Milford v Monaleen – City Junior A Final Replay, Oct 2^nd 2010

After playing out a high-scoring draw six days earlier, last Satuday saw Castletroy rivals Milford and Monaleen clash for a second time to try to decide the fate of the Limerick Post Junior A Football title for 2010.

As in the drawn game, Milford began with the aid of the breeze, and attacked the riverside goal. However, unlike the previous encounter, scores were at a premium in the opening quarter: Ger Collins and a cracking long range effort from Dominic Joyce giving the Sky Blues an early two point lead, Cathal Parkes reducing the arrears shortly after with Monaleen’s first score.

The second quarter began with a key score: after Monaleen were awarded a free, the Milford defence appeared to switch off – a quick delivery through gave Darragh Connolly a clear run on goal and he finished confidently to the top corner of the net (0-2 to 1-1). A series of wides from both sides followed before a great crossfield pass from Collins was collected by Mark O’Keeffe, who narrowed the gap to one. Monaleen responded immediately through a Ross O’Neill point, before a critical intervention by the referee saw the holders awarded a very harsh penalty. When the resultant kick was slotted home by Parkes, Milford faced a five point deficit, with half time fast approaching.

Collins pointed a free to keep his side in touch, before a fantastic team move, involving Joyce, Mike Hayes and Mark O’Keeffe was clipped over by Collins to end the scoring in the half.

Half-time score: Milford 0-5 Monaleen 2-2

O’Neill added to the Monaleen lead with an early score, but Collins countered for the challengers, firing over his fourth point. Crucially though, despite good pressure from Milford over the following 15 minutes (including a series of fruitless ‘45s’) , further scores didn’t come, and Monaleen edged clear with two more points from O’Neill (one free) and a fine breakaway score from sub John Gilmartin (0-7 to 2-6).

A Collins free broke Milford’s 22-minute drought, but the game was slipping away at this stage, as Monaleen were content to sit deep and counterattack effectively. Three more Monaleen points, with only a fisted effort from Mark O’Keeffe in response, saw the holders ease seven points clear and they held on comfortably to retain their title.

Final-time score: Milford 0-8 Monaleen 2-9

Milford team and scorers:

Kevin Keenan, Eamonn Hawe (c), Alan Hayes, Tony Crosse, Al Dolan, Mike Hayes, John Cullinan, Kevin Grant, Dominic Joyce (0-1), Ger Collins (0-5, 0-2f), Albert O’Sullivan, John Doheny, Liam O’Keeffe, Mark O’Keeffe (0-2), Nathan McGinty

Subs: Brian Kelly for A O’Sullivan

A disappointing afternoon for Milford, whose performance never scaled the same heights as in the drawn game. A return of just eight points was far below expectations, especially after making a sharp start and taking an early two point advantage.

Monaleen’s two goals proved key, giving them a half time lead, and they showed their experience in absorbing Milford’s second half pressure, while breaking away to kick the game-clinching points.

Despite the loss, Milford’s Junior As remain in the hunt for county honours: next Sunday sees them face a difficult assignment against the West champions Glin at Askeaton, throw in at 4pm.

Milford v Monaleen – City Junior A Final, Sept 26^th 2010

Near neighbours and rivals Milford and Monaleen made the short trip to St Patrick’s GAA grounds, Rhebogue to contest the 2010 City Junior A Final. In a repeat of the pairing from the 2009 decider, Milford were looking to avenge their defeat and win a first ever Junior A crown. On an overcast, but dry day, Milford had first use of a slight breeze and attacked the riverside goal.

The opening quarter of the match was a free-flowing affair, embellished with some good scores from play, most notably a Ger Collins point after a great run by Tony Crosse, while Monaleen skipper Ross O’Neill picked up two points to keep his side in the hunt. Both sides enjoyed periods of dominance at midfield, with Dominic Joyce making some excellent clean catches for Milford and John Bartley working hard for the holders. A fine angled effort from Milford’s John Doheny after 15 minutes levelled the scores at 0-5 apiece.

Milford dominated the following ten minutes, adding four of the next five points, with Mike Hayes, who was very prominent in defence, unlucky to see another effort rebound wide off an upright. However, the Light Blues were also indebted to goalkeeper Kevin Keenan, who made two point blank saves in the space of a minute, to keep his side on top. After Liam O’Keeffe’s neat finish from a long Dominic Joyce delivery made it 0-9 to 0-6 in Milford’s favour, Monaleen struck for a goal, drilled into the roof of the net by Diarmuid McCarthy, to tie the game up again. Despite this blow, Milford finished the half in the ascendancy, thanks to a third score from play by Doheny.

Half-time score: Milford 0-10 Monaleen 1-6

The second half begin with further Milford pressure, with the challengers’ halfbacks and midfield on top. Crucially though, just one point was added to their lead, through a Ger Collins free, with the goalposts denying Nathan McGinty and Liam O’Keeffe in the same attack. Monaleen punished their opponents lack of scoring with a run of four unanswered points (two apiece by O’Neill and Donal O’Byrne), to reclaim the lead, 1-10 to 0-11. Shortly after opening their two point lead, however, Monaleen were reduced to 14 men, as one of their recently-introduced substitutes received a straight red card from referee Mike Mann .

Another Collins free reduced Milford’s deficit to one point, but they were rocked when a long ball was calmly finished to the net by McCarthy for his and his side’s second goal. Now trailing by four points with just over six minutes remaining, Milford used their extra man to pin Monaleen into their half and began to chip away at their opponents’ advantage. Two points by Collins (the second a great team score) and one by Mark O’Keeffe left just the minimum difference between the sides, as the game ticked into injury time. Driven on by Mike Hayes and substitute Brian Kelly, Milford managed to create a final chance for Collins, who steadied himself before guiding over a superb equaliser. Referee Mann’s final whistle sounded on the kick out, to leave the two sides facing a replay in six days time.

Final-time score: Milford 0-16 Monaleen 2-10

Milford team and scorers:

Kevin Keenan, Eamonn Hawe (c), Alan Hayes, Tony Crosse, Al Dolan, Mike Hayes (0-1), John Cullinan, Kevin Grant, Dominic Joyce, Ger Collins (0-8, 0-4f), Albert O’Sullivan, John Doheny (0-3), Liam O’Keeffe (0-2), Mark O’Keeffe (0-2), Nathan McGinty

Subs: Brian Kelly for D Joyce, Luke McGinty for J Cullinan

Milford’s Junior B footballers played the second round of the city championship against holders Ballinacurra Gaels at Roselawn last Thursday.

After a heavy opening round defeat to neighbours Monaleen, the home side faced another difficult task, with Ballinacurra having won their both of their previous matches in the group.

Showing a number of changes from the Monaleen game, Milford took some time to settle and Ballinacurra had the better of the opening exchanges. However, wayward shooting meant the visitors had to settle for a 0-3 to 0-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Milford’s best chance in this period ended with a Liam O’Meara goal being chalked off for a square ball infringement.

Ballincurra’s forward line looked lively throughout and, as the half wore on, they started to find their range. Milford responded with a point by Liam O’Meara after a neat pass from Barry Fitzgerald, but Ballinacurra finished the half with a string of points to lead by ten at the interval.

HT Milford 0-1 Ballinacurra 0-11

Milford produced a vastly improved performance in the second half, winning more possession at midfield and in the half-back line and providing the forward line with more opportunities. Points by Jack O’Sullivan and Liam O’Meara (free) reduced the deficit, before sub Jack Dolan pounced on a ball broken by Ian Crilly to fire to the net, leaving 6 points between the sides (1-3 to 0-12). But the home side couldn’t narrow the gap any further, and Ballinacurra recovered their composure to add 3 more points and, with minutes remaining, a fortuitous goal from a mishit shot that looped over the head of goalkeeper Tony Moore. Milford continued to battle hard and were awarded a penalty after a foul on Jack Dolan. However, Nathan McGinty’s effort was beaten away by the Ballinacurra goalkeeper and the resultant ‘45’ was cleared. Shortly before full time, the evergreen Joe Redington closed the scoring with a point.

FT Milford 1-4 Ballinacurra 1-15

Team and scorers:

Tony Moore; Brian Hayes, Colm Cunneen, Jim O'Doherty; Ronan O’Sullivan, David Hawe, Mike Doyle; Ian Crilly, Jack O’Sullivan (0-1); Barry Fitzgerald, Liam O’Meara (0-2, 1f), Nathan McGinty; Rob Lynch, Joe Redington (0-1) Ian Hartnett(Jack Dolan(1-0)).

Although defeated, Milford can take much encouragement from this performance against one of the favourites for the city championship. In particular, the involvement of more of the younger brigade in the Junior ranks for the first time bodes well for the future, with a number of minors taking the field for this game.

1^st October 2006 County Junior Football Championship Quarter-Final

Milford 1-8 Ballybricken 0-15

Milford GAA club took another historic step forward this past Saturday, when the junior footballers travelled to Fedamore to compete in the county stages of the Junior A championship for the very first time. Facing them in the quarter-final tie were a highly fancied Ballybricken side, who were fresh from winning the East Division title the previous weekend. Although this was a first ever championship meeting for the two sides, they had clashed in the County League in past years and so were no strangers to each other.

Milford were backed by a stiff breeze in the first half and it was clear that a healthy lead at half-time would be needed. However, it was Ballybricken who looked the sharper outfit in the opening minutes and they took the lead with a point from play. Milford equalised through a Luke McGinty free, and the sides then traded further points (Luke McGinty again on target from a placed ball for the Roselawn men). A very tight first quarter ended with another exchange of points, Darren Hyland recording Milford’s score (0-3 to 0-3). The remainder of the half belonged to Milford, who, having taken control around the middle of the field, finally hit the front through a John Morrissey point. When the same player finished a flowing forward move by coolly slipping a low shot to the net, Ballybricken found themselves four points in arrears. The eastern side quickly replied with their fourth point but Ger Collins and Luke McGinty (his third free) extended the Milford lead to five points at the break.

HT: Milford 1-6 Ballybricken 0-4

Facing into the ever strengthening wind, Milford were immediately on the back foot as Ballybricken, benefiting from some half time changes, totally dominated the third quarter. The city side’s five point lead was wiped out within 10 minutes of the restart as Ballybricken kicked a series of points from play and frees. When the Caherelly men then moved three points ahead (1-6 to 0-12), it looked as though a runaway win was on the cards. However, showing the spirit that had backboned their season, Milford battled their way back into contention, in the process breaking Ballybricken’s second half stranglehold at midfield. Luke McGinty (free) and Ger Collins notched two of the next three points, to reduce the gap to just two inside the final ten minutes. The East champions showed their mettle in the last period though, pulling clear with two more points, while limiting Milford to half-chances.

Team and Scorers:

Kevin Keenan; Ollie McGarr; Ronan Grimes; Eamonn Hawe; Alan Hayes; John Daly; Neil Clancy; Barry Ryan; Darragh Murphy; Ger Collins (0-2); John Morrissey (1-1); Shane Galvin; Luke McGinty (0-4fs); John Collins; Darren Hyland (0-1)

Subs:

PJ Byrne (for Eamonn Hawe); Liam O’Meara (for Darragh Murphy); Mike Doyle; Mark Conway; Colm Cunneen; Joe Redington

This defeat ends the footballers’ season after what has been a momentous year. While the silverware of last year was not repeated, the team has still taken several steps forward in proving itself more than capable of competing at Junior A level, both in the city division and beyond. Additionally, as with the hurlers, this year saw a number of the minor team coming through to cement places in the starting XV, and the youthful look to the side during the championship bodes well for seasons to come.

Major thanks must go to manager/trainer Joe Redington and selector/secretary John Redington for their efforts throughout the year.

23^rd September 2006, City Junior Football Championship Final

Milford 0-5 Na Piarsaigh 1-11

Milford and Na Piarsaigh met this past Saturday in the final of the City Junior A Football Championship. St Patrick’s, Rhebogue was the venue for a clash that brought together the two sides who had also met in the championship opener, back in July. On that occasion, Milford edged home by two points in a high scoring encounter and another close battle was expected this time around.

Pitch conditions were heavy and as a result, the ball was greasy and difficult to handle throughout, as some of the scrappier passages of play would bear testament to. However, given the poor weather of the preceding days, it must be said that the field held up quite well for the hour’s play. Milford began defending the riverside goal and facing into a slight breeze. The initial exchanges were quite even, with a lot of play around the middle of the field, as both sides struggled to put together attacking moves of substance. Na Piarsaigh were first to score, but Milford equalised shortly after with a free from John Collins. Chances came and went at both ends in the following minutes, but it was Na Piarsaigh who were next to add to their tally, with two points in quick succession (0-1 to 0-3). Milford proceeded to enjoy their best spell of the half, but spurned a number of kickable chances, both from play and frees. Na Piarsaigh finished the half the stronger, adding a point and forcing Milford 'keeper Kevin Keenan into the action on more than one occasion.

HT: Milford 0-1 Na Piarsaigh 0-4

Milford opened the second half much the brighter side and reduced their deficit to just a point, courtesy of a John Collins free and Luke McGinty’s well-struck ‘45’. Na Piarsaigh responded with a point of their own, but another excellent long distance effort from Luke McGinty, this time a free, narrowed the gap to the minimum once more (0-4 to 0-5). With scores so hard to come by, the first goal was always likely to be crucial. And so it proved, when, having just extended their lead to two with their sixth point of the game, Na Piarsaigh cut through the Milford rearguard, allowing their wing forward to rattle the net. From this point on, Milford were always struggling. Ger Collins did reply with a quick point, his side’s first from play, but the Caherdavin men regained control and, as the Milford challenged wilted, were able to string together some good scores, which put the result beyond doubt.

Team and Scorers:

Kevin Keenan; Ollie McGarr; Ronan Grimes; Eamonn Hawe; Alan Hayes; John Daly; Neil Clancy; John Morrissey; Darragh Murphy; Shane Galvin; Barry Ryan; Ger Collins (0-1); Luke McGinty (0-2, 1f, 1 ’45’); John Collins (0-2f); Darren Hyland

Sub: PJ Byrne for Luke McGinty

Next on the bill is a County Quarter Final clash with Ballybricken, winners of the East Junior A title, in Fedamore on Sunday, the 1st of October. Throw-in is 2.30 pm.

9^th September 2006, City Junior Football Championship Semi-Final

Milford 3-10 Monaleen 2-6

Milford took on near neighbours Monaleen in the second semi-final of the City Junior A Football Championship on Saturday, the 9^th of September. The game was played at GAA grounds of the St. Patrick's club in Rhebogue, with Na Piarsaigh (victors over Ballybrown in the other semi-final) awaiting the winners. The two teams had already met twice during the year, once in the City Junior Football League and once in the round-robin stage of the championship, with the sides each recording a victory.

Monaleen had the advantage of a stiff breeze as they attacked the riverside goal in the first half, yet they struggled to create chances in the early stages of the half. Milford opened the scoring through a Ger Collins point, but Monaleen quickly replied in kind. Milford were rocked after ten minutes, when a fast breakout from defence created the space for a Monaleen forward to fire to the net from close range. Luke McGinty kept his side in touch with two excellent long-range points from placed balls, while Monaleen tagged on a point of their own to put two between the sides (0-3 to 1-2). Milford then struck for a goal of their own, Darren Hyland finishing expertly, having been put through by Ger Collins. The following ten minutes were dominated by the men from Roselawn, with the pace of their forward line causing Monaleen all sorts of problems. Three more points followed, two from McGinty (one free) and another from Ger Collins, who latched onto the rebound after Barry Ryan had struck the post with a low shot. Credit to Monaleen though, as they finished the half strongly, reducing the gap to a point and being narrowly denied a goal by a fine save from Milford goalkeeper Kevin Keenan.

HT: Milford 1-6 Monaleen 1-5

Facing into the wind a point behind, Monaleen got exactly the start they required with a goal after a scramble in front of the Milford posts. This shook Milford and they took some time to recover, Ger Collins eventually halving the deficit with a point. As in the first half, the pace of Milford's attackers created gaps in the Monaleen rearguard on a number of occasions and, shortly after Ger Collins had struck the crossbar with a rasping drive, Darren Hyland regained the lead for his side with his second goal, drilling home from the edge of the small square (2-7 to 2-5). A number of other goal chances came and went for a now dominant Milford, although they did manage to stretch their lead to five, courtesy of points by John Collins (free) and Shane Galvin, which sandwiched an inspirational effort from tireless midfielder John Morrissey. Monaleen attempted to rally and pulled back a point, their first score since the early minutes of the half, but the contest was ended when Ger Collins ran on to a through ball and deftly palmed the ball over the advancing goalkeeper for Milford's third goal.

FT: Milford 3-10 Monaleen 2-6

Team and Scorers

Kevin Keenan; Ollie McGarr; Ronan Grimes; Eamonn Hawe; Alan Hayes; ; John Daly; Neil Clancy; John Morrissey (0-1); Darragh Murphy; Ger Collins (1-3); Barry Ryan; Shane Galvin (0-1); Luke McGinty (0-4, 2f, 1 '45'); Darren Hyland (2-0); John Collins (0-1f)

Subs: PJ Byrne (for McGinty, inj); Cathal Geraghty (for J. Collins, inj)

Milford now face Na Piarsaigh in the city final, date and venue to be confirmed.

2^nd September 2006, City Junior B Hurling Championship Semi-Final

Milford's junior hurlers journeyed to Rathbane to face a strong Mungret side in the semi-final of the City Junior B Championship on Saturday, September 2nd.

The game began evenly, with both sides taking point chances in the opening minutes, Milford's coming from the stick of Ger Collins (free). Collins added a similar score shortly after to give Milford the lead, but his side were then rocked by two Mungret goals in as many minutes. Milford responded with another Collins effort, this one from play, only to concede a third goal, which was expertly finished by the Mungret full-forward (0-3 to 3-2). In the last ten minutes of the half, Mungret tagged on a series of points, including one from a superb sideline cut, while Milford replied with two points of their own, to leave 12 points between the sides at the break.

HT: Milford 0-5 Mungret 3-8

The second half saw Mungret pull further clear, with accurate free-taking punishing any fouls by Milford players. A fourth goal arrived in unfortunate circumstances midway through the half, when a long range effort slipped under the crossbar to nestle in the Milford net. The Roselawn men did pull back a couple of points and saw two excellent goal chances go a-begging, but Mungret's victory was long secured. Despite the inevitability of the result, Milford continued to battle to the final whistle, but Mungret proved to be far too strong on the day.

FT: Milford 0-7 Mungret 4-19

Team and Subs:

Liam O'Meara; Paul Dillon; Brendan Kennedy; Mike Doyle; Ollie McGarr; John Morrissey; Joe Redington; Neil Clancy; Ronan Grimes; Eamonn Hawe; Martin Leyden; Shane Galvin; Ger Collins; Fergal O'Brien; Eoin O'Leidhin

Subs: Jim Mulrooney; Kevin Keenan; Mark Conway; Colin Fitzpatrick

This defeat draws the curtain down on Milford's junior hurling campaign for 2006. The season was notable for a number of new additions to the hurling panel, including, for the first time, several of this year's minor team. With these new faces on board, the hurlers can be hopeful of further progress in 2007.

19th August 2006, City Junior B Hurling Championship

Pallaskenry 1-18 Milford 2-4

Milford made the longest trip in the City Division when they travelled to Pallaskenry on Saturday, August 19th. This game, the last for each side in the group stage of the City Junior B Hurling Championship, would decide which team would enter the knockout stages as group winners, as both had won their previous two matches.

Milford hurled with the aid of a stiff breeze in the first half, and the opening minutes of the game were tightly contested. Pallaskenry were first to score, but Milford quickly replied with the first of Luke McGinty's pointed frees. However, the home side dominated the middle period of the half and added a string of points, with McGinty providing Milford's only scores in response. Crucially, Milford spurned a couple of good goal chances toward the end of the half, and Pallaskenry finished strongly to end the half seven points ahead.

HT: Pallaskenry 0-11 Milford 0-4

After a rousing team talk during the interval, Milford stormed back into contention with two goals in the opening six minutes of the second half. The first was created by half time sub Walter Foley and well finished by Luke McGinty, and Foley himself netted the second, after good work by Eamonn Hawe. Now only a point down, Milford tried to press on, but missed a number of scoring opportunities in the following ten minutes. Gradually, Pallaskenry regained their composure and edged clear again with a succession of points from play and placed balls. Shortly before full-time, the hosts goaled from close range to kill off any lingering Milford hopes.

FT: Pallaskenry 1-18 Milford 2-4

Team and Scorers:

Eoin O'Leidhin; Paul Dillon; Brendan Kennedy; Mike Doyle; Alan Hayes; John Morrissey; Ollie McGarr; Neil Clancy; Eamonn Hawe; Brendan O'Sullivan; Liam O'Meara; Martin Leyden; Mark Conway; Fergal O'Brien; Luke McGinty (1-4, 0-4f)

Subs: Walter Foley (1-0); Joe Redington; Jim Mulrooney; Kevin Keenan

As a result, Milford finished as group runners-up and will now play Mungret in the City semi-final.

10th August 2006, City Junior Football Championship

Milford 0-10 Ballybrown 1-5

Milford's final game in the group stages of the City Junior A Football Championship took them to Clarina to face Ballybrown. After a tight, tough hour's football, Milford had two points to spare on their hosts, thereby earning a fourth consecutive win and top spot in the group.

Milford, fielding a much changed side from the previous week's victory over Monaleen, started slowly and were jolted by an early Ballybrown goal. However, the visitors recovered their composure to record three of the next four points, through two John Collins frees and a Cathal Geraghty point, which narrowed the gap to a point by the end of the first quarter (0-3 to 1-1). Milford continued to look the more dangerous of the sides as the half progressed, but spurned a number of good chances through lacklustre finishing. Two further points by Luke McGinty and John Collins (both frees) did edge the away side ahead, but Ballybrown replied with an equalising point shortly before the break.

HT: Milford 0-5 Ballybrown 1-2

Ballybrown enjoyed their best spell of the game on the resumption and quickly regained the lead with a point. But, much like Milford in the first half, the home side's dominance in this period was undermined by some poor shooting. Having weathered the initial storm, Milford moved upfield and picked off three points in a row, two from John Collins (one free) and an excellent score by PJ Byrne (0-8 to 1-3). To their credit, Ballybrown refused to give up and halved the deficit almost immediately from a free. PJ Byrne gave the visitors some breathing space with another point, but further chances to pull clear went abegging. This almost came back to haunt the away side when, following a high delivery into the Milford square, a Ballybrown player was taken down and the home side were awarded a penalty. However, the resultant kick was blasted over the bar and, with the last attack of the game, Milford earned another free that was slotted over by the unerring John Collins.

FT: Milford 0-10 Ballybrown 1-5

Team: Kevin Keenan; Mike Doyle; Ronan Grimes; Brendan O'Sullivan; Alan Hayes; John Daly; Neil Clancy; Luke McGinty (0-1f); Barry Ryan; Eamonn Hawe; Shane Galvin; PJ Byrne (0-2); Liam O'Meara; John Collins (0-6, 5f); Cathal Geraghty (0-1)

Milford have now qualified for the semi-finals but must await the completion of the outstanding group games before they discover their next opponents.