with a win over Na Fianna and last kick of the game win Kilmacud Crokes with Tommy Mulhall goaling a free. The club looked great and a particular thanks to Derek Glynn who acted as venue coordinator.  

In division 1 it was a clean sweep for Lucan with wins over Kilmacud, St Judes and Clontarf. Their semifinal was against Ballyboden where the had a 5:09 to 0:02 victory.  Their final in Parnell Park was against Kilmacud, and despite having overcome that same opposition in the group stages, Kilmacus came out on top with a 4:07 to 2:04 victory.

Congratulations to Dublin Minor Footballers with a win over Louth in the first game of the Leinster Minor Championship and to Lucan’s Mark Lavin, Matthew Dunne and Jake Rooney.

Leopardstown Leaps / Lucan Sarsfields Race Day rescheduled for Sunday 13^th May. Limited number of tables still available. Free bus and Prosecco reception from the club. Silver service meal and wine in Leopardstown. Contact Joe 086 815 4635, Jim 086 238 7585.

Golf Society

Our next outing will take place at Moyvalley Golf Club on Saturday 19^th May from 1.35pm to 2.40pm. To request a tee time please text Seamus Fagan at 086 8168984 as soon as possible but no later than 6pm on Sunday 13^th May. New members are always very welcome.   Lucan Sarsfields Golf Society – Annual Classic A date for your diary. The Annual Golf Classic will take place in Lucan Golf Club on Friday 15^th June. This is a key fundraiser for the club each year and your continued support is greatly appreciated. The format will be a team of 4 and to request a place on the timesheet please contact  Seamus Fagan at 086 8168984.

‘GAA for All’ continues Tuesday at 5pm in the club.

‘Cúpla Focal’ club takes a break for the summer.

Bingo is on Wednesdays 8:30pm. 

25 Card Drive continues every Friday 9pm, caters for all levels, beginners welcome. 

Club Shop is scheduled to open Thursdays 7:30-8:30 and Saturday’s 10:30am – 1:00pm. 

Lucan District Credit Union Academy is on Saturdays, 9:30am for Girls; 10am for boys (5+). 

3rd, 4^th and 5^th Class Disco on Friday 4^th May in aid of Special Olympics 

Lotto
There was no winner of the €20,000 lotto on the 3rd May, the numbers were 8, 10, 23 and 25. Next draw will be managed by Diarmuid Dawson and is sponsored by Newcastle Golf Centre. Tickets can be purchased online, at the club, in Carey’s Newsagents, in Vesey Arms or Kenny’s Bar.

Congratulations to Aidan and Martina Glover on their wedding over the weekend.

Adult Hurling Reports

It was a busy week on the hurling front with our adult teams involved in both league and championship action.  Two wins from five games was the return – see brief match reports below.  Congratulations to Junior A Manager and Club PRO Aidan Glover who got married in Italy this weekend.

Junior A HC: Lucan Sarsfields 0-17  St Finians (S) 0-11. 

Lucan led from the start with a pointed free from Tommy Somers followed by another from play from Eoghan O'Conghaile in the first 5 minutes.  Finians indiscipline saw three of their six defenders on yellow cards 15 minutes into the game with Lucan in front 0-5 to 0-2.  Tommy Somers’ free taking kept the scoreboard ticking for Lucan with 4 more pointed frees in the first half with scores also from Evan Lombard and Paddy Ward.  Half time score saw Lucan 4 points in front 0-9 to 0-5.  One of the yellow cards came back to haunt Finians early in the second half when a defender picked up a second yellow and got the line.  Lucan worked hard and stayed in front to the final whistle.  Tommy Somers pointed 5 more frees with points also coming from Tadgh Clandillon, Eoghan O'Conghaile and Paddy Ward to leave the full time score 0-17 to 0-11

Lucan Team/Scorers: Cillian Murray, Anto Lee, Rob Lambert, Diarmuid Reynolds,  Rob Twomey, Joey Byrne, Eoghain Reynolds, Ian Crowley, Tadgh Clandillon (0-1),  Eoghan O’Conghaile (0-2), Colm Keenan, Tommy Somers (0-11, 0-10f), Evan Lombard  (0-1) Alan O'Neil, Paddy Ward (0-2). Sub introduced: Cathal O Maolmhána.

Junior E HC: Round Towers 2-16  Lucan Sarsfields 1-8.

Lucan’s Junior B’s were ultimately well beaten in this Championship group game against local rivals Round Towers at Monastery Road, though their performance was better than the score-line might suggest.  Lucan played against the elements in the first half but competed well nonetheless.  Towers gradually got on top and had built up a good lead, before a well finished goal from Eanna Kyne just before half-time reduced the deficit to just three points at the break 1-9 to 1-6.  Scores were hard to come by in the early part of the second half but a second Round Towers goal finally broke Lucan’s resistance and Towers tapped over a string of points to put plenty daylight between the teams at the finish. 

Lucan Team/Scorers: E Gately (0-1), S Stapleton, S Farrell, M Quaid, E Higgins, J Cavanagh, S O’Keeffe, E Connolly, S Alamgir, K Boylan (0-2, 0-1f), D Kavanagh (0-2), C Keane (0-3, 0-1f), E Kyne (1-0), T Heffernan, M Condon.  Subs introduced: A Finnerty.

AHL 1:  Ballyboden 3-26  Lucan Sarsfields 0-16.

Lucan will want to quickly forget this one sided encounter against Ballyboden.  Although missing many of the recent championship starters, Lucan fielded a strong team and would have expected to be much more competitive.  However Boden played with much more physicality and intensity and blitzed Lucan from the outset.  It was 23 minutes before Lucan got a score from play and at that stage Boden were leading 1-10 to 0-3.  By half time, the margin was 2-16 to 0-5 and the game was effectively over as a contest.  Lucan did find a modicum of improvement in the second half, with Matt McCaffrey and Ciaran Dowling to the fore, but the damage was already done and Boden eased to a comfortable win.

Lucan Team/scorers:  C Murray, P Smith, J Bellew, P Claffey, M May, R Stapleton, L Walsh, M McCaffrey (0-1), R Ward, P Kelly, K Fitzgerald (0-1), P Crummey, E O’Conghaile, P Rigney, C Dowling (0-12, 0-9f). Subs: K O’Reilly (0-2, 0-1f).   

AHL 5:  Skerries 2-19  Lucan Sarsfields 2-11.

Lucan Junior A’s were quite depleted for this encounter as the bank holiday weekend took its toll, and had to play 13 a side.  However, the contest was closer than the score line suggests and it was only in the final minutes that Skerries pulled clear.  The early exchanges were evenly contested but a goal from Skerries after 20 minutes was the decisive score of the first half and they lead 1-9 to 0-8 at half time.  Oisin O’Brien goaled early in the second half to narrow the gap to just one, but Skerries got a second goal soon after.  Some rather dubious frees allowed Skerries stretch the advantage and further controversy followed when Ciaran Keane ran through the Skerries defence and buried the ball to the net only to be denied what looked a legitimate goal by the referees whistle.  Lucan did get a second goal through a good finish from Gary Coleman but they never managed to bridge the gap and Skerries, with the benefit of fresh legs, picked off some good long range points to close out the game.  Good to see Donal Flannery back in action after a bad run of injuries.

Lucan Team/Scorers: C Murray, A Sheahan, T Swords, R Ward (0-1), R Lambert (0-1), R Twomey, I Crowley, E Seary, A Lee, T Somers (0-3, 0-1f), G Coleman (1-1), C Keane (0-3), O O’Brien (1-0).  Subs introduced: D Flannery (0-2).

AHL 8: Lucan Sarsfields 3-18  Whitehall Colmcille 5-8.

Lucan Junior B’s put the midweek championship defeat behind them with a very good performance and claimed valuable league points.  Lucan got on top early and a great goal by Eric Greene had them ahead 1-3 to no score after 10 minutes.  However, Whitehall then got two goals within a few minutes and were back in the contest.  Lucan regained the upper hand and picked off some good long range points to lead 1-9 to 2-1 at half time.  Killian Boylan goaled early in the second half to stretch the lead but Whitehall again responded immediately with another goal at the other end.  Lucan continued to tap over points and when Ross Ward got Lucan’s third goal it looked decisive, but Whitehall refused to give in and got two more goals to keep the issue in doubt up to the finish.  The Lucan defence withstood a late onslaught and held on for a well deserved victory.  It was a good all-round team performance from Lucan with a particularly notable contribution from minor player Ciaran Keane, who just a few hour earlier played with the Junior As in Skerries.       

Lucan Team/Scorers: M Condon, S Stapleton, S Farrell, T Heffernan, P Fagan (0-1), J Cavanagh (0-1), S O’Keeffe, K Boylan (1-1), L Murphy (0-1), D Kavanagh (0-3), D Reidy (0-2), C Keane (0-9, 0-5f), R Ward (1-0), E Greene (1-0), E Kyne. Subs introduced: G Butler, J Lakes.

Lucan Sarsfields Juvenile Hurling Report

Juvenile Hurling Report

Our U-11 and some of our U-10 hurlers had a very busy week.

First up was the quarter final of the Dublin Community Games competition. This competition is based on parish rather than club and is run U-11 hurling over successive weekends in May. A great competition, it epitomises everything that is good in the GAA community by emphasising participation over winning and equal game time for all. Due to the age limit being August 1^st, it also offers some of the U-10 and U-11 hurlers in the club an opportunity to play together.

First up was the quarter final last Thursday versus Marley/Grange whose team were mainly made up of players from the Ballinteer St. Johns Club. In a very competitive first half, Lucan started the brightest with some fine scoring from Killian Costello, Patrick Cosgrove and Jack Mills. Donnacha Hunt was playing well in goal and the defence was also playing well with Cathal Dowling and Gavin Lynch to the fore. The half time score was 2-7 to 3-3 in Lucan’s favour.

The second half was a much tighter affair with scores hard to come by. Ballinteer staged a comeback but a crucial goal near the end by Liam Whelan clinched it on a scoreline of 3-9 to 4-3. All in all, a great panel effort by Lucan with everyone making a contribution as players rolled on and off. The team now look forward to a semi final against St. Judes next Thursday.

Lucan Panel: Donnacha Hunt, Cathal Dowling, Olan Sullivan, Bill O’Donavan, Gavin Lynch, Killian Costello, Liam Whelan, Robert Melvin, Patrick Cosgrove, Jack Mills, Lucas Enright, Eoghan Clarke, Luke Keogh, Ferdia McDonagh, Harry Llyod, Cian Gavin, Cian O’Gara

Scorers: Killian Costello 1-03, Liam Whelan 1-02, Patrick Cosgrove 1-01, Jack Mills 0-02, Gavin Lynch 0-01

On the Bank Holiday Monday then, Lucan U-11s were invited to play in a blitz at Na Fianna. A terrific day’s hurling in brilliant sunshine meant Lucan played 10 matches across both the Cup and Shield competitions. There were some great hurling skills on display and again, it afforded the opportunity for some of the U-10s and U-11s to play together. A big thanks to Na Fianna for such a well organised day which the boys really enjoyed.

Well done to all the teams competing at the weekend.

Lucan Sarsfields Juvenile Football Report

Juvenile Football Report

The focus this week was on the U-14 Feile football competition.

On Saturday Lucan hosted division 8B of Feile Peil 2018. Glorious weather and pristine pitches greeted the players and supporters as they arrived at the 12^th Lock.

Lucan got off to a slow start against a very strong Ballyboden team who won division 7 last year with a points difference of +347 but somehow managed to get themselves placed in Division 8 of the Feile. We finished the game on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Lucan 0-1 Ballyboden 2-9 which we believe was a good result considering they beat us 12-17 to 1-5 last week!!!

At least we knew we had a good chance of being competitive for the rest of the day. An Eoin Harrington penalty got us on the scoreboard against Na Fianna and we tagged on two more points to go in level at the break 1-2 to 0-5. Playing with the breeze in the second half we started with some well worked points and some brilliant play from link man James Ryan. Jack Kelly, Cian Cregg and Andy Glynn put in a solid shift also. A Ross Campion goal brought huge drive to the team with some great defending followed by some more great team points and a goalkeeping master class from Alex Kelly left the final score at Lucan 2-5 Na Fianna 1-7. Losing Dara Moran who was playing superbly in this game was something we could have done without.

We started the third game on a high but legs were starting to tire at this stage. This was a game we could have won with several shots on goal just inches wide and a penalty hitting the post. Matthew Byrne, Conor O’Neill and Niall Higgins, Fionn Buckley and Cian Tracey were still as solid as ever in this one. Unfortunately we lost full back Matthew Ryan who had been playing a stormer all day to injury for the rest of the day in this game. Final score Lucan 1-3 Geraldine P Morans 1-7

We came up against Kilmacud Crokes in our final game of the day. The lads were well rested during the lunch break and started well. Cathal Kennedy was a welcome addition to the team having just arrived from his confirmation to play!! Great forward play in the first half from Adam Bonass and Jack Langan. Some lovely scores in this game from Daniel Kane, Adam Duffy and Andrew Kennedy. Six points down with four minutes to go the heads never dropped. BANG! Ross Campion goal. BANG! Tommy Mulhall almost broke the crossbar. BANG! Roghan Withero goal. All square with the clock gone into injury time a long ball up the wing was won by Ronan MacCraith who was taken down immediately. Free kick Lucan. Thirty yards out on the far side line at the new carpark end of the pitch. Up steps a man who this time three years ago we didn’t know if he’d ever be physically able to play a football match again. Having been told by the referee that this was the last kick of the game and he had to score directly Tommy Mulhall launched the ball high into the air. It looked good, it looked better then it started to drop, then it looked bad, then it went into the top corner of the goal!!! Cue grown men in tears and celebrations not witnessed since 2011.

This was a huge team effort all day long by everyone who played including captain Sam Donohoe and James Maloney who both were unable to play due to injury but played their part from the side line. It seems like only yesterday that these boys were four and five years old in the nursery and the most satisfying part is watching them all develop into fine young men. Its days like this that make training in the cold, wind and rain and going to meetings 8 nights a week all worthwhile!!

Special thanks to our Feile coordinator Derek Glynn and Gary Ryan for making sure the games ran smoothly and to Ann Marie Duffy for heading up our catering group for the day. But most thanks must go to the players themselves for allowing us to experience days like this.

Clontarf hosted Division 1B of the Feile on Saturday and in glorious sunshine, Lucan were grouped with the host club, St. Judes and Kilmacud Crokes.

Lucan got off to a great start and played some fine football in beating the host team by 4-9 to 2-4. This was followed by another super display of attacking football in a 6-10 to 1-3 victory over St. Judes. The last group game was a much closer affair with a strong finish resulting in a 1-10 to 1-4 victory for Lucan over Kilmacud Crokes to top the group.

This meant a semi final against the runners up of the other group in Ballyboden St. Endas. Both teams started slowly but after the middle of the half, Lucan found their second wind and scored some fabulous team scores. This continued in the second half and they ran out winners on a score line of 5-09 to 0-02 in a brilliant performance from start to finish.

This all meant a trip to Parnell Park on Monday to play Kilmacud Crokes again who had ran out winners over St. Sylvesters in the other semi final. Lucan conceded an early goal but fought well to be just 2 points down after ten minutes. At half time, the score line was 2-1 to 0-03 and still all to pay for. However, Lucan suffered a couple of injuries and were unable to overcome those losses and eventually fell on a score line of 4-07 to 2-04.

Both teams should be proud of their achievements this weekend as they were a credit to their mentors, families and the club. More especially, all of the games were played in the right spirit and with no little skill and team work which augurs very well for the future of this group of boys. Well done to all involved.