Div. 1 League Shandonagh vs Milltown

Another fresh spring day with a biting wind kept in check by the sunshine was the ideal weather for this Division 1 league clash against local rivals Milltown. A solid start by Shandonagh put Milltown under pressure straight away but this unfortunately wasn't reflected on the scoreboard. A great chance by Ryan Donnelly who was covering a huge ground up from wing back went just wide of the goal mouth. Shandonagh did get the first score when Ryan Norris took on and scorched past his man giving himself the space to put it between the uprights. This was a very entertaining first quarter with end to end football but neither team was able to assert themselves on the scoreboard. Shandonagh did look sharper during this period but were just not settling down and finding their rhythm. Mickey Boyle added to the Shandonagh score when two direct balls up the field enabled him time his run to perfection, gather the pass and kick it over the bar. Another crisp Shandonagh attack just came up short when a great support run by Brian Kavanagh saw his shot on goal just pushed out for a 45 by Milltown fingers. Kavanagh was determined to get a score however and his short 45 to Tom Molloy was returned for Kavanagh to effortlessly send it over the black spot. Shandonagh were full of endeavour and hard work during the first half but found it hard to convert their chances. More deliberate kicks for points would have yielded more scores as some of the measured attempts were falling short. The scoring potential of the Shandonagh forwards with the likes of Aaron Flanagan among them will produce the goods soon enough when they all find a common rhythm. The Shan forwards never gave up however and after working the ball around outside the Milltown semicircle Kevin Boyle was the final receiver to kick and add on another score. The Shandonagh defence organised themselves very well during the first half with Ben Traenor, Maitiu Scully and Ryan Donnelly putting themselves to the forefront with their efforts. Conor Craig also had a crucial moment when the Milltown full forward managed to get two hands to a high ball kicked in only to palm it into Craig who was in the right pace to defend his goal mouth. Half time score was Shandonagh 0-09, Milltown 0-06.

The second half resumed similar to the first with it taking 10 minutes for the scoreboard to change coming from a converted free by Milltown. The benefit of the slight wind in Shandonaghs favour did not yield much of an advantage either but Shandonagh were not looking for any free help and kept up their work rate. Credit to Milltown during this period when they also upped their effort and came more into the game. Shandonagh got the benefit of numbers for 10 minutes when a trip on Ben Traenor meant a black card for Milltown. The Milltown defence made it difficult for the Shandonagh midfield to deliver the ball into the inside forwards but persistence paid off as Tom Molloy threaded a ball into Kevin Boyle who managed to gain enough space and kick a point. Another man we have been looking forward to seeing this season came onto the field when Cormac Coyne came on for Ryan Norris. Coyne is a powerhouse of a player and a joy to watch when he hits form. The soft ground this time of the year was tough running for big men and this was compounded a short while later when Coyne and his man became entangled and Coyne received a black card and his marker a yellow. Milltown returned to full strength at the same time and sensed an opportunity with the numerical advantage and managed to get within a point of Shandonagh. Hearts were in mouths when Conor Craig pulled off a great save when a Milltown forward managed to break through the Shan defence going one on one with the keeper. Craig made himself as wide as possible and saved the shot with the tip of his left boot to the great relief of the Shan supporters. Milltown pushed on hard with their efforts to level the game but credit to the Shandonagh defence their ability to block shots and kicks towards goal was immense during this period. The final few minutes had all in attendance enthralled as Shandonagh repeatedly prevented the Milltown forwards from getting a clear shot on goal. A big sigh of relief was had when the ref blew the final whistle to leave the scoreboard reading Shandonagh 0-11, Milltown 0-10. The Shandonagh backs saw the most action during the second half with young Jack O'Brien delivering another rock solid performance in the corner alongside Damian Moran and Maitiu Scully. Luke Tynan showed his smartness in midfield going wide to give the Shandonagh defenders plenty of options when clearing and Brendan Killian was his usual self powering up and down the field throughout the game.

Overall you could say that Shandonagh were just not firing on all cylinders but this is only the second league game and the lads have made it two wins from two. The manner in which they won this game is a credit to the players as they were under immense pressure with Milltown looking for the equaliser. The discipline and organisation they showed along with the technical ability to block down the many attempts to kick for scores by Milltown was a joy to watch. These are the types of games that we want to win when it's backs against the wall stuff and character comes to the forefront. Plenty to work on but plenty of moments of magic also.

Team
Conor Craig, Maitiu Scully, Brendan Killian, Jack O'Brien, Ryan Donnelly, Gareth Carr, Damien Moran, Ben Traenor, Luke Tynan, Ryan Norris, Kevin Boyle, Tom Molloy, Brian Kavanagh, Aaron Flanagan, Mickey Boyle
Subs: Cormac Coyne for Ryan Norris, Donal Mulvihill for Aaron Flanagan, Ger Novak for Ryan Donnelly

More photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8uQP4bNAscdap3cWA

Div. 4 League Shandonagh vs The Downs

Our juniors had their 1st outing of the season today in superb conditions at Na Dúnta. In a fixture that has swung in the favour of Na Dúnta over the past number of years we knew we were in for a tough game. Na Dúnta started off strongly and put up some well taken points but Shandonagh kept plugging away. With Ryan Norris & Aaron Flanagan linking up well as well as Ian Loughlin scoring a well taken goal we kept in touch. At half time Na Dúnta went in 1:10 to 2:06 up. The second half looked like it was going to be tight but the Shandonagh men showed their class with Aaron Flanagan causing serious damage and our midfield of Ryan Donnelly and Adam Cronin very dominant. Donnelly is really starting to shine and scored some fine frees. We had a junior football debut by Mark Kerrigan who showed fantastic ball carrying skills and nice touches, and this with only half a warm up... ultimately our eye for goal was the deciding factor and we ran out comfortable winners 6:13 to 2:15.