2022/2023 Kerry PPS Senior A Football O’Sullivan Cup Quarter-Final – St. Brendan’s College 0-16 Colaiste na Sceilge 0-8

Wednesday, the 28th of September saw the St. Brendan’s College Senior team facing off against Colaiste na Sceilge in Glenbeigh. The St. Brendan’s team, under their head coach Kieran Herlihy opened up the football season with a dominant performance, winning the match, 16 points to 8.

The result was never in doubt, but it was by no means a walk in the park for the Sem boys who fought their way through the full 60 minutes in tough conditions. With a pitch that was like an ice-rink after some heavy rain, the entire team had to work for their well deserved victory.

The first half saw the Sem leading by 10 points to 3 after some great shooting by the forwards. Cillian Courtney scoring three points and Luke Crowley coming out with a very strong six points, including two scored from frees.

It was not only the forwards working hard for their victory. Notably, Darren Ryan doing Trojan work in midfield, using his height to good advantage to win 3 of the opponent’s kick-outs. You also have Sean Fitzgerald in the full back position who was doing the work of many men to shut down multiple attacks on the goal. However, it would be an injustice to the rest of the team to discount everyone else’ efforts, as this truly was a team effort. You could see the enthusiasm from them as they literally put their bodies on the line to get the result they knew they deserved. The first half drew to a close shortly after a Colaiste na Sceilge player earned himself a black card from a foul on Cillian Courtney. The resulting free was put over the bar.

The second half saw the Sem playing into the wind. No substitutes were made but we did see number 2, Sean Fitzgerald swap positions with number 5, Mikey Lynch. The second half got off to a slow start. Luke Crowley did very well to win himself a free, but sadly dropped it short into the goal keeper’s hands. The match was over for him only a few minutes later when he was forced off by an injury. He was replaced by Sean Doolan.

Just as the opposition were beginning to find their feet in the second half Timmy Moynihan came on for Callum Cronin and Charlie Keating for Luke O’ Neill. Charlie would go on to score 1 point.

The second half saw more names come to the forefront. Jack Costello was working hard on the defence, getting fouled heavily by his marker who eventually got a yellow card. Aodhan O’ Neill put his very fast pace to good use, running through the defence who eventually had to foul him to put a stop to it. He put the free over the bar to get the Sem’s only score from a free in the second half. John Kelleher also had a notable performance, scoring two points in quick succession, bringing him up to a total of three points for the match.

The entire school would like to give a special thanks to head coach Kieran Herlihy and assistant coaches Arthur Fitzgerald and Michael Leahy for taking on the job of managing the senior team and wish them well for the year to come.

Written by Ian Coffey and Adam Byrne