AFL Division 9 – Round 1

Ranelagh Gaels 0-11 – 1-2 Raheny

The Gaels got off to a flattering win in their first game in AFL Division 9 yesterday. The first half was perhaps the poorest display by the Gaels all season but the lads regrouped well at half time lead by an inspirational speech by Radsale which saw them outscore Raheny by 7pts in the second half.

The first half was all one way traffic by Raheny, luckily for the Gaels, Raheny had a Ronan O’Gara off day with their chances and should have finished the game in the opening 20mins. At half time it was hard to believe the Gaels were only down by one point. 1-2 to 4 points.

The 2nd half was some contrast. As the Gaels’ backs continued to hold their own and prevented the Raheny forwards from getting any score, in particular there were some great displays by D Crehan and J Daly, with J Wren a continuous threat down the wing. The forwards began to move the ball with a sense of urgency and with some good passages of play, Ranelagh began to get the vital scores. With J Conlon in exceptional form with his free taking Ranelagh ended up winning comfortably in the end.

Afterwards Liam O’ Hagan stressed the importance of playing from the start “(but) a much more committed performance in the 2nd half”.John Daly was nominated as Man of the Match for his excellent man marking.

Finally, it was (easily) decided to nominate Brian O’Reagan as captain of the Gaels for the rest of the season. Well done Brian.

This weekend the Gaels are in action in the next round of the Sheridan Cup.

St Marys S v Ranelagh Gaels

Saggart, 11:00am 08/03/2009