St. Colmcille’s suffered a disappointing 4-17 to 0-6 defeat to a sharp Croke Rovers side in the opening round of the Rebel Óg North Under 18 Division 1 Football Championship in Carraig na bhFear on Wednesday evening.
The visitors made the brighter start and established an early lead through a mix of points and two-point scores. St. Colmcille’s worked hard to stay in touch with well-taken points from Tadhg Harden, Josh Varley and Cian Dunne, but a goal late in the opening half helped Croke Rovers to a commanding 1-9 to 0-3 interval lead.
St. Colmcille’s began the second half with points from Evan O’Leary, but Croke Rovers quickly took control with three further goals that effectively ended the contest. Despite the scoreline, the home side continued to battle until the final whistle, with Evan O’Leary adding another free and Cathal Geaney contributing an excellent point from play.
While the result was disappointing, there were positive individual displays throughout the team, and the players will look to learn from the experience as they prepare for the next round of the championship.
TEAM:
1 – Ronan Aherne
2 – Cillian Manley
3 – Jack Harte
4 – Oisin Arrigan
5 – Ciarán Ryan
6 – Cian Dunne (0-01)
7 – Alan Murphy
8 – Charlie Horgan
9 – Tom O’Sullivan
10 – Josh Varley (0-01)
11 – Fachtna Kelleher
12 – Daire MacGuire
13 – Evan O Leary (0-02, both frees)
14 – Alex Sheehan
15 – Tadgh Harden (0-01)
SUBS USED: Cathal Geaney (0-01), Tom Collins