Banagher bit the dust a week ago, and Birr met their demise on Sunday, which leaves just one Offaly School with their senior team involved in any competitions - Gallen.
Definitely this Saturday is a huge step up for them on anything they've done so far - taking on the dominant team in Ulster for years, St. Ciarán's, Ballygawley. These boys won the All Ireland 2 years ago, lost by a point to Bandon in the semi last year, and have won Ulster for four or five years on the bounce by now. In truth they probably should be playing McRory Cup, but I'm sure they have their reasons for staying in VS competition.
Interestingly enough the match is on in Navan, when I would have though somewhere like Breffni Park would have been a more obvious neutral venue, but there you go anyway. It's certainly as easy for us, although I would have thought that it's a long trip for them.
Not a lot to be said that hasn't been covered in previous threads - to have any chance, they'll need Grehan to be at his best, the Flannerys to be back to full fitness, Rafferty to come through tomorrow unscathed and ALL the forwards to be on form. So no more slacking from Boland or sour heads from Deeley.
The match is 1.30pm in Navan, with the Junior semi, Athlone CC vs Ballygawley on before @ 12 noon, for anyone who might be travelling.
Good luck lads.
Last School standing!
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Lone Shark
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mykneehurts
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Just heard that Boland is not available for Saturday. So straight away they are at a disadvantage. I am afraid that in the last couple of weeks the attitude has changed and not for the better. Even the good influence of some of the more experienced players such as Grehan and Flannery might not be enough. 
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Lone Shark
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Gallen Match.
Unfortunately the well ran dry on Saturday in Navan. Not a surprise, but still a disappointment all the same. The report is below, but there are a few points I've left out which do seem pertinant.
(i) Why play a challenge game on the Thursday?!? The lads were clearly a bit sluggish from the off. Secondly, why play a team like the Westmeath minors who are likely to win and thus drain the confidence?
(ii) James Rafferty was clearly struggling from the going over Brian Farrell gave him - he wasn't himself at all, and was dominated by Cassidy in the middle.
(iii) This was the only Offaly school to do anything this year - and yet the Offaly minor team in the summer will have either one or none of these lads, depending on whether or not Grehan starts. Hardy makes sense. The Flannerys, Deeley, Gunning, these are all good players that deserved a run during the league at least.
All Ireland Vocational Schools Football Semi Final
Gallen Tank Runs Dry
St. Ciarán’s, Ballygawley 0-15 Gallen CS 1-6
With two Leinster Titles garnered in the past two years, this Gallen team travelled to Navan with their sights set on earning another shot at the All Ireland crown they were denied by Bandon in 2004. Having beaten a strong Ballymahon side in the Leinster decider, this match represented a considerable step up again in class, as St. Ciarán’s, with a total school enrolment of over 800, and drawing on the famed Errigal Chiaráin club among others, have been a dominant side at this grade for several years now. Having won the All Ireland at Junior level last year also, strength in depth was never going to be an issue for the Tyrone team.
Coming into this game Gallen were forced to draw on their own reserves, as several key starters were unavailable for this match. The absence of Aidan Egan at full back and free taker Matthew Boland was compounded when Oisín Kenny pulled a muscle in his back while warming up, and was also unable to take part.
As you would expect for such an important match, the pace of the game right from the start was frenetic, with both sides getting some good early scores on the board. Ciaran McGinley registered Ballygawley’s first score after less than sixty seconds with a right footed point, and Aodhán McCullough doubled the advantage a few minutes later after good running and passing from Brian McKenna. McKenna from early on belied his small stature to establish himself as a big time player in the Ballygawley attack, his positional sense, good hands and electric pace all causing problems in the Gallen defence from early on. Gallen’s opening score was somewhat fortunate, in that a well directed sideline ball from Dermot Daly was allowed bounce in the square, hopping directly over the bar. This was to prove a catalyst for a good spell for his team, with Gordon McEvoy and Johnny Fleming taking good scores and seizing the lead.
The match was finely poised at this stage, and it was primed for someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck. With an All Ireland minor medal in his pocket from last year, Aidan Cassidy proved once again what a fine future he has with a dominant display that did just that. His fielding at midfield was glorious throughout the game, and he got his side’s third score with an inspirational catch, run and finish. He was to take 3 of his team’s next four points also, and could have had a goal but for a fine block by Paul Maloney. Interchanging regularly with John Kelly at full forward, he was unstoppable at this stage of the game, and approaching half time St. Ciaran’s were 0-8 to 0-3 to the good and looking dominant. Ciaran Flannery pulled one back, but Cassidy again made a superb catch at midfield before laying off to McKenna who took the last score of the half to leave five in it again.
Gallen needed a bright start to the second half, and they got it when Paul Deeley, also not fully fit having been ill throughout the week, took a pass from James Rafferty and placed a wonderful shot to the top left corner of the Ballygawley net. This was the window of opportunity for the west Offaly team, , as Ballygawley began to show signs of nerves and kicked six wides in succession – however the gap was never closed further, as misses from Ciaran Flannery and a Deeley free from scorable opportunities sapped the drive from Gallen. Sure enough Ciarán’s began to take their chances again, and points from Cassidy, McGinley, McKenna and Kelly stretched the deficit to six points, which was always going to prove too much for Gallen to haul back over the last 10 minutes.
Those ten minutes proved very tetchy, and spilled over when an altercation between Aaron Monaghan and James Rafferty spilled over and many players got involved. There were several bookings as a result of this scuffle, the most significant being Monaghan’s, as he had already seen yellow and thus had to walk the lonely walk to the sideline. The result was never in doubt though, as a couple of Deeley points were cancelled out by responses from McKenna and McCullough, to leave the final score at 0-15 to 1-6 when Seamus McCormack called a halt to proceedings.
As with all championship defeats, Gallen will look back on this wondering what might have been, but in truth the scoreline is a fair reflection of both St. Ciarán’s overall class and the nature of the game. That Gallen’s best performers on the day were Gerry Grehan, Paul Maloney and Alan Gunning from the back line, and Colin Malone in goals illustrates just how much pressure they were under throughout the game. For Ballygawley, they will go on to meet Belmullet in the final, and based on this display and their record over previous years, you would expect the Tyrone team to go on and reward these players with the winner’s medals that their talent deserves.
Scorers:
Ballygawley: Aidan Cassidy 0-5, Brian McKenna 0-3, Ciarán McGinley 0-2, Aodhán McCullough 0-2, Stephen Quinn 0-1, Eoin Quinn 0-1, John Kelly 0-1.
Gallen: Paul Deeley 1-2 (0-1 free), Dermot Daly 0-1 (sideline), Gordon McEvoy 0-1, Johnny Fleming 0-1, Kieran Flannery 0-1
Teams:
Ballygawley: Paul Tierney; Paul Trainor, Niall McGinn, Paul McCormack; Ryan Donnelly, Barry Canavan, Aidan McRory; Aidan Cassidy, Ciarán McGinley; Eoin Quinn, Aaron Monaghan, Aodhán McCullough; Brian McKenna, John Kelly, Stephen Quinn.
Subs: Brian Donaghy for Ryan Donnelly, Damien McBride for Brian McKenna, Mark Donnelly for John Kelly.
Gallen: Colin Malone; Gary Rigney, Alan Gunning, Gerry Grehan; Shane Flannery, Tom Gilligan, Paul Moloney; James Rafferty, Kieran Flannery; Johnny Fleming, Paul Deeley, Gordon McEvoy; Dermot Daly, Colin Egan, Adrian Egan.
Sub: Donal Corbett for Gary Rigney.
Referee: Seamus McCormack, Meath.
(i) Why play a challenge game on the Thursday?!? The lads were clearly a bit sluggish from the off. Secondly, why play a team like the Westmeath minors who are likely to win and thus drain the confidence?
(ii) James Rafferty was clearly struggling from the going over Brian Farrell gave him - he wasn't himself at all, and was dominated by Cassidy in the middle.
(iii) This was the only Offaly school to do anything this year - and yet the Offaly minor team in the summer will have either one or none of these lads, depending on whether or not Grehan starts. Hardy makes sense. The Flannerys, Deeley, Gunning, these are all good players that deserved a run during the league at least.
All Ireland Vocational Schools Football Semi Final
Gallen Tank Runs Dry
St. Ciarán’s, Ballygawley 0-15 Gallen CS 1-6
With two Leinster Titles garnered in the past two years, this Gallen team travelled to Navan with their sights set on earning another shot at the All Ireland crown they were denied by Bandon in 2004. Having beaten a strong Ballymahon side in the Leinster decider, this match represented a considerable step up again in class, as St. Ciarán’s, with a total school enrolment of over 800, and drawing on the famed Errigal Chiaráin club among others, have been a dominant side at this grade for several years now. Having won the All Ireland at Junior level last year also, strength in depth was never going to be an issue for the Tyrone team.
Coming into this game Gallen were forced to draw on their own reserves, as several key starters were unavailable for this match. The absence of Aidan Egan at full back and free taker Matthew Boland was compounded when Oisín Kenny pulled a muscle in his back while warming up, and was also unable to take part.
As you would expect for such an important match, the pace of the game right from the start was frenetic, with both sides getting some good early scores on the board. Ciaran McGinley registered Ballygawley’s first score after less than sixty seconds with a right footed point, and Aodhán McCullough doubled the advantage a few minutes later after good running and passing from Brian McKenna. McKenna from early on belied his small stature to establish himself as a big time player in the Ballygawley attack, his positional sense, good hands and electric pace all causing problems in the Gallen defence from early on. Gallen’s opening score was somewhat fortunate, in that a well directed sideline ball from Dermot Daly was allowed bounce in the square, hopping directly over the bar. This was to prove a catalyst for a good spell for his team, with Gordon McEvoy and Johnny Fleming taking good scores and seizing the lead.
The match was finely poised at this stage, and it was primed for someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck. With an All Ireland minor medal in his pocket from last year, Aidan Cassidy proved once again what a fine future he has with a dominant display that did just that. His fielding at midfield was glorious throughout the game, and he got his side’s third score with an inspirational catch, run and finish. He was to take 3 of his team’s next four points also, and could have had a goal but for a fine block by Paul Maloney. Interchanging regularly with John Kelly at full forward, he was unstoppable at this stage of the game, and approaching half time St. Ciaran’s were 0-8 to 0-3 to the good and looking dominant. Ciaran Flannery pulled one back, but Cassidy again made a superb catch at midfield before laying off to McKenna who took the last score of the half to leave five in it again.
Gallen needed a bright start to the second half, and they got it when Paul Deeley, also not fully fit having been ill throughout the week, took a pass from James Rafferty and placed a wonderful shot to the top left corner of the Ballygawley net. This was the window of opportunity for the west Offaly team, , as Ballygawley began to show signs of nerves and kicked six wides in succession – however the gap was never closed further, as misses from Ciaran Flannery and a Deeley free from scorable opportunities sapped the drive from Gallen. Sure enough Ciarán’s began to take their chances again, and points from Cassidy, McGinley, McKenna and Kelly stretched the deficit to six points, which was always going to prove too much for Gallen to haul back over the last 10 minutes.
Those ten minutes proved very tetchy, and spilled over when an altercation between Aaron Monaghan and James Rafferty spilled over and many players got involved. There were several bookings as a result of this scuffle, the most significant being Monaghan’s, as he had already seen yellow and thus had to walk the lonely walk to the sideline. The result was never in doubt though, as a couple of Deeley points were cancelled out by responses from McKenna and McCullough, to leave the final score at 0-15 to 1-6 when Seamus McCormack called a halt to proceedings.
As with all championship defeats, Gallen will look back on this wondering what might have been, but in truth the scoreline is a fair reflection of both St. Ciarán’s overall class and the nature of the game. That Gallen’s best performers on the day were Gerry Grehan, Paul Maloney and Alan Gunning from the back line, and Colin Malone in goals illustrates just how much pressure they were under throughout the game. For Ballygawley, they will go on to meet Belmullet in the final, and based on this display and their record over previous years, you would expect the Tyrone team to go on and reward these players with the winner’s medals that their talent deserves.
Scorers:
Ballygawley: Aidan Cassidy 0-5, Brian McKenna 0-3, Ciarán McGinley 0-2, Aodhán McCullough 0-2, Stephen Quinn 0-1, Eoin Quinn 0-1, John Kelly 0-1.
Gallen: Paul Deeley 1-2 (0-1 free), Dermot Daly 0-1 (sideline), Gordon McEvoy 0-1, Johnny Fleming 0-1, Kieran Flannery 0-1
Teams:
Ballygawley: Paul Tierney; Paul Trainor, Niall McGinn, Paul McCormack; Ryan Donnelly, Barry Canavan, Aidan McRory; Aidan Cassidy, Ciarán McGinley; Eoin Quinn, Aaron Monaghan, Aodhán McCullough; Brian McKenna, John Kelly, Stephen Quinn.
Subs: Brian Donaghy for Ryan Donnelly, Damien McBride for Brian McKenna, Mark Donnelly for John Kelly.
Gallen: Colin Malone; Gary Rigney, Alan Gunning, Gerry Grehan; Shane Flannery, Tom Gilligan, Paul Moloney; James Rafferty, Kieran Flannery; Johnny Fleming, Paul Deeley, Gordon McEvoy; Dermot Daly, Colin Egan, Adrian Egan.
Sub: Donal Corbett for Gary Rigney.
Referee: Seamus McCormack, Meath.