Clann na nGael 2-8  Trim 3-11

Thug Clann na nGael aghaidh ar fhoireann láidir as Áth Troim i bPáirc Tailteann tráthnóna Dé Domhnaigh agus ainneoin gur throideadar go crua le linn an chluiche ar fad, ní raibh siad in ann an lámh in uachtar a fháil ar fhir Bhaile Átha Troim. PHOTOS

Clann na nGael came up against a strong Trim team in Pairc Tailteann on Sunday afternoon and were unable to get the better of the Trim men despite fighting hard throughout the match.

Trim got off to a perfect start scoring two goals in quick succession in the 3rd and 5th minutes.  Clann responded with 3 pointed free from Tómas Doyle and a well taken point from play by Darragh Swaine before the first uisce sós. However Trim also moved the ball well into space during this period and had registered d 2-3 prior to the water break.

Clann started the 2nd quarter with another pointed free from Doyle but Trim responded with a third goal and a point in quick succession and added another point as the game approached half time.  The concession of the third goal was a major set back to Clann na nGael, but the Clann men dug deep and scored a goal and a point before the half time break. The point was another free from Tómas Doyle and the goal was a well worked effort as Éamon O' Donnchadha and Darragh Swaine combined well to put Philly Garry in, to finish to the net and leave the half time score 1-6 to 3-5 in Trim's favour.

The concession of three goals was dissapointing for the Clann men as their defensive unit were working hard to limit the Trim forwards any opportunities.   Rory Tuite, Killian Swaine and Ryan McNamee performed well despite the scoreline.  Clann tried hard to recover the defecit for tbe remainder of the match but despite reducing the gap on a number of occassions and hitting the woodwork twice, they were unable to close the gap sufficently.

The experienced Trim men were aware of the  Clann na nGael approach of running from deep and were very efficient in preventing these runs.  They were happy to conceede a free whenever there was a scoring threat and  got away with a few dubious tackles, but eventuall the referee's patience wore thin and a Trim player was black carded at the end of the first half and again at the end of the second half.

Trim started the second half well and scored 4 points (2 frees) to 2 Clann na nGael points, a fine point from play by Diarmaid O' Donnchadha and a free from Darragh Swaine before the second water break.   Trim kicked two points after the water break but Clann continued to work hard to create scoring chances and were unlucky when a Diarmaid O' Donnchadha effort struck the post.   However, the ball was retrieved and worked back in front of goal and finished to the net by Éamon O' Donnchadha, which was just reward for the team following their hard work and persistance throughout the match.

Trim kicked the final point in the 63rd minutes to leave the final score at 2-8 to 3-11 in Trim's favour.

Trim were worthy winners of this contest but Clann na nGael left the game knowing that they had put in an excellent team performance and with areas to work on to close the gap shoukd the teams meet again this year.

Rory Tuite, Killian Swaine, Ryan McNamee, Diarmaid and Éamon O' Donnchadha and Sam Black performed very well for Clann na nGael throughout the match.

Clann na nGael: E Ó'Gríofa, R. Tuite, D.Kelly, K Swaine, R.McNamee, D.Griffin, M O'Cofaigh,  C.Swaine, D. O' Donnchadha (0-1),  L. Swaine, Philip Garry (1-0), E. O' Donnchadha (1-0), S. Black, D. Swaine (0-2(1f)), T.Doyle (0-5f).

Subs:  J. Farrell for M. O' Cofaigh,  P. Tuite for T. Doyle.

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