The under 16 footballers produced a truly dominant performance in this under 16 championship final when recording a 20 point victory over Courcey Rovers on Saturday last (29th September) in Minane Bridge. Na Gaeil dominated from the off, with Brendan Quaine knocking over a fine point from play. This set the tone as the next three shots on target also ended up with points with Quaine being joined on the scoresheet by Adrian Buckley and Daniel Kelleher. Courcey Rovers scored their first point when converting a free shortly after. Fullforward Daniel Kelleher, who was causing all sorts of problems for the Courcey’s rearguard, got the next score when he finished a well-worked goal low into the net. The next 10 minutes saw Courcey Rovers enjoy their best period of the game. Playing against the breeze, they conjured up the next three points to leave a goal between the sides. The next score was crucial and when it arrived it was a superb team score. Tom Casey won an excellent ball at centre back and series of quick passing and movement off the shoulder involving Adrian Buckley and Stephen Whooley saw Adrian Buckley finish with an excellent team score. The big following that made the journey to see Na Gaeil play were certainly appreciative of the score. White’s Cross/Dillons had the elements and needed to take advantage of this. With this in mind, the selectors moved Conor Docherty from midfield to full forward. This had the desired affect as he used his experience to get two more majors before the short whistle. This put White’s Cross into a commanding half-time lead.

The third quarter was always going to be important. Na Gaiel braced themselves for a comeback from Courcey’s. Within 2 minutes of the second half the lads from Ballinspittle had the opportunity to make inroads into their deficit when they were awarded a dubious penalty. A well-struck shot was equalled by a super save by goalkeeper Aaron Wallace to dived low to his right to strongly palm the ball away. This gave the Na Gaeil team a huge lift while simultaneously deflating their opponents. On their next attack, Daniel Kelleher, probably man of the match, intercepted a Courcey pass and soloed 50 years with the ball before taking and receiving a pass from Stephen Whooley before coolly dispatching his second and his side’s fourth goal. This score completely ended the game as a contest. Courcey’s to their credit battled throughout but rarely penetrated the Na Gaeil defense where Senan Ryan, Adam Gardiner and Sean Twomey calmly intercepted, blocked and cleared everything that came their way. The icing on the cake came when Stephen Whooley, who was instrumental in setting up scores for others, tucked the ball away neatly for a goal that his performance deserved. The final whistle no doubt came as a relief for Courcey’s but for the White’s Cross/Dillons faithful it was time for celebration. Adrian Buckley, who played the captain’s part all year, accepted the cup on behalf of his team mates and thanked the coaches Mark Twomey, Damien Horgan, Finbarr Pyne and Sean Coughlan.

Team. Aaron Wallace, Adam Gardiner, Senan Ryan, Sean Twomey, Tom Casey, Cian Walsh, Ethan Ryan (0-01), Conor Docherty (2-0), Colin O’Brien, Adrian Buckley (0-03), Stephen Whooley (1-00), Daniel Kelleher (2-05) , Brendan Quaine (0-02). Subs Sean O’Donnell, Harry Buckley, Patrick Harrington, Rory Teahan, Robert Docherty(0-01), Luke Kelleher, Luke Murphy, Eolan Dill, Harry Coughlan, Danny Linehan, Fionnan Quinlan