U9's P3 first intercounty game of the season - away to Raheens

On a cold (cold!) blustery day on March 10th, the Panel 3 group made our way to the plains of Kildare to take on Raheens Gaa club, just outside Naas, and within a stone's throw of Mondello Park.

Team 1 consisted of Sam Benner, Joe Broderick, Cian Browne, Matthew Dowley, Aaron Golden, Andrew Grace, Theo Lenihan, Colm Lyndon, Tim O'Donnell and Jamie O'Shea.


Crokes played with a strong (cold!) wind in the first half. Although under pressure from a strong Raheens side, our lads battled bravely and defended manfully, keeping Raheens at bay. Our forwards struggled to get into the game, but as the half wore on, Crokes pushed forward and ultimately this yielded a real cracker of a goal. Half-time talk was kept to a minimum (did I mention the cold?) and the lads took the field for the second half playing into a strong gale. This half was a real test of their mettle as Crokes struggled to get the ball out of their half and our goalies had to be very clever where they placed their kickouts. They did make a number of forays up front, but these didn't yield any additional scores. It was all in vain, unfortunately, as the Raheens team took control and landed a number of good long-range points. On the final whistle, Raheens graciously had laid on some goodies for everyone. No photos, unfortunately, everyone was much more interested in getting to their cars to warm up! Thanks to Raheens for the invite and we hope to see them at our tournament in May.

Team 2 was Thomas Doran, Luca Merriman, Joe Morrissey, Sean O'Connor, Sean O'Hurley, Niall O'Mahony, Rory O'Shea and Tom Walsh

This game followed a broadly similar pattern to the other game. Crokes largely held their own in the first half with the help of a strong breeze (gale?), trailing slightly at half-time. However, the second half was more of a struggle for our lads, who fought bravely, and never gave up, even though by the end all the mentors thoughts were of a warm cup of tea and the shelter of their cars. In the end, Raheens ran out comfortable winners here too.