The girls and the boys have both made it through to the quarter-finals after another amazing week for Holy Spirit!
The girls were first up on Wednesday, with an away trip to St. Aidan's for a playoff. St. Aidan's were very up for the rematch after our previous win in the group stages, and produced an improved performance and a much tighter game. Only three points separated the teams at the break, thanks to Holy Spirit smuggling a goal in following a goalmouth scramble. The second half was a tense encounter that Holy Spirit just saw the better of, running out winners by 1-5 to 0-4.
The boys team made it 3 wins from 3 in the group stage, and progressed to the knockouts after a win over St. Mark's NS. The boys got off to a pulsating start, scoring 5 goals in the opening 5 minutes, including a spectacular soccer-style score where the ball somehow moved from one end of the pitch to the other without touching the players' hands. The game evened out after this point and St. Mark's put in a persevering performance for the rest of the game, however the damage inflicted early on proved too much to overturn, and the boys ran out 7-5 to 1-2 winners.
A huge thanks to our opposition and the referees for the two games. Our teams are now only two wins away from a dream day out at Croke Park in the final (shhhh - don't jinx it)!!!
Only the girls were in action this week, as the boys' match on Thursday was unfortunately postponed due to bad weather. However, the girls' match was a terrific encounter with St. Martin de Porres NS, in which we unfortunately slipped to a 2-0 to 0-4 defeat. The first half was very intense, with Holy Spirit forced to defend for long stretches of the game. What we lacked in possession, we more than made up for in clinical shooting, taking our only real scoring chances of the half and earning a halftime lead of 0-2 to 0-0. However, the pressure from St Martin de Porres paid off in the second half, resulting in two goals for the hosts, and although Holy Spirit rallied and pressed for a winning goal late on, our opponents held out for a well-deserved victory. With three teams tied for first place in the group, Holy Spirit now enter a playoff to determine who will qualify for the quarter-finals. As always, thanks very much to our opponents and the referee for the game.
It was another terrific week for Holy Spirit GAA, as both our teams continued their winning streak with two impressive performances.
On Wednesday, the girls were up against St. Aidan's. Holy Spirit opened the game with a breathtaking flurry of scores, taking an early 2-2 to 0-0 lead. However, St. Aidan's rallied with a goal of their own to close the gap to four points by half time. There were some nervy moments as St. Aidan's pushed for another goal to tighten the game even further, but Holy Spirit managed to score on the counterattack to seal the match, ultimately winning by 3-3 to 1-3.
On Thursday, the boys had a local derby against St. Damian's. The boys hit the ground running and managed to score 2 goals and 5 points without reply. The early show of strength proved too much for the opposition to overturn, and the boys ran out comfortable winners in the end.
Thanks again to our opponents and the referees!
Both of Holy Spirit's teams got off to a flying start in the Cumann na mBunscoil this week, with victories for the girls and the boys! On Wednesday, the girls defeated St. Anne's in a very close encounter by a scoreline of 2-03 to 2-01. After an early point for Holy Spirit, our girls trailed by three at the break due to a well-taken goal from St. Anne's. Holy Spirit had to fight back twice in the second half as the teams traded goals, but showed terrific spirit in scoring an unanswered goal and two points in the final ten minutes.
Thankfully for the faint of heart, the boys' match on Thursday was more comfortable on the scoreboard, though not on the pitch, where our opponents, Loreto Crumlin SPS, acquitted themselves very well. The boys burst into action taking an early 5 point lead through some brilliant teamwork and effort. However, the opposition responded well on both sides of the half time whistle, making it a tight affair with 10 minutes to go. The boys then proceeded to show their skill and put together a succession of points and two excellently taken goals, running out as winners in the end by a score of 2-08 to 0-05.
A huge thanks to both opposing schools and the referees for two terrific games!