St.Tiernan's College

St. Tiernan’s Young Guns Off To a Flyer

The 1st years of St. Tiernan’s College took on a strong St. Brendan’s College (Belmullet) side in their first ever match for their new school. They needed every bit of their skill and determination to see off the visitors by just two points.
Tiernan’s started well, with the midfield of Cathal Boland and Stephen Rochford dominating and scoring well, Cathal (1p), Stephen (1-3). With a large panel it was clear that some players were not comfortable in certain positions, Conor Strogen was moved into full forward, Nigel Caden brought off the bench and this seemed to settle the team well. Belmullet scored only one point in the whole game, however it was the three goals which was a cause for concern and the defence would need to improve for the next outing. Scores from Nigel Caden, Conor Colman, and Jordan Conor made the final tally:
St. Tiernan’s Crossmolina 2-7 St. Brendans Bellmullet 3-1.

Next in their list was a trip all the way to Achill to take on McHale College. With a more settled team this time it was clear from an early stage that Tiernan’s was the dominant force. On a perfect day for football they racked up a total of 13 goals and 18 points to Achill’s 1 goal. A total of ten Crossmolina players scored with Conor Strogen netting twice and adding four points to top it off. Four of the subs brought on scored which boosted the confidence of all involved and was needed heading into a tough challenge against Davitt College. Final score in Achill:
Tiernan’s Crossmolina 13-18 Mc Hale College Achill 1-0

Next the new recruits took on the might of Davitt College. Davitt, with a long tradition of strong teams were fancied to win the tie. However Tiernan’s hadn’t read the script and showed grit and determination to grind out a win. With 6 members of the panel not available the Cross boys, on their own turf had to really take things to a new level. With the Davitt mid-field much bigger it required a different approach from Tiernan’s. Ball from the backs bypassed the mid-field which led to half forwards Nigel Caden and Barry McLoughlin getting 2-5 between them. But it was the defence which impressed most in this encounter. Tiernan’s held Davitt to just 1-2 in the first half going in at half time 3-6 to 1-2.
With Shane Ruane unavailable to play, Darren Finnerty played in goals and was very impressive, pulling off some excellent saves which surely kept them in the match. For the last 10 minutes Davitt were camped in the Tiernan’s half but were unable to convert their chances due to enormous pressure from the defence. Corner backs Clive Brennan and Kevin Murphy tackled hard and made life difficult for the Castlebar forwards. Conor Colman at centre half back had a huge game and showed his strength and fearlessness time and time again. This match was the toughest test so far for the Tiernan’s young guns and they impressed in all areas of the field. The score line does not reflect the quality of the Davitt side who had two county players on their team. Final score:
Tiernan’s Crossmolina 5-12 Davitt College 4-5

Hopefully St. Tiernan’s can build on this and keep their impressive record intact heading in to the next round of games.