U14 Football  Sunday, October 20, Pairc na Bride East Cork U14B Championship Final

Bride Rovers 5-15             Watergrasshill 1-11

 Our U14s emerged winners of this years East Cork B championship when a brilliant first half performance sealed a stunning victory for the Rovers. This scoreline was remarkably similar to the previous week’s semi-final but the stories of the games could not have been more different. We finished the stronger in the semi-final adding a couple of late goals but, in this final, all the damage was done in the first half as our midfielders and forwards attacked at every opportunity to post a score of 5-12 in that opening period while our backs were very tight throughout. Watergrasshill had a mountain to climb in the second half but restored much pride with a spirited performance during which they scored some lovely points. Nevertheless, this was our day and captain, Michelle Lane was delighted to accept the fine trophy from Philip Harrington on behalf of the team and the club. Many, including yours truly, were pessimistic about the prospects of the U14 group at the start of the year due to the very small size of the panel at that time but the players proved all doubters wrong as the year wore on, also winning a camogie county title before last Sunday’s football win. Well done to all the players and to manager Vincent Cronin who oversaw huge improvement since the start of the season, culminating in this great win. U14 captain, with the East Cork championship cup   

Match Panel : Sarah Murphy, Aisling Finnegan, Emily Larkin, Rachel O’Flynn, Siobhan O’Sullivan, Andrea Quinn O’Donovan, Fiona Barry, Grace Culloty (3-5), Emma Hazelwood, Emma Barry (0-1), Katie Quirke (1-5),  Arianne O’Flynn (1-0), Sarah Geaney (0-1), Michelle Lane,Captain (0-3) Luck Hicks, Evelyn O’Keeffe (1-0), Caoimhe Hazelwood, Anna Murray, Aislinn O’ Connor.

 East Cork U12 Championship Quarter-Final Tuesday, October 15, Fuohy Park

Bride Rovers 2-1               Aghada 4-4

Our U12s put in a much-improved performance in the repeat of the county final pairing of Bride Rovers and Aghada but we were unable to avenge our earlier defeat unfortunately. This match was much tighter and it looked good for us when we led by two points midway through the second half. However, we were unable to add to our score from that point and Aghada finished the stronger, adding on a couple of late goals to secure victory. Our U12s may now be finished for the season but they can certainly hold their heads high after this display. We have a young team that will certainly be heard of again. Well done to all the players and mentors.

 U10 Football East Cork U10 Championship Final Bride Rovers vs Fermoy

We played the final of the U10 C competition last Sunday evening in Watergrasshill and were beaten by a stronger Fermoy team. Fermoy were quick off the mark with a number of scores before our girls even settled. Our backs were under constant pressure and the supply of ball to our forwards was being cut out by Fermoy. We scored 3 points in the first half with scores from Shauna and Caoimhe B while Ciara scored a point in the second half. Well done to all the team on a great performance. We returned to the club rooms to have a party which all enjoyed and finished off our year. There has been a huge improvement in this team since the start of the year keep practice during the winter girls.  

Panel: Megan Buckley, Kate O’Riordan, Caoimhe Kielty, Michelle Geaney, Lauren Kiely, Niamh O’Sullivan, Abby Keating, Shauna Hayes, Alanna Broderick, Ciara O’Flynn, Alice Murray, Ruby Broderick, Jessie O’Leary, Aoife Lomasney, Caoimhe Barry, Aoife Pegler, Kate Larkin, Shauna Leddy Duffy, Lily Murray, Molly O’Connell, Abbie Hoare

Junior Ladies Football Saturday, October 19, Watergrasshill 13-a-side County Championship Semi-Final

Bride Rovers 0-5               Douglas 4-13

Our second adult team were entitled to approach last Saturday’s semi-final against Douglas with some confidence after fantastic wins in the two previous rounds but we were comprehensively beaten by a better Douglas side on the day. We started brightly enough and created three or four good goal chances but were unable to convert any of them and this left us trailing at half-time by six points when we could easily have led. Douglas took over in the second half and qualified for the final against Newmarket in style. We wish them the best of luck in that decider which promises to be a great tie. Well done to our adult B team, and mentors Shane and Niall, which won their fair share of league and championship fixtures in 2013.

Minor Camogie Sunday, October 20, Pairc na Bride Minor County D Semi-Final

Bride Rovers 2-6               Newcestown 0-3

Newcestown provided our sternest test to date in the Minor camogie championship when they visited Rathcormac last Sunday afternoon. Both sides enjoyed a lot of possession around the middle of the field but our half-back line repelled most attacks and our full-back line was not found wanting when called on either. Our forwards just had the edge in scoring and a fine goal from Chloe O’Flynn rounded off the match. We now face Youghal, narrow victors over the Rovers in the Junior championship earlier in the year, in the minor county final which is scheduled to be played on the weekend of 26/27 October. All support would be greatly appreciated.

Bag-Pack, Friday night and Saturday at Blackpool Shopping Centre

Please help out at the club’s annual back pack next Friday night and Saturday (25/26 October) if you can. Please contact Catherine a t087-4104730 if you can help.

See www.briderovers.ie for all club news/events