Donahies crowned provincial champions
DONAHIES CS 2-12
CISTERCIAN COLL ROSCREA 3-6
Daire Walsh – 25 April 2013 10:40 AM
GOALS from Jake Stewart and Jordan Guiden proved crucial in Portarlington.
Donahies Community School secured the Leinster Schools Senior Football ‘D’ crown following a highly entertaining clash with Cistercian College Roscrea.
This means that Donahies are the only Dublin side to be crowned provincial champions during 2013, and this is something that Deputy Principal Peter Keoghan and the rest of the school are delighted with.
“(That’s) our first-ever Leinster title. We haven’t many Dublin colleges over the years, and more in hurling than in football. This is our first-ever Leinster title in the school. It was a great day for the school, to be honest with you,” Keoghan remarked.
This team is guided by the management team of Ronan Tuite and Mark Tuite, and they played some exhilarating football during the opening period to lead at the break on a scoreline of 0-11 to 0-2.
However, Roscrea found the back of Aaron Farrell’s net inside the opening 12 seconds of the second half to throw the game wide open. The Tipperary outfit went on to raise green flags on two more occasions before the conclusion, but terrific majors from Stewart and Guiden were decisive in securing Donahies’ success in the end.
In terms of the pivotal moments in the game, Keoghan pointed to Guiden’s magnificent three-pointer, as well as netminder Farrell’s first-half penalty save, as being majorly important towards their triumph.
“Our full-forward, Jordan Guiden, caught a super ball. It was like Michael Murphy in the All-Ireland last year. He caught it, he turned and he buried it.
“It was a carbon copy. I’m not saying for one minute that he’s in the same league as a footballer, but it was a carbon copy of that goal.
“We had a penalty saved by Aaron Farrell in the first half that was vital. Coming up to half-time they got a penalty, and he made a great save. It was a full-length save.”
In a wider context, this win will provide great confidence for all those involved with GAA in Donahies, and as Keoghan is quick to point out, they are thriving in a number of sports at all levels.
“The school is flying at the minute in terms of sport. We have some good sports people in the school doing well. Hurling, football and basketball in the school is going really well,” Keoghan added.