Friday 16th June Bredagh u14 hurlers boarded the bus for Wexford for the 2017 Feile Na nGael and came back from the very sunny south east with fantastic memories and having played some outstanding hurling.
The format of the competition was 3 groups games followed by knockout stages.
Group Game 1
Bredagh 2-4 Ferns St Aidans (Wexford) 0-3
Bredagh got the campaign off to a great start with a fine win over Ferns in their own back yard. While Ferns started well, once Bredagh got into their stride there was no stopping them and effectively dominated every position on the pitch and were deserved winners at the end of the 30mins.
Group Game 2
Bredagh 5-5 Davitts (Antrim) 0-4
Bredagh continued their good form with a relatively comfortable win over Belfast team Davitts. This was also a great opportunity to give the entire squad a run out.
Group Game 3 (Saturday)
Bredagh 1-4 Aksamore (Wexford) 2-8
On paper given the previous day’s results this should have been a relatively easy game for Bredagh however the Ormeau Road boys hadn’t read the script and Askamore hit Bredagh for 6 and were deserving winners. And while Bredagh were 4 behind at the short whistle, midway through the second half they pulled the game back to within a point. However a few strange decisions by the Wexford referee plus some bad luck meant our hosts took both points.
Hopes were still high we had topped the group due tour fine defensive record, however an unexpected draw between Ferns and Davitts meant while we ended equal on points to Askamore, having lost to our hosts meant we were second based on our head-to-head record.
Dev Squad Challenge Game
Bredagh 2-5 Askamores (Wexford) 3-2
This was a great game between Askamores u12/13 team and the Bredagh development squad. As has been the case all year, the Bredagh boys gave everyting during this game from start to finish and some fine scores by the men up front were a pleasure to watch. It was agreed by all that a draw was a fair result.
Cup 1/4 Final
Bredagh 2-4 CRC Gaels (Offaly) 4-5
CRC from the Offaly / Tipperary border had waltzed through their group unbeaten and on paper seemed a formidable outfit. And indeed that seemed the case early on when they went 1-1 up. But Bredagh started to match them all over and went in at half time all square.
CRC were to step up their performance in the second half and their slicker scoring forwards were the difference in the end.
All in all these were outstanding performances from the Bredagh boys and we will take many positives from how we played as we look forward to the Down Championship.
Many many thanks to our wonderful hosts – Askamore-Kilrush. We could not ask for a better host club. And thanks also to the parents who made the trip to support the boys.
Some stats from the weekend
• Games played: 5
• Score For:12-22
• Scores against: 9-22
• Players experienced Feile on field of play : 32
• Bottles of water consumed 153
• Miles driven: 384
• Max temperature played in: 27 C
• Tractors Driven : 3
• Cows Milked : 2
Squad
Ben Smyth,Caleb Smith, Peter O’Hagan, Tom Savage, James McParland, Peter McAreavey, Michael Mc Veigh, Conor Curran, Jarlath McCollum, Liam Rogers, Patrick Donaldson, Emmet Rogers, Cormac Blaney, Tiarnan Davis, Finn Hackett, Ciaran Mallon, Matthew Doran, Noah Hawkins, Rory McCamphill, Manus Gargan, Finn Doherty, Ben Christie, Patrick King, Paddy Boyle, Ruadhan McCarney-Savage, Senan ORourke, Peter Gormley, Pierse Chapman, Oisin Gilmore, Sean McClure, Luke Doran (Dev), Sean McCollum (Dev)
