Disappointment for St James’ and Rahoon/Newcastle

It was a disappointing weekend for St James’ and Rahoon/Newcastle, with defeats for St James’ footballers and Rahoon/Newcastle’s hurlers

St James lost 1-9 to 0-7 to Moycullen in the West Board Junior A Gaelic football final, which was played in Spiddal.

The first half was a low scoring affair, but it was the impressive second half display that Moycullen produced which set them on their way to victory.

The crucial score came in just the 11^th minute when Moycullen scored the only goal of the game.  A long ball was delivered into the full-forward line by wing-back Kevin Carr, the lively Niall Mannion was left unmarked and he blasted the ball to the James net to make it a three-point game, 1-1 to 0-1, and it was a blow from which St James’ never recovered.

It was a similar tale of woe for the intermediate urlers of Rahoon/Newcaslte, who lost their county quarter-final on a 1-11 to 0–11 scoreline at the hands of Cappataggle.

A 44th minute goal from Cappataggle substitute Daniel Loughnane ultimately proved the difference between the championship favourites and a gritty Rahoon/Newcastle in a close fought intermediate quarter-final tie at Kenny Park, Athenry on Sunday.

By this stage, Rahoon/Newcastle – playing into a strong wind in the second period –led by 0-9 to 0-8 but when the city side’s defence failed to deal with a Mark Loughnane effort that dropped short, Loughnane was on hand to flick the sliotar to the net.

For Rahoon/Newcastle’s part, they continued to battle gamely in the final quarter but, in truth, the concession of Loughnane’s goal was a blow they never recovered from. Also, the fact that they were really struggling to get their hands on primary possession meant they were largely living off scraps.

Eamonn Brannigan and Andy Dunne accounted for nine of Rahoon/Newcastle’s 11 points but they lacked another finisher in their forward unit. Both sides created the same number of scoring chances – 31 each – but when it came to putting the scores on the board Cappataggle had a far greater spread of players who could do this, which helped them secure the win.