St Marys contested 3 Championship semi-finals at the weekend, winning the Minors boys and the Junior B, but falling the wrong side in the Senior Championship.   First match was the Minor Boys on Saturday afternoon, and they played with an assuredness and high tempo that never allowed their opponents Tubbercurry/Cloonacool, a chance to get a foothold in the game.  Strong running and slick passing moves resulted in our lads keeping the scoreboard moving.   We ended winning on a scoreline of 5-18 to 1-07.   Onwards to the final where neighbours Drumcliffe/Rosses Point await, and hopefully another impressive performance to delight their management and loyal support.

Later on Saturday, a number of the lads lined out for the Junior B semi-final against St Farnons, which was a cracking match played under lights in the Centre of Excellence.   At the end the St Marys support were nervously calling for the referee to end proceedings as we stood on the deadliest of leads in Gaelic, (2 points) and St Farnons were throwing everything at us.   The game started well for Marys with fantastic point taking from Patrick Maher and Aaron Bennett, and then a trademark finish to the net from Conor O’Grady.   By halftime, St Marys after another flowing move ended with a goal, were 2-05 to 0-05 to the good.   The game continued in the same vein until the final quarter, when a 7 point lead suddenly vanished as Farnons stepped up several gears and powered 2 goals.   From then it was backs to the wall and St Marys regained a 2 point advantage following 3 high quality points from Neil Smyth, Gareth Blake and Aaron Bennett.   The end scoreline was 2-10 to 2-08 and it doesn’t come much closer than that.   Well done guys and best of luck in the final.

The third semi was our meeting with Coolera in the Senior Championship.   This was always going to be a tight affair and so it proved, with the sides swapping points throughout a well contested first half.   Marys were left to rue 2 good goal chances when Coolera as the half time whistle approached, struck a goal themselves, and went into the break 4 points to the good.   The St Marys side started the second half in determined mood, posting 3 unanswered points and closing the gap to the minimum.   Then disaster struck, when a well worked Coolera move split our defence and the green flag was raised once more undoing all the good work to that time.   Our team stuck to their task but from then to the end of the game frustration mounted for our guys as the break they needed kept beyond reach and a series of goal chances were repelled.   The match ended 2-14 to 0-16 in Coolera’s favour with those goals either side of half time proving decisive.    There ended a promising season for our senior team which gathered a strong momentum as the Summer progressed.   Plenty to be positive about and we look forward to seeing these guys in action again.

Other teams in action over the week included our Senior Ladies who played a strong Geevagh side away on Sunday morning.    We were always going to find the going difficult against an older and more experienced Geevagh team, and while this was the case, our girls showed their ability and matched their opponents for much of the game.   Impressive performances by all the ladies and this bodes well for the future.    The Feile boys team had its first outing away to Enniscrone/Kilglass and were rewarded with a strong victory by 6-08 to 1-10, and well done to them all.

Saturday saw the end of another successful Saturday morning coaching season.   Turnouts throughout the season were impressive.  Congratulations to all the players, who participated and honed their skills each week, as was evident in the numerous blitzes over the Summer.   Thanks to everyone involved in enabling the coaching to run smoothly.   Despite the weather, Saturday was a fun day with coaching followed by a disco in the Clubhouse at which certificates were given to each player.