Recap

Match Report by: NIamh Devaney.

Monday night’s torrential rain had subsided by the time N.D.G. Na Fianna Rouges and PSC Cu Chulainn took to the field at Vanier College though some of the Ladies Footballers, Umpires and the Referee from the previous game were all soaked to the bone! Regardless, the donned their helmets for what was a tightly fought game. As with the previous week, the Rouges were missing some key personnel, Alan Baxter and Tony Cunningham were out of town and Jim Foley remains injured from playing a sport that will remain unnamed. PSC were also down numbers including the formidable Annie Guamond and Sadie Gilker.
No nonsense Referee Jake Ouellette got the game underway but managed to avoid the large pool of rainwater that had formed during the previous hour in the centre of the pitch with his skilful throw-in! As in the previous N.D.G. fixture, Damien Conneely and Ronan Corbett teamed up for Na Fianna to consistently get their side moving in the right direction. They were relieved I’m sure to see the return of team captain Liam Twomey who made his mark on the score sheet too.
PSC MVP David Morrow played an impressive game with regular breaks from his full back position, even scoring a lovely point on one of his sprints. Martin Lawless got up to similar tricks with his score and Connall Mac Cionnaith joined in the scorers with a goal. However, it was the arduous Jenn Dumais and leader of the pack Michael Brophy who inflicted the most damage, scoring a total of eleven points between them.
This tally no doubt would have been much higher if it wasn’t for the courageous efforts of Rouges Goalie, Olivier Sakr and his defence team of Stephen Ashworth and Substitute on the night, Saraid McCarrick. Such skill and precision on the ball was demonstrated by the Sligonian that she was awarded MVP on the night though she isn’t actually on the Rouges squad. Some might argue that perhaps this team suits her style of play better… could a transfer be in the works perhaps?
With just five minutes left to play, scorekeeper Neiler announced from the side-line that the sides were all square and it was just then that the floodlights turned off. The remaining intense minutes were played in the semi-darkness as both teams dug deep to push for the win. Cu Chulainn scored first but were quickly answered by Na Fianna with a point of their own. In an unfortunately timed, accidental collision, Subsititue for Na Fianna, Laura Brody took a hard knock and needed to come off the pitch for a few moments. Na Fianna managed to score a beautiful point from the ensuring free but PSC managed to just nudge ahead with a point each from Michael Brophy and Jenn Dumais to secure the win.

Final score Na Fianna Rouges (3-6) PSC Cu Chulainn (3-8)