Buncrana u14 hurlers made a little piece of history in Ballinascreen, Derry on Saturday afternoon. They were competing in the Ulster Feile Division 3 final against a well fancied Co.Down outfit Portaferry, from
the hurling stronghold in the Ard’s penninsula. Divison 3 was the highest level ever achieved by a Donegal Club and is testament to the hard work and dedication being put in by management duo of Tom Clare
and Gerry Vaughan and the efforts of all his squad.
The game started in a deluge of heavy rain but it didn’t dampen our boys spirits, the Scarvey boys started brightly and created some early goal mouth action that didn’t bare any fruit until an early point from
Oisin Grant got the first score on the board, followed by a great goal from corner forward Craig Doherty soon settled any early game nerves, closely followed by a pointed free from the captain Tom Clare. Further
points from half forward Dylan Duffy and the inspirational Sam ‘Roe’ Doherty ended the half on the scoreline of 1:4 to 0:0.
The Down lads to their credit started brightly in the second half but outfield possession never materialised on the score board. Buncrana’s backline to a man were solid and sniffed out any danger. Further points from Tom Clare, Aidan Stokes, Niall Doherty and Dylan Duffy, during a late period of domination were added to by two spectacular Sam Doherty goals. In fact the loyal band of supporters were treated to what can only be described as the best performance by any player in the clubs eleven years of hurling. Sam deserves particular credit for his relentless drive and determination, with skill and ability in abundance at this age group he is on a par with anyone in the Provence and has set the bench mark for all to follow. The final score was 3:9 to 0:0. It was testament to the team that all the squad were able to come on and add something to what was a great team performance.
The proud captain Tom Clare Junior received the winning Ulster medals, thanking the galant Down side for a hard sporting game. A large cavalcade made their way to Inishowen and can now look forward to the
All Ireland Feile in late June in County Galway.
Just a little footnote on the finals day in Derry, Div 1 was won by Slaughtnell (Derry) beating Loughgiel (Antrim). Div 2 Dungiven beat Ruairi Og’s (Antrim). Putting this into perspective, the Buncrana win is maybe a sign that the so-called weaker counties are starting to close the gap.
The winning team included, Darren Fitzpatrick, Aidan Stokes, Patrick Wilson, Declan McCarron, Kevin Vaughan, Sam Doherty, James Doherty, Darren Doherty(Roe), Paul Nelson, Oisin Grant, Tom Clare, Dylan Duffy, Daniel Deery, Niall Doherty, Craig Doherty, PJ McCarron, Luke Timlin, Ben Doherty, Fiachra Mac Lochlainn, Aran Craig and John Vaughan.
U16 County Semi-Final
Buncrana 2-7 Aodh Ruadh 0-8
Buncrana had a good team performance with Harry Doherty exceptional in nets with excellent saves and knocked over a 45 at a crucial stage in the game. Ryan Curran played outstanding in full-forward and Darach O’Connor played very well having a strong second half when moved out to mid-field.
Scorers: Ryan Curran 2-0, Darach O’Connor 0-5,
Peter McLaughlin 0-1,Harry Doherty 0-1.
Buncrana under 14 girls travelled to Malin and recorded their first competitive win this season. The Scarvey girls dominated a youthful Malin squad who are only competing in this competition for the first time. It was a great team performance and it was evident to see the skills are increasing under the coaching of Ronan, Peter and Susan. Róisin Doherty played a great game in the back line and broke down many Malin attacks through her good defensive play and tackling. The midfield pairing of Róisin Cloherty and Tanya Collins worked very well together and controlled the midfield area. While upfront Sarah Devlin and Catherine Loughrey (inspired half time switch) played havoc with the Malin defence. It is hoped that a full squad will be available for the next home match against Muff, details will be given at training on Monday night.
Below is a web address to the Bord Gais Energy Ladies Football Promotion Page. There are some great prizes to be had if your join their book club for free so please do so to be in with a chance of winning… €500 Spa Break plus loads of football training gear….. all you have to do is click a few buttons! Even if you are not the ‘book type’, everybody is the prize winning type…
Just type in the web address below and remember…. Choose Ladies Football Promotion halfway down the page. http://www.bordgaisenergybookclub.ie Give it a few seconds for the short details form to pop-up.
There is delight at the performance of Ryan Bradley in yesterday’s Ulster Championship preliminary round match against Antrim. Ryan was awarded the RTE man of the match award for an excellent display of leadership and drive and his hands were all over much of the scores especially the first half. Chipping in with two excellent points Ryan was a worthy choice and continued his excellent league form. He is a credit to the club and parish and an example to all our youth of what can be achieved with commitment and effort. Congratulations to him and the Donegal team and all the best for the first round clash against Cavan.
For the purposes of hygiene and efficiency all players at ALL levels should bring their own water to all training sessions, from seniors down.
Use of the Scarvey pitches for training or matches MUST be confirmed with Martin Mullan in advance (087 246 8108). Use of clubhouse MUST be confirmed with David McConnell in advance (087 939 2767).
If you do have any items which you think should be included in the club’s weekly notes, please email buncrana.pro@gmail.com by 6pm on a Sunday for consideration.
To keep up to date with all the latest goings-on, please join us on www.facebook.com/buncranagaa or www.twitter.com/buncranagaa and on donegaldaily.com.
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