The 2004 group had a wonderful introduction to air hurling, with the game played in Ringsend Park
One team made up of Eoin, Cillian, Cathal, Hugh, Mark, Darragh, Matthew, Adam and Aidan were beaten in what was a tight game despite a final score of 8 to 1as 6 points came from 65’s. The lads all played well in the second half and despite having most possession the ball went wide on many occasions.
The Comeback Kid Mark Walsh had a great game in defence moving onto every ball in his zone and clearing it well. Matthew worked hard winning possession and playing the sliotar into the danger zone. Darragh, Hugh and Cathal were unlucky not the score as they fought for many balls in the opponents square. Adam and Aidan played consistently well at midfield and narrowly missed scoring with some long range pucks. Eoin was excellent in pucking the ball well into the forward line and clearing balls from his danger zone while Cillian marked well and cleared his line on many occasions. Motto for next game: A 50/50 ball is MY ball.
The other team was made up of Emmet, Aaron, Finn, Daire, Des, Finn, Francis, Jonathan, Padraig, Senan H and Tomas. Their match was also closer than the final result suggested, and the lads, by and large, stayed focused throughout. In the first half, Senan kept goal behind a busy defense comprising Des, Jonathan and Francis who worked hard to win the ball. Some fine puck-ups found forwards Emmet, Padraig and Aaron who were all unlucky not to score. In the second half Tomas and Daire in particular worked extremly hard in defence, while Senan and Francis made some good blocks and useful mid-field runs. The team’s efforts were not rewarded by a score, and a greater hunger in front of goal from everyone could, perhaps, have changed the outcome.