U17 League
Bru Na Boinne 4-12;
Na Fianna 2-17

Date ; 28/08/14
Venue : Enfield

After such a game as this U17 game played in Enfield on Thurs night, the first thing that must be recognised is the outstanding efforts of the Na Fianna U17 team and their mentors in the manner in which they played this game and competed all the way to the final whistle. Also the manner in which they accepted losing the game with such graciousness and encouragement for the Bru team. They were a credit to the Enfield and Rathcore region in county Meath and the game really could have gone either way.

The Bru team must also be recognised for their equal commitment. The game started with the Bru team on the offensive with Padraig McGowan and Eanna Mooney registering points before Na Fianna opened their account and so resumed the battle. Gavin Carolan , Tadhg Moloney and Finn Searle manned the full back line for Bru and were impressive in this first half, not winning all the battles but staying competitive throughout and coming strong in the closing stages of the game.

The big Na Fianna Full forward Sean Martin was always a threat with two lively corner forwards either, side of him. Bru Half backs Liam White, Andrew Everard and Aaron Lane also played well with a great contest in midfield where Eanna Mooney and Eoin Gibbs of Bru battled with Ethan Devine and Peter Slevin. The high fielding from all the midfielders was terrific throughout this game. Up front, Padraig McGowan and Daniel Forde shone throughout and were well supported by Matt Tully, Steven Kells, Ciaran Clarke and Johnnie Daly. Tyrone Thompson returned to the Bru team from injury and entered the fray in the second half, along with Jake Tallon, with both substitutes making an impact. The first half finished with Na Fianna holding the advantage by a single point after scoring a late goal leaving the score 1-10 to 1-09.

The second half resumed in the same manner as the first, with end to end play, and Na Fianna appeared to be pulling away midway through the second half before Padraig Mc Gowan moved in full forward and struck an impressive goal, which was instantly followed by a terrific diving block by Daniel Forde on the 40 yd line, who managed to retrieve the loose ball and drove through 30 yards to score an impressive solo point effort. Two excellent saves by Darren Berrill also helped this turn around. Bru had their tails up now and drove forward with Matt Tully pushing the Boynesiders into a 4 point lead, with a well taken goal and an impressive fisted point. Na Fianna then got their composure back and mounted their late push to at least equalise, if not win the game. Bru covered back in numbers and worked to curtail the attacks and managed to hold out for the final whistle. Na Fianna's Ethan Devine was also very unlucky before the final whistle to miss narrowly from a long range free to the right of the goals.

The final score Bru 4-12, Na Fianna 2-17. Bru now go on to meet neighbours Senchalstown in the final on Wednesday night in Parc Tailteann at 8pm. The previous meeting of these two sides was also a thriller which ended up in a draw, so the final looks to be an exciting encounter. Commiserations again to Na Fianna and indeed Ratoath who have really only lost out in this exciting league by a kick of a ball and indeed to St Cuthberts who lost out on qualifying only by results from other games. Roll on the final on Wednesday night.

Bru Team: D.Berrill; F. Searle; T. Moloney; G. Carolan; A. Lane; A. Everard; L. White; E. Gibbs 0-01; E. Mooney 0-02; S. Kells; P. McGowan 3-04; M. Tully 1-01; J. Daly; D. Forde 0-04; C. Clarke; T. Thompson; J. Tallon.

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