Ahane N.S. Football Team Progress to Finals in Gaelic Grounds
Michael Ryan being closely marked after scoring a goal v Bilboa
Round 1: Ahane 1-5 Caherconlish 0-0
Ahane NS got their season underway in fine style with a well deserved victory against Caherconlish. Stephen Coughlan netted a goal and a point, Adam O’Brien notched three points and Sean Devitt added another. Well done lads and lassies.
Round 2:Ahane 3-3 Bilboa 1-2
This second round match was played in Newgarden. Once again the boys and girls raised their performance another notch from their previous outing. Playing good direct football Ahane quickly went into the lead with a fine goal from Stephen Coughlin. Adam O’Brien added a point as they continued to dominate. Then Bilboa grabbed a goal and point before the interval to leave the teams level at half-time. From the resumption Ahane signaled their intent but Bilboa were saved by the woodwork on several occassions. Michael Ryan snatched the lead for Ahane when he slotted a goal. Despite Bilboa best efforts Ahane held firm in defence and were quick to counter-attack. Bilboa did respond with a point but back came Ahane to extend their lead with another Stephen Coughlan goal and an Adam O’Brien point. Joe Griffin also added a minor to leave the final score 3-3 to 1-1. Congratulations Ahane and best of luck in the third round against Cappamore.
Round 3: Ahane 3-4 Cappamore 1-4
What a fantastic result for the Ahane panel. In brilliant sunshine in Newgarden this afternoon (Oct 14th) Ahane outplayed Cappamore to deservedly advance to the finals on Oct 21st at the Gaelic Grounds. Despite having an abundance of possession Ahane wasted some great chances early on before Adam O’Brien opened the scoring with a well taken point. Cappamore fought back but Gearoid Hartnett made a great gut busting defensive block which resulted in Michael Ryan notching Ahanes second point. Cappamore responded, and with two rare attacks they leveled the game two points each. Five minutes before the break a speculative kick from Adam O’ Brien ended up in the Cappamore net to leave the score at half-time 1-2 to 0-2 in Ahanes favour. It was no more than the Ahane team deserved.
From the resumption Ahane continued to dominate. Liam Conroy and Adam dominated the center and Siofra Keane, Gearóid Hartnett and John Moloney were commanding in defence. In attack Joe Griffin, Stephen Coughlan and Sean Devitt were winning most of the breaks and creating chances. Adam scored the first point of the half to increase Ahane lead to four points. Cappamore fought back but Josh Ryan in goals dealt with any ball in the goalmouth and kept his defence well organised. Quick ball from defence through mid field set up Joe Griffin to crash the ball to the net. Two minutes later the same player kicked for a point but the ball dipped under the crossbar, and Ahane were on their way. Cappamore fought back gallantly and added a goal and two points before Stephen Coughlan hit a ‘rasper’ that was deflected by the Cappamore goalie over the bar to score Ahanes final point and win on a scoreline 3-4 to 0-4. Best of luck in the finals lads and lassies.
Ahane Panel:
Josh Ryan, John Moloney, Gearóid Hartnett, Siofra Keane, Adam O’Brien, Liam Conroy, Sean Devitt, Stephen Coughlan, Michael Ryan, Joe Griffin, Áine O’Curry, Eamonn O’Keeffe, Eoghan Hussey, Oisín Culhane, Ciarán Barry, Mark Gleeson, Noel Brennan, Saoirse O’Toole, Luke Connell, Niamh O’Curry, Gearóid Coffey.
Ahane Tussle for Possession
Ahane boys in upbeat mood before their game v Bilbao
Crowd goes wild as Ahane NS find the net v Bilbao
