Bride Rovers U15s Football — Feile Roundup (East Cork U15 D2 Winners & County Finalists)

On Saturday 4th April Bride Rovers GAA hosted the East Cork U15 Div 2 Football Feile. There was great atmosphere and a lot of preparation from the players, parents, coaches and club. From early morning the clubhouse buzzed with parents and supporters, who laid on a spread of sandwiches, cakes and snacks while the coffee and ice-cream vans kept all the non-players fuelled. Despite a strong blustery wind that made conditions testing on the pitch, our lads produced three composed and committed displays to top their section and then win the East Cork Div 2 final — booking a place in the Feile county semi-final at MTU on Monday 6 April.

The format of Feile’s short halves (12–15 minutes) and rolling substitutions mean quick starts and early goals can turn a game. The squad adapted well to that format, using fresh legs and smart rotation to keep the intensity high and the whole panel involved.

In the first game Bride Rovers beat St Catherine’s 5-03  to 0-02. The opening game started cautiously as both teams adjusted to the wind that was in Bride Rovers favour. St Catherine’s opened the scoring from a free, but Bride Rovers steadied with a point from Liam Carr. Both teams were giving their all with the defences holding firm. Padraig Barry then produced a big moment late in the first half with a well-taken goal after some good team work to give the home side momentum.

The start of the second half was decisive with rapid goals from Jakub Dwornicki (x2), Ruairi O’Grady and Sean Healy. While St Catherine’s rallied the Rovers defence were able to hold firm and protect the lead. 

St Catherine’s had a quick turn around as they had to face Lisgoold in the 2nd game. This turned out to be a thriller with Lisgoold just edging it 1-06 to 1-05 and setting up a final group match where the winers would go through to the East Cork final later in the day. 
In the final group game Bride Rovers opened playing with the strong gale. Both teams midfields and defences were aggressive and not giving the forwards much opportunity. Jack O’Dwod managed to open the scoring with a fine point. Jakub & Liam added more points, with accuracy with frees proving vital as Rovers opened up a six point lead. 

In the second half the Bride Rovers defence marshalled by Ollie Scanlan, Ciaran Mohally and Cathal O’Brien continued to frustrate Lisgoold’s attackers and the midfielders and half forwards, including Cathal Quinlan & Henry Bagnell, worked hard in tracking back and turning over ball. 

In the end Bride Rovers won by a 0-09 to 0-01 scoreline to progress to the East Cork final where they played a strong Whitechurch team who had come through a difficult group to qualify. 

The final was a competitive, spirited affair. Both sides traded scores early in the first half and Bride Rovers built up a narrow half time lead with some nice build up work and scores from Liam, Henry and Jakub.

In the second half it was nip and tuck with both teams evenly matched. A nice score from Conor Healy allowed Rovers open up a three point lead. Whitechurch struck back and a goal with 5 minutes left meant an end to the Bride Rovers defence’s run of clean sheets that Conor Collins, Senan Delaney, Denis Skillington, Alex McCarthy and Cathal O’Brien had established.   Both teams dug deep trying to gain the next score that would be decisive. That came with 3 minutes left as Bride Rovers hard work in the half forward line won a free just outside the 45 that Jakub put over as a 2 pointer. Padraig added another point and the defence held firm as Whitechurch pushed for an equaliser.

The final whistle confirmed a hard-fought threepoint victory in the East Cork Final and progression to the county semi-final at MTU on Monday 6 April.

A massive thank you to the parents, volunteers and club committee whose organisation made the day such a success — from the clubhouse hospitality to stewarding on the sidelines. The coffee and ice-cream vans were a winner with the younger (& older) supporters too!

On Monday 6th April the squad and their families travelled to MTU for the Feile county semi-final. It was a great occasion as there were over 20 teams from all corners of Cork contesting the Feile finals across the grades. Bride Rovers faced the daunting prospect of facing the West Cork champions Owen Gaels, who had come through a pool of strong footballing teams to make it to the finals. 

In a bruising, energy-sapping county semi-final played with a strong wind blowing down the field, Bride Rovers produced a composed and wholehearted performance to overcome a powerful Owen Gaels side 3-03 to 1-04 and book their place in the county final. The final margin did not tell the story of the game where the strong wind was a major factor.

Bride Rovers started with the wind and struck early with Sean Healy opening the scoring from good build up play and overlapping. Jakub added a second to give Rovers early momentum. That pressure paid off when Padraig finished a quick move with a well-taken goal after a strong kickout win by Jack O’Dowd, putting Bride Rovers into a lead that was added to by Conor Healy adding a 2nd goal before half time. 

The second half saw Owen Gaels fight back immediately as they used the wind well and pinned Bride Rovers back in their own half. They reduced the deficit with a goal and a point in the first minute. This was followed by a well struck 2 pointer side line kick to reduce Bride Rovers lead to the bare minimum. With only 3 minutes gone in the 2nd half Bride Rovers were under pressure and the bench was utilised to sustain the energy levels as well as dropping back a forward to give an extra player in defence. Owen Gaels now with momentum, and backed with the strong wind, in a dogged physical battle, pressed hard and forced several wides and turnovers.

The Bride Rovers defence stood resolute, repeatedly winning kickouts, putting bodies on the line and repelling attacks to hold Owen Gaels scoreless for the remainder of the game, while the midfield & forwards worked tirelessly to regain possession. As the clock ticked down the Rovers found a decisive third goal with 2 minutes to go that steadied the team and blunted Owen Gaels’ momentum. A late free stretched the Rovers lead to five points. The back line and our goalie Conor Collins made a number of important interventions in the closing stages to preserve the advantage and seal the win.   

There was a quick turn around as the team took to the field in the Feile U15 Div 2 Cork County Football final. The accumulated effects of hard games and digging deep across the games meant the final was going to be a challenge to our smaller squad. They faced a larger and very talented Killavullen side who had overcome a fancied Ballinora in the other semifinal. Injuries and fatigue meant Bride Rovers had to reshuffle the team and ultimately lost 3-03 to 0-02.

A huge well done to the boys for a brave and wholehearted performance in the county final. Up against a very talented Killavullen outfit who raced into an early lead, Bride Rovers never stopped fighting and produced a second-half spell of real endeavour as they tried to claw their way back into the game.

Killavullen’s fast start set the tone. They struck first inside the opening minute and then a well-taken goal shortly afterwards put them firmly in control. Killavullen compounded Rovers’ early troubles with a penalty midway through the half which was dispatched, and a further goal before the break left the Rovers facing a sizeable deficit at half-time.

Despite that difficult first half, Rovers showed character and got a point just before half time. The Bride Rovers lads never let their heads drop. Through resolute defending, the defence unit including Ciaran, Ruairi, Cathal, Jack, Tommy, Alex, Denis, Senan & Ollie, prevented Killavullen adding to their commanding 10 point half time lead.

 Bride Rovers even playing against the strong wind pushed Killavullen back into their own half for most of the second half. However, Bride Rovers could not find a way through a well disciplined Killavullen blanket defence. From early on Bride Rovers were forced to go for goals to try to get back into the game and while David, Henry, James, Jakub, Liam, Padraig, Kai & Conor pushed hard throughout the game the openings they created where dealt with by the well drilled defence.

Throughout the second half the lads pressed, harried and looked to manufacture scores, and their determination was evident right through to the final whistle. This U15 squad showed strong character with a number of the U14’s, that were needed to make up a 20 player squad, adding to the spirit across the Feile run. The Feile rolling sub system allowed us to use the full panel and every substitute made an impact. Players rotated seamlessly, kept intensity high and showed terrific team spirit. The lads’ energy, discipline and finishing under pressure were excellent throughout.

It is great for a Bride Rovers team to make a Feile county final, particularly in football, and the whole club is very proud of their performance. The squad enjoyed a stop on the way home to have something to eat and reflect on their accomplishments. Well done lads and looking forward to the Hurling Feile kicking off on 2nd May!