2017 Match Reports

U9 Blitz November 5 

The U9"s ended their season with a football blitz away at neighbours Westmanstown and joined also by Raheny. Lucan fielded 30 players across 3 teams,  with some players crossing over to the opposition to keep the team numbers even. Lucan girls played fantastic, skill levels have improved immensely since the beginning of the year. The girls hand passing and kicking was wondering to watch.  Some great goals and points coming from play. Overall a great team effort. It was a fitting end to the U9 season. The girls were presented after the matches  with their Dublin LGFA medals, pictured below.

U14 Division 1 Shield Final Sunday 22 October

Back Row, Mentor Gillian O’Brien, Sophie Smith, Ellen Lyons, Kerrie Jones, Lauren Dawson, Alex O’Reilly, Phoebe Shannon, Mia Dunne, Emma McGivney, Maria Furmaniak, Erris Smith, Paddy Lyons, John McGivney, Front: Emma O’Brien, Aimee-Kate Clyne-Farrelly, Iona Quinn, Ellie Wisdom, Chloe Beirne, Sinead Daly, Ciara Dowling, Sadhbh Ni Mhuir

Despite the strong wind at their backs there was only one score between the teams at half time, Ellen Lyons converted 3 free opportunities with Mia Dunne taking a score from play, leaving it Lucan Sarsfields 0:4(4) to Kilmacud Crokes 1:4(7), at Half Time. Despite the majority of possession against the wind in the second half, and although Ellen and Mia added another point each to their tallies, and goals from Sinead Daly and Alex O’Reily, the Sars girls were unable to overcome the 13 man Kilmacud defence. Lucan keeper, Emma McGivney did great work including a terrific point blank save but was left stranded when Lucan were caught on the break by a good Kilmacud side who were deserving winners in the end, Final Score Lucan Sarsfields 2-6, Kilmacud Crokes 3-10.

U15 Division 1 Championship Final Saturday 21 October

FOR the third year in succession, Lucan Sarsfields Under 15 Girls  Football team have recorded a league and championship double. Under the guidance of mentors Billy Egan, Glen Maguire and Aidan Coffey, the 12th Lock side captured the Division One Championship crown following a 2-7 to 0-4 triumph over St Finian’s in St Maur’s on Saturday.

They inflicted the bulk of the damage on their northside opponents throughout the first half, Abby Shiels, Caitlin Maguire and Aoife Coffey firing over some early points. Finian’s did step up a gear after that and enjoyed a dominant 10-minute spell, but, crucially, failed to get on the scoreboard, thanks in no small measure to the efforts of the full back line of Rebecca Flanagan, Iso Aikonbrae and Allie Dunne as well as goalkeeper Ellie Larkin who pulled off a tremendous reflex save.

Having pressed for a good chunk of the first half, Finian’s were dealt another blow before the break when Aoife Seery applied the finishing touch to a great team move by rifling the ball to the the net. Half back Aoife Whelan cleared the ball as far as Maguire in midfielder, before it was then fed to Roisin Egan. She played a one-two with Faye Murphy who popped the ball over the final defender and into the path of Seery and she let fly to the target.

Finian’s did manage to open their account after the break, registering the first two points of the second half. Yet the half back line of Aisling Kavanagh, Ellen Dunphy and Aoife Whelan, worked hard to choke off much of the Finian’s attack before Alannah Cassells put Lucan out of reach with a goal and point while Mia Dunne and Shiels also struck over. (Thanks to www.echo.ie for the report)

U15 Division 5 Championship Final Saturday 21 October

1 Aoife Murphy, 2 Saidhbh Greene, 3 Lauren Finnan, 4 Maria Kelly, 5 Maria Furmaniak, 6 Laura Sharkey, 7 Aimee Clyne Farrelly, 8 Amy Walsh, 9Laura Lakes, 10 Caoimhe Enright, 11 Ellie Wisdom, 12 Abaigh Rock, 13 Aoibheann Higgins, 14 Kate O'Grady, 15 Holly Butler, 16 Holly Thunder, 17 Katrina Afanascenko, 18 Ellen Lyons. 19 Iona QuinnAnna O'Connor, Holly Gregg. Mentors: JJ Hegarty, Gemma O’Connor, Phil Murphy 

With Storm Brian in full swing on Saturday morning messages were flying back & forward to see if our Championship final was going ahead. Thankfully the rain subsided and our host for the final, Clontarf GAA, had a pitch that could stand up to all the rain that Storm Brian threw at it. With the wind blowing across the pitch the first 15 minutes was end to end due to some great movements of the ball along with solid defending. 

Holly Butler opened up the scoring for Lucan coming in from the right, receiving the ball and placing it over the bar for a brilliant point, Scoil soon replied with a point of their own. Ellie Wisdom put Lucan ahead again after getting the ball around 16 meters out from the goal and putting it over the bar for a well deserved point. Again Scoil Ui Chonaill evened out the scores. O'Connells then went ahead when they scored a goal after the ball was put into the right of the square, and knocked back across to a Scoil player who put it past Laura Sharkey & Lucan's goalkeeper Aoife Murphy. Aoibheann Higgins got Lucan's third point of the day to narrow the gap. Scoill went further ahead with their third point of the game just before the whistle blew for halftime.

Aoibheann Higgins & Holly Butler made way for Katrina Afanascenko & Holly Thunder for the second half which continued on from where it left off. Lucan continued to pass the ball well and played some great football and were lucky not to add to their points tally. Scoil scored a brace of points a few minutes into the second half to no reply. 

Due to injuries to Anna O'Connor & Holly Gregg prior to the final we were grateful that Ellen Lyons & Iona Quinn from Lucan U14's stepped in to help us out, Both girls came on for Kate O'Grady & Saidhbh Greene with 20 minutes to go. Scoil had the bit between their teeth and went further ahead. Lucan received a free on the left and Ellen Lyons took the ball in her hands and dropped it into the square were it bounced and went into the goal to make it 1:3 to 1:6 to Scoil. With the final whistle nearing both teams gave it their all, Scoil added another point before Lucan's Caoimhe Enright scored a vital point. Lucan attacked Scoil's goal and were rewarded with a goal scored by substitute Katrina Afanscenko. Katrina then had a chance to add another goal only for the Scoil Ui Chonaill goalkeeper to save her shot. 

With the full time whistle nearing Scoil scored another goal and a point to round off an excellent game of Football. Final score  Lucan 2:4 Scoil Ui Chonaill 2:8

Liz Balfe Memorial Tournament 16 September

On Saturday 16th of September. A group of golden oldies took part in the Liz Balfe Memorial tournament which took place in St Mary's GAA club in Leixlip. Liz Balfe played on the first Lucan team back in 1991. She was only 14 playing as full back on an adult team. She was a fantastic player and an even better person. She was tragically killed in January 2016. A group made up mainly of her old team mates took part in the blitz. The group consisted of past and present Lucan Sarsfields members. Some ladies hadn't kicked a ball in over 10 years. However, that was not going to stop this group. Having no substitutes and after 4 matches this group of ladies won the cup. Other teams commented on our lovely football and others thought we were actually still playing together. 

Junior A Final 1 September

A powerful first-half performance paid dividends for Cuala at Fingallians GAA last Friday evening, when the Dalkey club secured the Dublin Junior ‘A’ Ladies Football Championship title with a well-deserved victory over Lucan Sarsfields. Jennifer Dunne and Eimear Loughlin were in fine form throughout for Cuala, and even though Lucan attempted a gallant fightback in the final-quarter, John McKeown’s charges claimed their first-ever title at this grade.

Lucan were winners of this competition in 2002 (they also contested the 2012 decider with Thomas Davis), and after dominating possession during the early stages, they opened the scoring with a successful second-minute free from Aoife McKearney. Indeed, they created a number of opportunities inside the opening 10 minutes of play, but ultimately couldn’t build a bigger gap between the sides. Following a fine run through the heart of the Lucan defence, Hannah O’Dea restored parity to the proceeded, and the first goal of the game arrived in the 11th-minute. Corner-forward Lasariona Huggard found herself in an advanced position on the right-hand side, and her subsequent shot at goal drifted into the bottom corner of Susan Scully’s net. This was a significant set-back for Lucan after their positive start to the action, and with centre-forward Dunne opening her account from the next attack, it was beginning to look quite ominous for Paul Quinn’s side.

By contrast, Cuala were now playing with a great deal of confidence, and another speculative effort by midfielder Loughlin led to a second goal at the end of the opening quarter. While there was still plenty of time for Lucan to work their way back in contention, they were struggling to get quality ball into their forward line, and were constantly forced on the back-foot by the impressive Cuala. Dunne was in blistering form on the ’40’, and she hit another haul of 0-5 to increase their lead to all of 14 points. Blaithin Lane and Ciara McKeown were also on target during a strong period for Cuala, and although their scoring sequence was interrupted by a stoppage-time point from Lucan’s Emma Flanagan, they brought a seemingly insurmountable 2-9 to 0-2 cushion into the break.

En route to the final, Lucan’s only defeat in the championship was a 12-point group stage loss (2-16 to 2-4) to Cuala on May 17th, but despite showing tremendous spirit to record five straight triumphs since that game, it was difficult to see how they were going to rein in the challenge of a rampant Cuala. In fact, the Hyde Park brigade reinforced their superiority within 60 seconds of the restart. Grainne O’Driscoll was introduced at half-time along with Cara Sullivan, and she fired to roof of the Lucan net at the end of an incisive attacking move. She also raised a white flag on 35 minutes – just moments after Loughlin split the posts – and at this point it was quickly turning into a damage limitation exercise for Lucan. Yet, they were starting to make greater inroads inside the Cuala half, and a brilliant three-pointer by McKearney provided them with some degree of solace.

There were no reason for Cuala to panic, though, and with their team captain Siobhan Ni Cheallaigh added to their full-forward line instead of Huggard, they were on the hunt for further scores. Dunne and Loughlin enhanced their own personal tallies, but a determined Lucan responded with points from Patricia Gordon and Laura Quinn at the opposite end of the field. Dunne converted frees in the 45th and 50th minutes, but sandwiched in between these scores was Lucan’s second goal of the night. The lively Flanagan (an accountant by trade) tried her luck from distance, and Cuala netminder Caoimhe O’Carroll couldn’t prevent the green flag from being raised once again. The Lucan performance levels were certainly improving as the half developed, and when a Katie Wisdom point from close-range was complimented by McKearney’s second goal, their deficit had been reduced to 10 points.

Lucan continued to take the game to Cuala as the final whistle approached, and unanswered scores by Mairi Moynihan (two), Flanagan and Quinn meant that they had registered 1-5 without reply in the closing stages. This wasn’t enough to spoil Cuala’s party, however, and they finished with six points to spare over their 12th Lock counterparts. Final Score Cuala 3-15, Lucan Sarsfields 3-09

Scorers for Lucan Sarsfields: Aoife McKearney 2-1, Emma Flanagan 1-2 (0-1f), Mairi Moynihan (f), Laura Quinn 0-2 each, Patricia Gordon, Katie Wisdom 0-1 each.

LUCAN SARSFIELDS: Susan Scully; Tracey Burke, Patricia Gordon, Avril Quinn; Claire Rigney, Orlaith McKelvey, Sabrina Maloney; Sarah Maloney, Mairi Moynihan; Laura Quinn, Ciara McNamara, Aoife McKearney; Katie Wisdom, Michelle Kelly, Emma Flanagan. Subs: Caroline Geraghty, Sinead O’Keefe, Ashling Clarke, Laura Flanagan, Meabh Dowler, Ali Twomey, Aine Ni Chleirigh, Leanne Behan, Kate Whyte, Emma O’Flynn.

Thanks to Daire Walsh, www.wearedublin.com for the report.

U12 Blitz 26 August

U12 Played a blitz in Maynooth on the 26th of August, I am attaching picture of the group.  Some of the U11 came too!  They put loads of pictures on their Facebook.  Two teams played a total of 11 matches against Carbury, Sallins, Mullingar St Lomans, St Marys of Leixlip, Kilmacud, Kilcullen amd Maynooth.  Great work from the girls and some really good matches. The first u12 Grading matches were on the 9th  of September, The first team were winners with a total of 7 goals and 8 points to Rahenys 5 goals and 2 points.  The second team lost To Rahenys 2 goals and 6 points to 6 points.  The two goals were in the last 10 minutes.

The ladies that togged out were: Jackie Buggle, Gillian Ryan, Melissa Walsh, Tracey O'Brien, Aileen Quinn, Audrey Murtagh, Trudy Keogh, Moureen Fitzharris Gillian Mulqeen and Jackie O'Brien. We want to thank the mama Mia's for helping us out on the day. It was a terrific day and a huge thank you to St Mary's for keeping us fed and watered. They were brilliant. Finally, a massive thank you to the Balfe family. They presented us with a fabulous cup in Liz's memory. This is annual tournament and Lucan ladies have won the first two tournaments, lets make it 3 years in a row next year.

Under 9 Blitz 25 June

The under 9 girls hosted a football blitz on Sunday 25th June against St Jude's and Round Towers . We had 70 girls playing fantastic football, great skills on show,  very energic games. Well done to the home Refs also. Lucan showed wonderful team attitude and  spirit.. All girls received a thank you treat bag after the blitz. 

Mama Mia's

Wasn't the best weather conditions for Monday 26th June evening game at home to Erin's Isle for the Mamamias. It was a wet night and fair play to both sides for lining out. The game began with a rocky start for the Mamamias taken possession but kicking several wide, Erin's Isle took the lead with an early goal and point but the Mamamias showed great commitment and fire and finally put a string of points together to lead at half time.
In the second half Erin's Isle did launch an attack of determined fashion to get them another early goal to bring the score within 2 points but the Mamamias remained in control and got two goals and several points to seal a good victory. The final score 2:11 to 2:1 leaving the Mamamias confident for their next game with Skerries Harps on Sunday 6pm.

Mama Mias had a great performance on May 30 evening with an away match to Erin Go Bragh. The women displayed some great football out of defence with some solid defending from Bernie Canavan and through midfield to create scores which gave us a good lead in the first half. The second half  Erin Go Bragh were strong and committed and took some good scores including a penalty in the last five minutes of the game but was not good enough to narrow the gap giving the Mamamias another great win by 7 points, Final Score - Erin Go Bragh 1-5, Lucan Sarsfields 0-15

Molly O'Toole Tournament April 27

Lucan Sarsfields GAA Club today hosted the inaugural Molly O’Toole Memorial Competition,  a ladies football tournament for local secondary schools. Teams from Adamstown Community College, Colaiste Cois Life, Lucan Community College and St. Josephs College played a mini-tournament to attempt to win the beautiful new Molly O’Toole Memorial Cup.

Molly, while a second year student at Lucan Community College, sadly passed away after a short illness in January 2015. In addition to her academic prowess, she was a natural athlete, representing Lucan United FC as well as Lucan Sarsfields.

The tournament was organized by the Ladies Football Committee with the assistance of the schools and got underway shortly after 3pm when St Josephs College took on Lucan Community College in a lively encounter which the LCC students won by a goal and a point. The next match saw a strong Colaiste Cois Life side overturn the understrength Adamstown girls. Colaiste Cois Life then beat St Josephs, while LCC beat Adamstown. 

With two wins each Lucan Community College and Colaiste Cois Life played the final game in which the cailíní ón gaelcholáistí won by a single point. 

It was great to see U14, U15 and U16 girls from area clubs, Lucan Sarsfields, Westmanstown, Confey and Leixlip all showing great skill and determination, while playing against girls that they normally play alongside. 

Lucan Sarsfields PRO, Michael Bowler, thanked the schools for preparing the teams and the players for participation in Lucan Sarsfields first second level schools competition, while at the same time honouring Molly. Todays referees Niall Madden and Katie Wisdom were also thanked before Mollys dad Kevin presented the cup to the winning captain Aoife Coffey.

The U8LF Teams (2009's) played their very first football match at 10am on April 2, 2017, when 34 Lucan girls took on three teams from St Finians on the 12th lock AWP. The girls produced a great performance and showed off some of the skills that they have been working on the past few weeks. They showed great team spirit and were encouraged along by their mentors and the large group of supporters.