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Match Reports |
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| 36th March 2010 : Binn Éadair 15 points; Final Ravens 35 points | ||||||||||||
| The U10's kept up their early season winning streak with a convincing win over Binn Éadair in Howth. Perfect spring conditions in fine surrounds
on the top of Howth Head made this an enjoyable excursion for both the players and fans. The singing in the bus over wasn't nearly as good as the early shooting
at goal with some fine scores provided by OD, JB and Christian Keane to settle the team down.
Overall it was another fine performance from James O'Donnell who scored a total of 2 goals and 4 points and he was deservably given the man-of-the-match award. The foundation in defense of Seán Gleeson and Owen Creaby proved too strong for Binn Éadair who were mostly confined to long range shots. One player did stand out though on the Howth Team, a girl named Naoise, who scored each of their 3 goals. It could have been more except for the close marking and great blocking by Seán. Two long range goals from Jack Kinsella helped ensure there was no way back for Howth. A total of seven players got onto the scoresheet, they were James O'Donnell (14 points), Christian Keane (6 points), James Brennan (6 points), Matthew McClusker (3 points), Jack Kinsella (2 points), Luke McCaffrey (3 points) and Shane Richardson (1 point). John Monks supplied the half-time tea and Christina Keane the tin of Cadbury's Roses. Spirits were high on the journey home and even the singing seemed to improve. |
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| 220th February 2010 : Final Ravens 22 points, Ballyboughal 18 points | ||||||||||||
| A tremendous finish by the Ravens saw them overcome their neighbours from
Ballyboughal in a pulsating game in Rolestown.
The match started evenly enough but very soon the team from Ballyboughal were on top, helped by some marvellous blocking across the whole pitch. Sadly for them, blocks aren't awarded points this year, so they needed to take advantage of their early superiority with scores. This they did with some fine points from their forwards. The Ravens worked hard to stay in touch and Leah scored an important over for 3 points and James Brennan grabbed a fine goal. However a succession of overs by Ballyboughal before the half time whistle meant the Ravens went into the half a massive 13 points down. However they never let their heads go down and even though they were missing some key players, they started the 2nd half with a renewed energy, and with the breeze at their backs they full advantage of the conditions. Shots rang in from all directions as they tried to crawl their way back into the game. Leading the assault from the defense were man-of-the-match Kevin Skelley and Shane Richardson who together prevented any further score by Ballboughal. Nathan Brogan was his tenacious best in mid field, as was Stephen Manning in the forwards. James O'Donnell scored 2 greats overs from tight angles, Shannon got a great goal, Christian scored a key over, and James Brennan crowned the comeback with a goal shot from from half way which bounced perfectly to allude the sprawling Ballyboughal goalkeeper. It was a great team effort which gave them a deserved famous victory. The 22 points came from Leah (3 points), James O'Donnell (6 points), James Brennan (5 points), Christian Keane (3 points), Shannon (1 point), Nathan (2 points), Shane (1 point) and Kevin (1 point). | ||||||||||||
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| 113th February 2010 : Final Ravens 29 points, Garristown 0 points | ||||||||||||
| The 2009 League Champions made an emphatic start to the 2010 season with a big win over their local rivals from
Garristown.
The Ravens used the delay to the start of the game to practice their passing skills, but mostly their shooting. Once the game started
they got straight to it and grabbed some fine early scores. They never looked in trouble and went into half time
having scored 3-4 to no score.
The winter break definitely did the team good since they had renewed energy for this match and kept the pressure going right to the end. Their passing was sharp and their movement throughout impressive. They never let up on their opponents and kept them scoreless throughout. Nathan Brogan made one great block himself to deny Garristown an otherwise certain score. James O'Donnell was at his very best and top scored with a total of 3 goals and 3 points. Other scores came from Matthew McClusker (7 points), James Brennan (3 points), Jack Kinsella (3 points), Nathan Brogan (1 point) and a well taken final over by Christian Keane worth 3 points. Matthew McClusker deserved the man of the match award. At the end he was given a guard of honour as this was his last game in the Ravens colours since he is moving North. He'll be sadly missed and will always be welcome back if he returns to the county. | ||||||||||||
| 10th October 2009 : Final Ravens 26 points, Tyrrelstown 26 points | ||||||||||||
| This was really a great game of football between 2 teams giving their all. It was marked by a fast start by Tyrrelstown and
a sprited comeback by the Ravens. In the end the draw was a fair result.
Tyrrelstown GAA is a new member of the GAA family, embodying all the community spirit of the organisation. They have players from many nationalities and it was great to see them playing so well and with such passion for the game. They clearly surprised the Ravens early on and were just faster to the breaking ball and picked off some great early scores to get into a good lead by half time. It was the Ravens turn to come out strongly at the start of the 2nd half. The half-time talk by Manning and Keane certainly helped change the tide of the game. Points by the 2 James, O'Donnell (OD) and Brennan (JB), and great blocks by Sean Gleeson, helped claw them back. They finally got to level terms when a line ball from OD reached JB who turned quickly and slotted the point. Tyrrelstown weren't finished though and went ahead again with 2 well-taken goals. Twice more the Ravens had to come from behind. The key moment came when Christian Keane won the ball well and managed to hold on to it despite big pressure from two of the Tyrrelstown players. He drew the foul and OD cooly slotted the ball over the bar to bring the sides level once again, this time to the final whistle. Luke McCaffery was deservably awarded man of the match. He was marvellous in defence along with Eoin Breeby and Sean Gleeson. Kevin, Shannon, Megan, Jack, Katie and Shane in goal all contributed to a great comeback. JB top scored with 10 points, OD with 9, the other scorers included Stephen Manning (3 points), Sean Gleeson (3 points) and Luke McCaffrey (1 point). | ||||||||||||
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| 26th September 2009 : Clann Mhuire 13 points, Fingal Ravens 34 points | ||||||||||||
| Shannon Hogan was the star of this game and was deservably named man of the match for this, her debut performance with
the Ravens. She started in midfield and was a strong presence right from the start, winning ball easily against the lads from
the Naul.
The Ravens started strongly and the ball stayed in the Clann Mhuire half for much of the opening minutes. Good chances were being created, but many of these were not hitting the target. The team then surprisingly behind when Clann Mhuire were awarded for some blocks of the ball, which at this age level score 1 point each. The Ravens finally started to settle down when James (JB) Brennan put the ball over the bar (for 3 points) after a well worked move. The early season rustiness began to wear off as the Ravens took some fine scores and went into the half 14-3 up. The 2nd half started in similar style. Once the Ravens got used to the slight breeze into their faces, they started to find range again and 2 goals (for 2 points) from James O'Donnell and 2 overs by Jack Kinsella (for 6 points) meant that they weren't going to be caught this day. As usual the 2 fullbacks Sean Gleeson and Owen Creaby were stalwarts in defence and Shane and Nathan played great in the half backs supplying constant ball to the forwards. The Ravens went on to record a 34-13 scoreline. James Brennan top scored with 9 points, the other scorers included Jack Kinsella (7 points), Stephen Manning (6 points), Luke McCaffrey (3 points) and James O'Donnell (2 points). | ||||||||||||
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