Borris-Ileigh GAA Club Match Report
Borris-Ileigh vs Kilruane MacDonaghs (North Junior A League-Round 3)
22nd April 2022
Borris-Ileigh starting lineup
Cathal Bourke
Cathal Hogan Paddy Stapleton Johnny McGrath
Mikey Kennedy Bill O’Connell Miksie Carey
David O’Connor (2 pts) Shane McCormack (2pts)
Jack Fitzgerald Thomas Fahy Danny Ryan
(11pts (6fs))
Fintan Holland (1 goal) Jack Hogan (2 pts) Matthew Stapleton (2pts)
Adam Galvin for Paddy Stapleton
Borris-Ileigh’s Junior squad travelled to Cloughjordan for a meeting with Kilruane MacDonaghs in round 3 of the North Junior A League on Friday, the 22nd of April. Having lost both of their fixtures and needing a win to keep their league alive, Borris showed their impetus with a strong looking side blending experienced players and some younger players benefitting from senior outings in the league so far. The game started with a good intensity in fantastic playing conditions and this led to Borris opening their account with Jack Fitz showing very good shooting capabilities followed by a run and score from midfielder and captain, Shane McCormack. Jack Fitz then began his free taking duties for the evening with a well taken placed ball. Kilruane matched Borris point for point in the early stages before Borris were forced into both a player and positional change when full back Paddy Stapleton picked up an injury which forced a reshuffle with Thomas Fahy, full back from the team last year reverting to his old position as Adam Galvin entered proceedings in the middle third of the pitch. Borris then began a fruitful passage of play where they put on an exhibition of short passing and excellent handling which led to their first goal of the game after corner forward Fintan Holland made a great catch and hit a rocket to the back of the net to give the team the ultimate reward for good play. Borris took high confidence from this goal and were threatening more only for some last ditch defending and inaccurate decision making costing the team but Jack Fitz retrieved some reward from the play with another point. Jack Hogan began to roam out the field and got on multiple possessions, one leading to a Doc pass and finish by the midfielder but Kilruane were scoring some fine scores at the other end to keep it an even contest. Borris picked up their team intensity late in the half when the team caused two turnovers leading to frees by desperate Kilruane defence and two more Jack Fitz frees before the half time whistle was blown with Borris leading 1-8 to 9 points.
Borris started the second half with the ever threatening Jack Fitz continuing his balance of scores from open play and free taking with a good left side score but Borris then went into a lull, both from a scoring and intensity point of view as Kilruane began to create chances without perhaps maximising the efforts on the scoreboard. Jack Fitz ended the drought with free number 4 before he created and finished his own open field score but Borris struggling to create chances up front. Kilruane then put together a scoring patch of 1-4 without reply to give the team the lead but Borris responded very well with Doc in midfield coming to the fore with a good point before Cathal Hogan showed excellent pace and power with a breakout run leading to a chance for Jack Fitz on the stand side who duly finished the great team effort with another from play as Borris narrowed the gap to the minimal but looking the more threatening as the final minutes arrived with a heightened intensity and more control in the middle third. Matthew Stapleton reverted to midfield and alongside Doc and Mikey Kennedy really steadied the ship which was emphasised by a setup for Shane Mc who levelled the scores with only one team in the ascendency now. Sodge then won his own possession and earned a free for Jack Fitz to slot over, the forward’s fifth of the contest as Borris were going from strength to strength. Jack Fitz finished his free taking with number 6 and Concie finished a well taken point which balanced perfectly the rearguard effort by the Borris boys to snuff out a repeat of last year’s league contest where Kilruane scored a last ditch goal, not the case this time as Borris controlled possession before the referee blew the whistle with Borris taking the win on a score line of 1-19 to 1-15.
As mentioned before, Borris were in must win territory and with a strengthened side showed their class and intensity at important stages of the game. The team responded very well to the loss of Paddy Stapleton and reposition of Thomas Fahy and really showed excellent passing and handling in the first half. The team went through a lull in the third quarter but were able to up their intensity levels to the point where they were clear winners to the ball in the last 10 minutes and were able to claw back a deficit and run out 4 point victors away from home. Young players Jack Fitz, Cathal Hogan and Mikey Kennedy showed excellent energy and composure throughout the game and Borris finished the final quarter very strongly in the middle third with experienced players Shane McCormack, Doc O’Connor and Matthew Stapleton providing an excellent base for control. Stay tuned to the club’s social media accounts for details on the team’s next game.
