The Aghagallon All-Stars displayed a high level of skill and determination to put a halt to the Aghagallon Senior’s pursuit of three wins on the bounce today as they played their first competitive game at Páirc Na nGael. The All-Stars had obviously done their homework and came well prepared for the dangerous Senior forward line. Aghagallon and Antrim star Ruairí McCann was kept well under control by defenders Aoife Grimes and Taylan Kelly, and he struggled to make an impact. Mia Nelson was also fearless in defence and made some great blocks, ably assisted by her impressive team mates Faolán McDaid and Deirbhile O’Rourke who never gave up the whole game. The Seniors looked shell shocked but soon settled into the game scoring a few points from play. Ellie Corey and Ella Walsh formed a great partnership in the first half making some fantastic tackles and challenges. Formidable forward Thomas Heaney gave Chris ‘Dingle’ Henry a tough day at corner back, showing no mercy and punishing any mistakes with multiple goals and points. Veteran Senior midfielder Ivan Lavery took a heavy shoulder from Zara McCavigan, sending him to the ground. This made way for the clinical forward line of Charlie Doyle, Connor Lloyd and Ciaran Faloon through to score goals a piece.
The All-Stars led at the end of the first half by 2 points. It was all to play for! The All-Stars started off the second half in fantastic form. Tyler Barrett was impressive in midfield throughout the second half, pressurising every kick out from Damien O’Hagan and winning some fine balls. His tackle against Oisin Lenaghan was surely one of the key moments of the game and led to a beautiful pass to Fiadh Scullion who scored a stunning goal that left everyone in no doubt who was in charge. Scores soon followed from Ciaran Faloon and Rhys Russell and Liam McCavigan showed on the field at just the right time to stop a Senior challenge from Jack Hannon. To their credit, the Senior team kept battling to the end and things looked up for a while with a crafty goal from Luke Mulholland. However, the All-Stars kept their heads up and, when Enda McCartan gave a loose pass, it was skilfully intercepted by Jay Beatty, who toe tapped the length of the field to score the last goal of the game. In the end, the All-Stars won by six points.
The Seniors no doubt will take a lot from this game but have a lot of work to do before the two teams meet again. The All-Stars, however, will be looking to continue their fine form in their upcoming matches against Donaghmore later this month, and again in Croke Park in August. We wish them the best of luck.
All-Stars Team: Rhys Russell, Faolán McDaid, Ella Walsh, Jay Beatty, Connor Lloyd, Zara McCavigan, Charlie Doyle, Taylan Kelly, Ciaran Faloon, Tyler Barrett, Deirbhile O’Rourke, Mia Nelson, Thomas Heaney, Ellie Corey, Aoife Grimes, Fiadh Scullion, Liam McCavigan.
Senior Team: Damien O’Hagan, Pat Brannigan, Franco Bustard, Jamie Lamont, Ruairí McCann, Chris Henry, Kieran Hamill, Joe Lavelle, Aaron Doherty, Enda McCartan, Dan Donnelly, Luke Mulholland, Aidan Mulholland, Jack Hannon, Oisín Lenaghan, Ivan Lavery.
