Week starting 2nd October 2023
U17 Division 3 Shield Final
Esker Gaels 1-10 New Forest Gaels 3-11
After the heartbreaking championship semi final loss to Coralstown/Kinnegad, Esker Gaels took on a heavily fancied New Forest Gaels in the Shield decider in Castledaly on Saturday morning. Despite the heavy rain, Esker played some of their best football this year in the first fifteen minutes. With Dan Taplin and Keelan Blom winning the midfield battle, seven points from play were rattled off in the opening quarter through William Geraghty, Ben Martin (three), Nathan Corcoran, Taplin and DJ Connaughton, with New Forest scoring a solitary point in response. The game turned on it’s head in a five minute period where New Forest got in for three quickfire goals but to Esker’s credit, they steadied themselves before half time with points from Connaughton and Geraghty (free). This left the interval score at 3-2 to 0-9 in favour of the Kilbeggan/Tyrellspass combination. A much cagier second half saw New Forest notch the first three points, but Esker gained a lifeline on the three-quarter mark when a long ball to Keelan Blom resulted in a penalty which Ben Martin expertly dispatched. Crucially, the favourites got the next two points to hobble any momentum. Another long ball to Blom lead to an Eoghan Fallon point to reduce the gap to 3-7 to 1-10 with five minutes remaining. New Forest closed out the game with four more points and some stern defending to win by 3-11 to 1-10. This was another disappointing loss for the team but progress can be tracked from the competitive performance put in on Saturday. To the players’ credit, they did not give up any further goal chances after the concession of the third goal, showing they are learning with every game. Congratulations to New Forest Gaels on their win, and thanks to referee Niall Ward for a job well done and Castledaly for hosting the game. We also wish Kyle McCormack all the best after he received a nasty knee injury at the end of the game. Team: Sean Elliffe, Kyle McCormack, Michael Commins, Tristan Montgomery, Alex Johnston, Cathal Reilly, Owen Blom, Keelan Blom, Dan Taplin (0-1), Eoghan Fallon (0-1), Ben Martin (1-3, 1-0 pen), DJ Connaughton (0-2), William Geraghty (0-2, 0-1f), Mark Seery, Nathan Corcoran (0-1), Gabriel Barros, Rafael Barros. This brings the team’s championship activity to an end for 2023 but they will compete in the Maryland/Tang 7’s tournament on Saturday 22nd October. The club would like to thank all the players for their commitment throughout the year, and also the family members who drove them to training and matches. A huge thank you also to mentors Colm Donoghue, Dean Slevin, Graeme Corcoran, Kevin Dolan and Ronan Farrell for all their hard work.
U13 Football Division 4 Quarter Final
Unfortunately it wasnt our day against a strong Multyfarnham side. Missing some important players due to injury and illness the lads tried very hard and competed well. The oppositions superior height in important positions on the pitch held the upper hand on us. The lads moved the ball well at times and linked up well partially in defence. There were strong performances from Conor Murray, James Mulvihill and Joseph McLoughlin on the day.
U17 7-a-side tournament
Maryland/Tang GAA are delighted to announce that we will be holding an u17 7-a-side tournament on Sunday 22nd October. The tournament will consist of 12 GAA clubs who will battle it out in Maryland and Tang GAA grounds. Fixtures and details will be announced closer to the date. The excitement is building already to what will be a brilliant event! There will be a meeting on this Thursday night, 5th October, at 8pm in Tang Community Centre for all committee members, coaches and parents with the agenda being the Maryland/Tang under 17 7’s tournament. It would be great to see as many people turn up and help over the day in both pitches in our first year of organising this tournament.
