Cobh GAA Notes – 30-04-12

Feile County Quarter Final : Nemo Rangers 4-9 : Cobh 4-3
Our Under  14 hurlers went out of the Feile qualifiers following what overall was a disappointing performance on the day against a strong and physically fast Nemo team. Nemo led from early on and although both sides were level (1-2 each) after quarter of an hour, it was Nemo who always looked the more likely to score, and by half time they were 3-5 to 1-2 ahead. Nemo were dominating possession, our back six were under severe pressure throughout, and up front Only Niall Spriggs had scored. Jeffrey McCarthy and Odhran Kidney-Power in the full back line, were the two Cobh players who stood out but even their great efforts could not keep Nemo scoreless and they stretched their lead early in the second half when they added a further 1-3. Following several moves to try and spark our players into action, the move of captain Pádí Kearney to full forward seemed to raise some ambition in our team, and the crowd were in for an exciting last few minutes as the Cobh team finally came to life. With long direct balls being delivered forward from around the middle by Niall Spriggs, Ciaran Leahy, and Odhran Kidney Power (now at Centre back), Cobh scored 3-1 in the last few minutes, whilst Nemo added just one point. It was too late to close the large gap that Nemo had built up but it did restore some pride, and did display what these lads are capable of, when they all play to their potential. Overall Nemo were by far the better side on the day and we wish them well in the semi-final. Scorers for Cobh were Niall Spriggs 1-3, Paid Kearney 2-0 and Louis Kahn 1-0.

U14 A League : Cobh 3-9 : Cloughduv 1-6
Whilst the Cobh U14’s were progressing in the Feile competition, the hurling league had continued for the other teams, and on Thursday night we faced Cloughduv who had now won their first four outings. As we had lost our only Hurling league game, and had gone out of the Feile competition the previous Sunday evening, this game was to be an important test for our hurlers, and an opportunity to bounce back and get our Hurling season back on track, before attention shifted to Gaelic Football again for a few weeks. Our lads were clearly up for this game, and from the start they looked the better team. By half time they had scored 2-4 to Cloughduv 0-3. The second half was a continuation of this good form, and despite a second half goal giving Cloughduv some hope, it always looked like Cobh were going to be winners on this night. Score of the night was a late point by Neil Harte from the left touchline after he received a short ball from Pádí Kearney as he braced himself for a late tackle, following a long touchline solo-run. Overall we were a different team than took the field some 4 days earlier, with improved performance from everyone from  Number 1 (Christian Field) to Number 15 (Ryan Hickey), and the five subs used on the night. Its also great to be able to report seven scorers on the night : Neil Harte 1-2, Niall Spriggs 0-4, Ryan Hickey and Max Kahn 1-0 , and Pádí Kearney, Ciaran Leahy and Dylan Higgins 0-1.  

U14 Feile Skills Competition
As well as having teams represent Cork in the Feile competitions, there are also Feile Skills competitions where players individual skills are tested. We had our club event at training on Wednesday night and our two club representatives to progress to the Cork competition were Niall Spriggs (Hurling) and Pádí Kearney (Football). Both lads presented themselves in Cobh jerseys at the Cork skills competition at Ballinure GAA in Mahon on Friday night and both did very well, but unfortunately neither were amongst the two selected to proceed to represent Cork. As you would expect the standards in Cork are particularly high, so our lads, and our club can be proud of their performance.

Latest Results Junior Hurling

Cavanagh’s of FermoyAvondhu/Imokilly J H L Sec 2 :

Cobh 2-13 Castlemartyr 2-17

Challenge:
Cobh 1-14 Blarney 1-15

Cobh’s next batch of talent started their GAA careers with games at the u8 level against Midleton and Na Piarsiagh and a match next week against Sarsfield. Best of luck lads!