Borris-Ileigh GAA Club Match Report
Borris-Ileigh vs Nenagh Eire Og (North Junior A League-Round 5)
6th May 2022
Borris-Ileigh starting lineup
Miksie Carey
Damien Dunne Matthew Stapleton Johnny McGrath
Mikey Kennedy Bill O’Connell (1pt) Colm Boyle (2pts)
Adam Galvin Shane McCormack (2pts)
Jack Hogan (1pt) Thomas Fahy (2-2) Danny Ryan (1pt)
Fintan Holland (1-5) Shane Kenny (2 pts) Jack Fitzgerald (2-4)
Aaron Reid for Jack Fitzgerald
Bryan Murray for Jack Hogan
Harry Gould for Fintan Holland
Cathal O’Connell for Thomas Fahy
Borris-Ileigh’s Junior A panel made an away trip to Macdonagh park, Nenagh for their final group game of the 2022 North Junior A League on Friday, the 6th of May. Having won 1 game so far in the group, the team knew that a victory over their counterparts would ensure passage into the semi-final stages of the league. Borris made some changes to their starting 15 with Matthew Stapleton reverting to full back whilst Thomas Fahy took up the center forward position, Miksie Carey deputising between the posts and the return of players such as Colm Boyle, Shane Kenny and Fintan Holland to the starting 15. Victories between the teams have been shared in recent competitions and a close contest was expected, this bore true early with both teams matching early scores. Jack Fitz reacted quickest to a breaking ball near goal for the team’s first score, Colm Boyle following up with a well taken shot near midfield. Borris began the game with a blended attacking approach of long ball but also long range shooting with the next two scores from Jack Fitz (65’) and Jack Hogan scoring a fine point from halfway. Borris then began a stretch under the cosh as Nenagh were threatening in the attacking third but Borris remained resolute and eased the pressure when Colm replicated his earlier score with another long range point. Borris appeared buoyed by the defensive efforts and transferred the pressure back on to their opponent when Fintan Holland showed excellent hustle to score his first of the game before Jack Fitz added his second from play with a classy finish near the left sideline. Borris then took a control of the game on the scoreboard with a quick surge when Fintan Holland continued his high work rate to generate a goal for the away team with an excellent finish before Shane McCormack showed good engine to score his first as a 1-2 surge without reply occurred, the result being a 1-8 to 3 point advantage for Borris after 20 minutes. Borris refused to take their foot off the pedal however, continuing to pose questions to Nenagh’s back line with long ball attacks which generated more scores in the form of Shane Kenny and Fintan Holland before Borris added a second goal, Jack Fitz finding space to avail of a Fintan pass to slot calmly to the bottom corner to balloon the lead to 8 points with a scoreline of 2-10 to 1-5. Borris continued to negate any Nenagh threat and continued to increase their presence on the scoreboard with further scores from Bill O’Connell, Thomas Fahy and Danny Ryan before Jack Fitz finished a high scoring half for the team with a late free before the half time whilst blew with the score, Borris-Ileigh 2-15 to Nenagh’s 1-7.
Borris came out for the second half with a lack of urgency and a move away from the attacking approach of the first half, Nenagh to credit also for a higher intensity in the middle third. Borris went minutes without scoring before Jack Fitz eased any fears of a comeback with his second goal of the game, showing excellent pace to shimmy around the defenders and showing the aforementioned calmness with the finish. Borris quickly added a 4th goal when a long ball was deflected goal bound by Thomas Fahy and another green flag for Borris with the game finished as a contest. Thomas added a second goal to his own stat line with quick reactions to a blocked shot by Fintan and an impressive 5th goal for the Borris men. Aaron Reid replaced Jack Fitz soon after, Borris continuing to pose a threat going forward with a further point from Shane Kenny before Nenagh scored two quick goals as part of a renewed effort from the home team, Borris perhaps content with their scores for the game and the effort shown so far. Fintan stopped the scoring slump for the team with another score, part of a 1-5 display for the young forward before he was replaced by Harry Gould late on. Matthew Stapleton showed a very good application for the full back position throughout the game but especially in the final 10 minutes as Nenagh attempted to reel back a large deficit, Thomas Fahy finishing the scoring for Borris with a late point before the final whistle blew on a scoreline of Borris-Ileigh 5-20 to Nenagh’s 4-12.
Borris will be delighted with the scoring efforts from this game and in particular the variety of attack with the aforementioned blend of long ball and long range shooting keeping Nenagh guessing and this resulting in multiple goals from the long ball and excellent shooting from out the field. The attacking threats of Fintan Holland (1-5), Thomas Fahy (2-2) and Jack Fitz (2-4) deserve special mention whilst versatile players Miksie Carey, Matthew Stapleton deserve credit for adapting well to new positions for the team. Borris were missing a few key players which allowed a squad approach which could prove valuable leading into the final stages of the league and beyond, Borris finishing 4th in the group which opens up a semi-final contest against table toppers Roscrea with the game taking place on Friday the 13th of May in Toomevara with throw in at 7pm.
