CROOM GAA CLUB NOTES

We played Ballybrown last Sunday evening in a sweltering Fedamore. We made a fast start and scores from AJ Moloney, Stephen Lucey, and Mark Reidy getting the goal. Ballybrown dropped men back to shore things up and it seemed to work as it stemmed the flow. they gained a foothold by building from the back with extra runners and took their chances when they came. Frustration was building up and we failed to score in the 2nd quarter as we lost our shape and our flow. The half time score was 1.04 apiece with another soft penalty Ballybrown’s score from the rebound having been well saved by Shane Burke. Some changes were made at half time but the game continued in a similar vein as we struggled to find our rhythm but Ballybrown were playing well and fighting hard and another dubious penalty put them ahead at the water break 2.06 to 1.08. This was the 5th penalty against us in 2 matches! We got one of our own when Mark Reidy was fouled in the square and AJ Moloney buried it. We battled well and the game was in the melting pot right to the end, when we broke forward on the attack but the referee blew the final whistle to everyone’s frustration. Onto extra time we went with both sides fighting for their lives. We scored a couple of points to lead 2.10 : 2.08 at half time. Some more fresh legs were brought on and Croom was getting the upper hand as Ballybrown seemed to run out of steam. A wonderful move that finished with AJ Moloney drilling the ball to the net giving us the insurance score. Final score in a breathtaking and entertaining encounter was 3.13 : 2.08. The county semifinal is due to be played at some stage next week, possibly Tuesday night. We won’t know our opponents until Kilteely plays Newcastle West this weekend and the semifinal draw will be made after that match

Our Minor Footballers play Ballysteen in the county Minor A football championship on Monday Sept 21st at 6.15pm. U12s:

Our U12 hurlers had a great win over Claughaun last week by 9.08 : 1.05. This group is going well in both hurling and football. We had an excellent training session with guest coach Aidan Mangan last Sunday morning. We had a great turn out and all players worked really hard, thoroughly enjoying the session. Next up is football training this Tues Sept 24th at 6pm followed by football match away v Caherconlish on Thurs Sept 26th at 6.15pm.

Our U11 Hurlers area at home v Ballybrown this Sunday at 3pm.

Our U10s had a tough week last week. First up we faced Galtee Gaels in football. They were a tough team who were very strong in the tackle. Nonetheless our players tried their best and kept going to the end. On Friday we played Granagh/Ballingarry in hurling and this was another difficult match as our opponents were further ahead in their development. We will have to keep coming to training and “practice practice practice” to improve our skills and fitness. U10 training this Thurs Sept 26th at 6.30pm

Our U8 footballers had 2 very good games against Dromin/Athlacca/Banogue last week. It was great to see our players playing with such enthusiasm and showing the progress they are making from regular training. This weekend our U8 hurlers have their “Finals Day” match v a team from Group D. Fixture TBC. U8 training with the U10s this Thurs at 6.45pm and we hope everyone can make it in advance of the final match.

Our U6 Nursery continues their training and fun functional movement skills and activities on the 4G training area this Saturday 11-12noon. All kids are welcome.