Underage County Blitzes At Connacht GAA Centre

Leitrim’s County’s U15 and U16 squads had a successful outing at Day 2 of the  Connacht GAA Blitzes in Bekan on Saturday last.   The U15 squad continued their winning ways with 2 victories over Sligo and Roscommon which leaves them with 3 wins from 3 in the Dermot Earley competition. The U16s, on the other hand, got their Ted Webb campaign back on track with wins over Mayo and Roscommon.

Leitrim U15s got off to a winning start on Saturday when they accounted for a game Sligo outfit.   Leitrim came out of the blocks early with points from Gavin Gallagher and Ruairi O’Rourke. Sligo responded with 2 points of their own before Joey McBrien found the net for Leitrim. This was followed by another Ruairi O’Rourke point sandwiched between 2 Sligo points to leave Leitrim 2 points to the good.   The first half ended with Leitrim points from Tadhg Regan and Gavin Gallagher in response to 3 Sligo efforts to leave the minimum between the sides at the break.   The 2nd half was just as competitive as the 1st but Leitrim maintained their advantage throughout.   Jack Kelly, Gavin Gallagher and Ruairi O’Rourke added early points for Leitrim as Sligo added 2 of their own.   Leitrim took control of the game in the final quarter as an Oisin Conlon goal and points from Ruairi O’Rourke and Gavin Gallagher were enough to see off the final effort from Sligo.   Team and Scorers: Josh Sheridan; Kevin Faughnan; Killian Mulvey; James Hughes; Niall Torsney; Niall Stenson; Luke Farrell; Gavin Gallagher (0-3); Bailey McBride; Tadhg Regan (0-2); Sean Carolan Morris; Mark Ahearne; Jack Kelly (0-1); Joey McBrien (1-0); Ruairi O’Rourke (0-4). Subs: Daire Shannon; Luke Fitzsimons; Peter Moran, Oisin Conlon (1-0); Senan Bohan; Cillian Downes.

Leitrim’s 2nd outing on Saturday was a very one-sided affair as they made short work of one of the 2 Roscommon teams participating in the Dermot Earley competition.   All aspects of Leitrim’s play in this game were firing on all cylinders as they put in a complete performance.   Defensively Leitrim were solid, turning Roscommon over time and again with some stout tackling from Luke Farrell and Killian Mulvey in particular.   Niall Torsney and Peter Moran drove forward from the half back line with both players contributing to the scoreline.   In midfield Sean Carolan Morris and Luke Fitzsimons gave their forward line a platform from which they reaped the benefits of fast attacking football.  Up front the Leitrim forwards played some great free flowing football and all players played their part as Oisin Conlon, Jack Kelly, Joey McBrien and sub Ruairi O’Rourke finding their range on a regular basis.   Leitrim led 3-8 to 1-0 at half time and the introduction of all the Leitrim subs didn’t make a dent in their dominance in the 2nd half as they added a further 4-6 to their tally.  Roscommon will know that better days are to come when their 2 regional teams amalgamate for the Ted Webb competition in 2023 but that shouldn’t diminish a fine effort by the Leitrim youngsters.

Team and Scorers: Daire Shannon; Kevin Faughnan; Killian Mulvey; James Hughes; Niall Torsney(1-0); Luke Farrell; Peter Moran(0-1); Sean Carolan Morris; Luke Fitzsimons; Oisin Conlon(2-3); Cillian Downes; Mark Ahearne(0-1); Jack Kelly(0-5); Joey McBrien(1-2); Senan Bohan(0-2); Subs: Josh Sheridan, Bailey McBride; Ruairi O’Rourke(3-0); Niall Stenson; Tadhg Regan; Gavin Gallagher.

Leitrim U16s got back to winning ways with a convincing 9 point victory over a dogged Mayo selection. An early Senan Mooney goal followed by an Evan Kilrane point gave Leitrim the perfect start. Mayo responded with a goal of their own and their next score came courtesy of a pointed free. This score was sandwiched between points from Dara Greenan and Cathal McCarthy. David Liu Doyle made a telling interception that ended up in the hands of a marauding Cian Reynolds who calmly finished to the net to give Leitrim a healthy advantage. 3 Mayo points were matched by Leitrim, the points coming courtesy of Cian Reynolds, Adam Reynolds and Josh Maye. Leitrim initially failed to build on their 5 point advantage in the 2nd half as Mayo added 1-3 to their score to grab the lead for the first and only time in the game. The Leitrim response was swift and sure as Eanna McNamara and Josh Maye started the Leitrim onslaught with well taken points. Senan Mooney added his 2nd goal to restore Leitrim’s 5 point lead. Mayo’s final 2 points were breakaway efforts as Leitrim added 4 points of their own through Evan Kilrane, Senan Mooney, Brian Keaney and Josh Maye. Leitrim ended the game with a wonderful move that saw Colm McLoughlin finish to the net to leave Leitrim as easy winners on the day. Team and Scorers: Darragh Lee; Eanna McNamara(0-1); Frank Cullen; Tomàs Mayock; David Liu Doyle, Darragh Gardiner; Cian Reynolds(1-1); Colm McLoughlin(1-0); Dara Greenan(0-1); Evan Kilrane(0-2); Josh Maye(0-3); Adam Reynolds(0-1); Noah McNulty; Cathal McCarthy(0-1); Senan Mooney(2-1). Subs: Liam Crowe; Aaron Gardiner; Brian Keaney(0-1).

If ever a game could be described as a game of 2 halves, this was surely it. Roscommon made a whirlwind start scoring 2-1 inside the first 5 minutes of the game. Leitrim started to get a grip on the game with a point from Josh Maye. Noah McNulty added another point before a collision with one his own players took Eanna McNamara out of the game with an injury. While he was incapacitated on the ground Roscommon seized on the numerical advantage to score their 3rd goal of the game. Their final point of the half was sandwiched between 2 Leitrim efforts from Noah McNulty and Brian Keaney to leave the half time score Leirim 0-4 Roscommon 3-2. Leitrim set about reducing the deficit immediately in the 2nd half as they rattled off 8 consecutive points without reply courtesy of Josh Maye(3), Cian Reynolds(2), Brian Keaney, Darragh Gardiner and Dara Greenan. Roscommon’s next point levelled the tie before Senan Mooney stole in behind the Roscommon defence and expertly finished to the net. Brian Keaney completed Leitrim’s scoring for the day with a wonderful long range point. Roscommon rallied in the final few minutes with 2 late points but Leitrim held on for an encouraging comeback victory. Team and Scorers: Liam Crowe; Aaron Gardiner; Frank Cullen, Tomàs Mayock, David Liu Doyle, Darragh Gardiner(0-1); Eanna McNamara; Colm McLoughlin; Dara Greenan(0-1); Brian Keaney(0-3); Josh Maye(0-4); Cian Reynolds(0-2); Noah McNulty(0-2); Cathal McCarthy; Senan Mooney(1-0). Subs: Darragh Lee; Evan Kilrane; Adam Reynolds.