Match Reports

Passage 1-18 Whitechurch 0-14

Our Junior A Hurling team celebrated victory once again today as they clinched their second trophy of the year in an intense battle against Whitechurch in the Seandun Division 1 League Final. Following their recent triumph in the McCurtain Cup against Na Piarsaigh, Passage are currently riding a wave of success and have firmly established themselves as serious contenders for the upcoming City Championship.

The match kicked off with Whitechurch exhibiting their early dominance on the field by scoring three quick points. However, Passage swiftly responded, and in the 13th minute, Conor Coughlan secured their first score of the game. From then on, the contest witnessed a series of fiercely contested physical exchanges, with both teams relentlessly fighting for every ball.

It was end to end now and only for some poor shooting 13 wides in the first half, Passage would have been out of sight. After Conor’s point, Whitechurch responded with two quick points. Passage lost two players Ryan Carroll and Evan Clarke through injury and the substitutes Graham Carroll and Luke Hanlon who came in thrived on the physical side of the game and this helped Pasage to regroup. A Cian Mc free and two points from play from James Lavery narrowed the gap to a point on 20 minutes. Lavery and Graham Carroll took over and eventually won the midfield battle with Cork U20 captain Micheal Mullins.

The match’s defining moment occurred in the 25th minute when Luke Hanlon scored a magnificent goal, ultimately proving to be the crucial score that tipped the scales in Passage’s favour. Gary Tett pulled off a magnificent save soon afterwards to keep Passage ahead coming into the break. Points from Ronan Harrington and James Kind who was excellent throughout gave Passage a 3-point lead at the half-time break.

Half-time score Passage 1-7 Whitechurch 0-7.

Whitechurch opened the scoring in the second half and quickly added a second from a 65. Passage responded with 4 unanswered points – 3 frees from Cian Mc and Luke Hanlon and a fantastic point from out by the sideline from Luke Hanlon. The highlight of the second half was Cian Mc’s two points from sideline cuts. His brother Niall fired over the last score from play on 20 mins. It was all frees from then on.

The Passage defence were outstanding in this half winning all their battles. Captain Sean Harrington commanded the square, giving his man no ball throughout. Kevin Cuthbert was up against a very formidable opponent and eventually came out on top. Cathal Mc Carthy who has had an injury-plagued season so far thundered into the game in the closing 20 minutes and will benefit from some more game time. Cillian Murphy didn’t put a foot wrong after coming on at cornerback and outside him, new player Conor Hannon had a very steady game.

Graham Carroll rolled back the years in midfield and alongside him, James Lavery the man from Co. Down put in his normal 9 out of 10 performance. The forwards led by Ronan Harrington, James Kind, Conor Coughlan, Calum Finnegan and Jamie Mc Carthy worked their socks off chasing every ball and giving their opponent no time to settle.

Special call out to the youngest player on the team Dylan Barrett for pushing back his flight for his holidays to ensure he was able to play. He can be proud of his performance today. I almost forgot to mention our two great goalkeepers Gray Tett and Aidan Long. Both made important saves and their puck-outs were top-class.

Throughout the game, both teams demonstrated commendable sportsmanship and determination, leaving no opportunity unexploited in their pursuit of victory. The players displayed incredible skills, tenacity, and unwavering commitment to their respective sides. Passage’s hard-fought triumph earned them their second trophy this year and solidified their growing momentum as they approach the City Championship. With their recent successes and the unyielding determination shown by each player, the Passage Junior A Hurling team has unquestionably established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming championship. Well done to all the players and the management team.

Passage: Gary Tett; Cathal McCarthy, Sean Harrington, Ryan Carroll; Conor Hannon, Cian McCarthy, Kevin Cuthbert; Evan Clarke, James Lavery; James Kind, Conor Coughlan, Dylan Barrett; Calum Finnegan, Ronan Harrington, James McCarthy.

Subs: Cillian Murphy for Ryan Carroll, Graham Carroll for Evan Clarke, Luke Hanlon for Calum Finnegan (all 16); Aidan Long for Gary Tett (h/t), Niall McCarthy for Conor Coughlan (38).

Scorers: Passage: Luke Hanlon 1-7 (0-4f); Cian McCarthy 0-5 (0-2f, 0-2 s/l, 0-1 65); James Lavery 0-2; Conor Coughlan, Ronan Harrington, James Kind, Niall McCarthy 0-1 each.

Our U8 boys played a mini football blitz this morning at home in glorious sunshine. A total of six games were played by our two teams against Ballygarvan and Sliabh Rua. Very competitive games with great defending, scoring and kick passing skills were on show by our boys. A fantastic morning of football was had by all three clubs.

Our U11 footballers took on St Michaels this evening in what was a very good, tough competitive game of football.

Dylan had his usual excellent game in goals making some telling saves.

Ross, Cameron, Jamie and Eirnan worked tirelessly in the full back line driving out with numerous ball.

Charlie Cremin, Ben and Josh were busy in the half back line snuffing out plenty of ball and getting attacks going.

Zack and Rory worked well in midfield covering every inch of the pitch all evening.

Ryan, Max, Tiernan and Leon were constantly making themselves available on each attack and worked hard stopping the defence from moving easy ball out the field.

Charlie O’Connor, Lorcan, and Cooper battled all night with the full back line causing them all sorts of problems resulting in some turnovers.

Overall a very satisfactory performance from all the lads. Thanks to all who came to support the lads and thanks to St Michaels for hosting.

Team: Dylan O’Sullivan, Ross Murray, Cameron Lee, Jamie Boylan, Eirnan Wood, Charlie Cremin (0-02), Ben Devine, Josh Hanna, Zack Long, Rory Walsh (2-02), Ryan Whyte, Max O’Sullivan (0-01), Tiernan McCarthy (2-02), Leon Joyce (1-00), Cooper Laffan, Lorcan Granby (0-01) and Charlie O’Connor.

Our Junior ladies booked their spot in the league semi-final yesterday evening with a good win away to Grenagh. An early Passage point was cancelled out by a Grenagh goal but Passage quickly followed this with a goal and a point and wouldn’t relinquish their lead for the remainder of the game.

Going in 8 points ahead at the break, Passage drove on in the second half and the defence put on a masterclass, forcing Grenagh into numerous errors and limiting them to 1-2 in each half. The midfield and forwards worked relentlessly to create some fantastic scores and Passage were comfortable winners on a scoreline of 5-11 to 2-4. A brilliant performance from the entire panel with 26 girls togged out. The girls end the group section of the league unbeaten in top spot with a semi-final to look forward to

Passage team: C. Mullane, K. McGranaghan, A. Allen (captain), E. Moloney, S. Hughes, R. Sheehan (0-1), L. Hughes, T. Bateman, E. Murphy (1-1), E. Heffernan (0-3), A . Higgins (0-2), L. Heffernan, S. O’Shea (0-1), L. Finlay (4-2), S. McCarthy (0-1), T. Whyte, C. Nolan, L. Coughlan, R. Browne, T. Hanlon, L. Finlay (0-1), K. Farrell, S. Ryan, A. Keane, R. Killen, I. O’ Brien

Well done to our U11s who played some fantastic football this evening against Shamrocks. Keep up the great work at training girls!

Our Junior ladies continued their unbeaten league run with a draw in Timoleague yesterday evening against Ibane Gaels. Passage opened the scoring with 3 unanswered points before Ibane levelled matters with a goal before Sarah O’Shea pointed to push Passage back in front. Both sides exchanged further scores with Passage leading by 2 at the break.

Passage started the second half the brighter, going 5 points ahead before Ibane chipped away at the Passage lead, reducing the difference to the bare minimum with 5 minutes 2 go. When Ibane went a point ahead with time running out, Passage didn’t panic and drove forward, winning a crucial free which Rachel Sheehan sent over the bar. This proved to be the last kick of the game and so the teams shared the spoils.

Final score Passage 0-12 Ibane Gaels 2-6.

The Juniors still sit joint top of the table with Ibane so next week’s match against Grenagh will decide the semi-final placings. Well done to all on another great performance 

Passage team: C. Mullane, K.McGranaghan, A.Allen, S. Moynihan, S. Hughes, R. Sheehan (0-1), E. Moloney, T. Bateman, C. O’Connor, E. Murphy, A. Higgins (0-4), L. Hughes, S. O’Shea (0-1), L. Finlay (0-3), S. O’Flynn (0-1), R. Browne (0-2), L. Finlay, T. Hanlon, C. Nolan

Our U11 footballers travelled to Ballinspittle this morning to play Courcey Rovers in what was a good tough physical battle.

Dylan was assured between the posts and anything that did get pass him was unstoppable.

Ryan and Cameron in the full back line kept close tabs on their opponents, snuffing out numerous play and driving the lads forward.

James, Zack and Ross worked extremely hard throughout the game playing great ball up to the midfielders and forwards.

Tiernan and Rory worked tirelessly all game chipping in with 3-05 between them.

Ciaran, Lorcan and Olan kept the Courcey defence very busy with each of them winning numerous ball, unselfishly setting up good chances for the others.

Jordan, Rian and Cian worked really hard keeping the Courceys lads from getting easy ball out from the back.

All in all it was a very good team performance with a number of U10 players making their U11 debut. Thanks to Ryan, James, Ciaran, Olan, Rian and Cian for giving us a dig out this morning.

Team: Dylan O’Sullivan, Ryan O’Byrne, Cameron Lee, James Daly, Zack Long, Ross Murray, Tiernan McCarthy (2-03), Rory Walsh (1-02), Ciaran Maxwell (0-01), Lorcan Granby, Olan Maxwell, Jordan Halligan (1-00), Rian O’Flaherty, and Cian O’Byrne (1-00).

Well done lads and thanks to all who came to support the lads.

Our U11 footballers took on a very strong Douglas team this evening in glorious conditions in Manning Park.

The lads battled hard to get up to the speed of our opponents game throughout the evening and as the game progressed the lads started to get to grips with the pace of the game, making some telling interceptions in defence and working the ball through the lines resulting in some excellent scores being taken along the way.

While the game didn’t work out for the group this evening we have no doubt this group of players will bounce back and use this evening as a valuable learning experience.

We now move on and look forward to an away fixture v Courcey Rovers this coming Saturday morning.

Thanks to all who came to support the lads this evening. Thanks to Brian for reffing the match. Thanks also to Douglas GAA for the match and we wish them all the best in the upcoming John Kerins Tournament.

Passage: Dylan O’Sullivan, Ross Murray, Cameron Lee (1-0), Eirnan Wood, Charlie Cremin, Josh Hanna, Jamie Boylan, Rory Walsh (1-01), Zack Long (0-01), Lorcan Granby, Tiernan McCarthy (0-04), Ryan Whyte, Micheál O’Leidhin, Jordan Halligan and Cooper Laffan.

U14 Football Championship Fri 2nd June’23

Passage 8-6 St Vincent’s 6-10

What a game in Manning Park last night. Passage young u14 players pulled off a sensational comeback to beat an excellent St Vincent’s side. With 14 mins left on the clock Passage were 12 points down and it looked game over.  Somehow they regrouped to score 4-2 in the closing minutes to secure an amazing win. Vincent’s started brightly and scored their first goal on the 5-minute mark. Only for some great defending by the Passage full back line of Ollie O’Neill, Oscar O’Sullivan and Finn O’Connor, the scoreline would have been far worse for Passage. Passage slowly came back into the game. Corner forward Zac Lenihan was making several great runs and was unlucky with a pointed effort that went inches wide. From the resulting kick out midfielder, Philip Heavey won the ball and sent a lovely ball to Zac who beat his man and gave a quick hand pass to the on-running David O’Connor. David scored a goal into the bottom corner to level the match after 10 minutes.  Vincents raised their game and for the next 15 mins scored 1-5 without reply. In fairness, some of their football was breathtaking to watch. Philip Heavey scored a goal against the run of play, but Passage found the going tough. Vincents replied immediately with two long-range points before they were awarded a penalty. The Vincents forward made no mistake to give them a 10-point lead coming up to the halftime break. David O’Connor scored the last score of the half with a well-taken point after a great pass from Eoghan O’Bryne. The referee blew the halftime whistle with the score standing Passage 2-1 Vincents 3-7. Passage went to the dressing room for the halftime talk and a few choice words were needed with the team down 9 points. Passage playing into the town end started well and the excellent Philip Heavey scored a great goal after only two minutes. Vincents replied with a long-range point but Passage was definitely playing better than the first half. Daniel Collier scored a point before Vincents fired in two quick goals to give them a 12-point cushion. It looked like the game was over at this stage but somehow Passage began to come back into the game. Their half-back line of Corey Browne, Sean Cash and Finn Brady got a grip on the game and midfielder Aidan O’Connor started running at the Vincent’s defence. Two goals from full forward David O’Connor and Sam O’Flynn narrowed the gap to 6 points with 10 minutes left on the clock. Vincents replied with three points and looked home and dry. Passage scored 2-1 in the next few minutes to only leave a point between the teams. Daniel Collier and Philip Heavey got the two goals with the hard-working centre forward Mark Barry firing over the well-taken point. Vincents straight from the kick out worked the ball up the field and scored a goal after a goal-line scramble. There was still time for some more drama. Passage scored two quick points from an Aidan O’Connor free and a great point from Daniel Collier. Passage was awarded another free which Philip Heavey stepped up to take. His shot out of the hands dropped in under the crossbar for a goal and Passage was in the lead. Vincents weren’t finished and they worked the ball up the field playing terrific football. They had one final goal chance but somehow Daniel Mooney managed to save the effort and the final whistle went. Passage had snatched victory against all the odds. 

Daniel Mooney made some great saves throughout and was the hero at the finish with his late-minute save. The full-back line of Ollie, Oscar and Finn was steady all night and they got in some great clearances during the game. Oscar made two great blocks stopping certain goals. The half-back line Corey, Sean and Finn especially in the second half stood tall and eventually came out best in this titanic battle. Midfielders Aidan and Philip Heavey ran themselves to a standstill. They covered every blade of grass in Manning Park and Philip’s 4 goals was some achievement. In the half-forward line Brian, Mark and Austin worked hard all night and can be proud of their performance. They were back helping out the defence for most of the game sacrificing their attacking play. The full forward line Eogan David and Zach were living off scraps in the first half but they won several balls and kept Vincent’s defence pushed back. Sam O’Flynn, Tom Kileen and Daniel Collier all helped to turn the game in favour of Passage and 2-2 was scored from the bench. Some players didn’t get a run in this game but have all played their part over the last few games. 

Heroes all well done to all the players and the management team.  

Team Daniel Mooney, Ollie O Neill, Oscar O Sullivan, Finn O Connor, Corey Browne, Sean Cash, Finn Brady, Aidan O Connor, Philip Heavey, Brian Griffin, Mark Barry, Austin Horgan, Eoghan O Bryne, David O Connor, Zachary Lenihan. Subs used; Sam O’Flynn, Tom Kileen, Daniel Collier

Scorers: Philip Heavey 4-1, David O’Connor 2-1, Daniel Collier 1-2, Sam OFlynn 1-0. Aidan O Connor 0-1, Mark Barry 0-1.

Well done to our U13 camogie team on a great performance on Wednesday against Douglas! They were unlucky not to register a few more scores but congrats to Abby and Niamh for the great scores  Super teamwork all over the pitch. Thanks to the U12’s who came up and for all the support from the sidelines!