NEASDEN GAELS 2002-2005 MATCH REPORTS

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2006 MATCH REPORTS

DIVISION 1 LEAGUE: Neasden Gaels 4-15 St Kiernans 0-3 - 04/06/06 - Posted - 05/06/2006 : 10:40:07

A resurgent Neasden Gaels put some previous poor form in the league behind them and blitzed St Kiernans in excellent coonditions in Jubilee Park on Sunday. With Fergal Cunningham taking control at centre half back and Ollie McGrath winning everything at midfield, it was up to Neasden's forward to shine. Scott Doran (2-4), Gearoid Clancy (1-3) and Emmet Finn (1-4) duly obliged scoring highly and impressively with some excellently taken scores.

DIVISION 3 LEAGUE: Neasden Gaels B 3-12 St Josephs 0-8 - 31/05/06 - Posted - 05/06/2006 : 10:31:22

Neasden Gaels B kept up their good form in recording a comprehensive win over St Josephs in Jubilee Park. Neasden were never in trouble and Damien Gill and Emmett Finn powered home a number of scores to see Neasden win comfortably. Donal Giblin, James Giblin, Damien Gill and Emmett Finn were best for the winners.

DIVISION 3 LEAGUE: Neasden Gaels B 1-12 Tir Chonaill B 0-08 - 24/05/06 - Posted - 29/05/2006 : 11:24:06

A fine performance from Neasden's reserve side saw them retain their 100% record in the Division 3 campaign this season. Neasden took control of proceedings from early on with Danny Cassidy dominating in the middle of the park and with Neasden's forwards taking some fine scores. In credit to Tir Chonaill they never gave up and had a late penalty just wide of the mark. Best for Neasden were Frank Kane in goals, Adrian Dunne and Seamus Cummins in the defence, Danny Cassidy and upfront Damien Gill.

DIVISION 3 LEAGUE: Neasden Gaels B 1-15 An Riocht Kerry Gaels B 2-09 - 10/05/06 - Posted - 15/05/2006 : 09:46:51

Neasden Gaels reserves recorded an impressively taken win over An Riocht Kerry Gaels B in Jubilee Park on Wedensday evening last. Some great finishing by Emmet Finn saw Neasden take a seven point lead in the second half but An Riocht battled back with two well executed goals to take the game within a point. neasden finished out with the last two scores and recorded the win.

DIVISION 1 LEAGUE: Neasden Gaels 1-07 Garryowen 1-16 -06/05/06 - Posted - 15/05/2006 :  09:41:23

An understrength Neasden side fell to a disappointing defeat to Garryowen in Greenford. Stephen maguire scored Neasdens only goal.

Report below from The Irish post @ http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/story.asp?j=4130

Some excellent shooting from Garryowen saw them take full points from their clash with Neasden in a 1-16 to 1-7 victory.

The teams enjoyed parity of possession in the first-half but Neasden wasted clear scoring chances and trailed by two points at the break.

The Garryowen goal came through Tom Glavey who finished a flowing move to the net nine minutes before the break. Steven Maguire’s goal offered some hope for Neasden but Garryowen hit half a dozen rapid fire points in the final minutes to ensure a comprehensive victory.

CONWAY CUP - TIR CHONAILL GAELS 1-11 NEASDEN GAELS 2-3 - 08/04/06 -Posted - 03/05/2006 : 11:21:29

REPORT FROM IRISH POST @ http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irishpost/sport/NeasdenhitbyGaelforce.asp

Neasden hit by Gael force By LARRY COONEY

League Champions Tir Chonaill Gaels continued where they left off last year with a comprehensive victory over Neasden on Saturday afternoon. The hosts were anything but flattered by the final winning margin and should have won by more but poor accuracy in front of goal offered Neasden a lifeline throughout the fixture in Greenford.

Although Scott Doran made a welcome return to the Neasden Gaels colours, the former Wexford star had little opportunity to shine due to dogged Tir Chonaill marking. The hosts were still on a high after running All-Ireland champions Salthill Knocknacara so close last season and took the opportunity to give some of their rising talents an opportunity to impress.

The game got off to an explosive start when Tir Chonaill Gaels midfielder Gary Kane gave his side a third-minute lead with a well executed goal. However the sides were level two minutes later when Neasden corner-forward Steve Maguire hit an unstoppable shot past Brian McBrearty in the Tir Chonaill goal after good work from Emmet Killeen.

Despite the two early strikes, the game soon degenerated into a midfield stalemate though the hosts were beginning to dominate in the middle towards the end of the first quarter. Midway through the first- half Jonny McLaughlin and Daniel Elliot pointed to give Tir Chonaill a two-point lead. However the home side were guilty of missing some easily scorable chances throughout the half.

In a rare first-half Neasden attack Gearoid Clancy narrowed the gap to a point in the 22nd minute before Steve Maguire picked up his second goal of the game after a Neasden break-away to give the visitors a surprising two point lead approaching the break.

The hosts were stunned into action and after being guilty of some wasteful shooting Andy Gallagher finally got on the scoresheet with a point just before the interval to leave the half-time score Neasden Gaels 2-1 Tir Chonaill Gaels 1-3.

The second-half belonged to Maurice Carr’s troops though as Neasden's luck began to ebb.

Within a minute of the resumption Tir Chonaill Gaels were level through a Jonny McLaughlin free. By the end of the third-quarter further points from Steve Kane, Tommy Moriarty (3) and an Eoin Brosnan ’45 had opened up a deserved five point lead for the hosts.

At the final whistle the result was well justified. Tir Chonaill Gaels had racked up a tally of 18 wides but were without a number of high-class players who were away on inter-county duty with London.

Elsewhere in the Conway Cup the games between Tara and Parnells as well as Moindearg and St. Brendans were postponed while Garryowen recorded a slender one point victory in an entertaining tussle with St. Kiernans on a scoreline of 1-9 to 1-8.

In blustery difficult conditions in Jubilee park on Sunday Neasden Gaels put a timid display in against the current county champions. Neasden will be looking to avenge this defeat in facing the same opposition next week in the Conway Cup.

2005 MATCH REPORTS

SFC Quarter Final vs Garryowen - 30/10/05

Garryowen Goals Deny Neasden Semi-Final Spot

London SFC Quarter-Final

By David Thorpe

Garryowen 2-9 Neasden Gaels 0-12

From Irish Post @ http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irishpost/sport/garryowen-goals-nov0205.asp

A match which promised little delivered much as a Garryowen advanced to the semi-finals of the SFC with a hard fought defeat of Neasden Gaels.

A brisk beginning saw Neasden open the scoring after five minutes through Fergal Cunningham and Garryowen equalise within 30 seconds thanks to a free from the best player on view, Willie Quinlan.

The end-to-end action continued with London and Wexford county star Scott Doran and Dermot Gallagher putting the Gaels two points to the good.

Despite the balanced nature of the scoring Garryowen always seemed to be the stronger after Quinlan and O' Doherty levelled matters for them on the quarter-hour, and particularly after O' Doherty rose highest to fist home a Quinlan pass into the net on 16 minutes.

That score was enough to put Garryowen ahead with the score 1-3 to 0-3 and their supremacy was evident from then to the final whistle.

Emmet Killian reduced the Gaels deficit to two points on 19 minutes, before Quinlan pointed a free which he himself had earned after 20 minutes.

The imminent arrival of half-time seemed to concentrate a few minds among the Gaels as they rattled off three consecutive points to level matters at the interval — Steven Madden firing over from close range on 21 minutes, Emmett Killian pointing from a tight angle on 26 minutes and Dermot Gallagher finishing off a fine passing move on 29 minutes leaving the scores level 1-4 to 0-7.

Whatever had inspired Neasden to that burst of activity at the end of the first-half was clearly missing at the start of the second.

Similar to the opening ex-changes the game saw Garryowen shading possession and scoring just enough to stay in front. Quinlan created the space for O' Doherty to restore Garryowen's lead 40 seconds after the resumption.

Although the impressive Gallagher replied for Neasden, Quinlan soon kicked a sumptuous point from range, and then seized the initiative when blasting the ball to the net from just outside the small rectangle after 51 minutes to put Garryowen three points clear 2-6 to 0-9.

Garryowen played a simple direct game delivering high balls at the tall O' Doherty who successfully knocked them into the path of Quinlan, who is as fine a footballer as you'll see in this grade.

Garryowen then went four ahead thanks to another point from O' Doherty but again Neasden responded through Killian, and left just two points in it thanks to a quality Gallagher single on 53 minutes.

Again Garryowen showed their class with points from Brendan Hayden and a brace from Quinlan, the last of which came at the end of the 56th minute. From then to the final whistle it was all Neasden.

However despite their late domination, Neasden never looked like getting that all-important goal thanks to a mixture of defiant Garryowen defending and a lack of cutting edge going forward.

It wasn't even the final ball being inadequate that was the problem but the sheer amount of simple passes which went astray around the middle, loading extra pressure on the attacking player receiving the ball.

That spell of pressure only yielded points from Gallagher and Kevin McHugh so as the blast of the final whistle came Garryowen found themselves in a championship semi-final clash with St. Brendans but they will have to vary their game a little more to have a chance of winning.

Best for Garryowen were Quinlan, O' Doherty, and Hayden, while the Neasden boys were well served by Scott Doran, Kevin McHugh, and Dermot Gallagher.

Teams and scorers...

Neasden Gaels: Daniel Cassidy, Keith Geraghty, Jason McDermott, Killian Griffiths, Michael Greene, Barry Connor, Noel Downes, John Raftery, Gordon Kearns, Scott Doran(0-1), Kevin McHugh (0-3), Emmett Killian (0-4), Dermot Gallagher(o-4), Fergal Cunningham(0-1), Steven Madden (0-1).

Garryowen: Noel McLaughlin, Michael Grimes, Niall Buckley, Colm McLaughlin, John Teehan, Eamonn King, Ryan McStravick, Aidan Brewster, Brendan Heyden(0-1), Alan Kelly, Willie Quinlan(1-6), Killian O Murdha, Padraig O'Doherty(1-2), Colm Fullam, Patrick Morgan

Neasden were seeking to overturn their earlier peliminary round clash with Tara and seek a place in the quarter finals of the championship. Neasden were playing superb football and leading by a commanding six point margin before referee Liam Barry was forced to end the game prematurely with six minutes remaining on the clock. Neasden have been awarded this game.

Neasden Gaels faced Round Towers on Sunday morning last in Greenford in wet slippery conditions. From the start Neasden raced into a three point lead with Emmet Killen (2) and Dermot Gallagher providing the scores, before Towers leveled up with three frees provided through the hard work of Noel Roche. Neasden stepped up a gear and were rewarded with three goals on the trot with goals from Stephen Maguire, Emmet Kileen and the pick of the three from John Cunningham. A final exchange of points saw Neasden face half time 3-4 to 0-4 up.The start of the second half saw Neasden begin to dominate as Towers struggled in the final third and failed to register a score in the whole second half, while two further Neasden goals from Stephen Maguire and Fergal Cunningham ended the game as a contest.

For the winners the forward line of Emmet Kileen, Stephen Maguire, Dermot Gallagher, Fergal Cunningham and John Cunningham dominated possession in the forward line scoring a combined 5-9.

Scorers:
Neasden Gaels: Emmet Killeen 1-5, Stephen Maguire 2-0, Fergal Cunningham 1-1, John Cunningham 1-1, Dermot Gallagher 0-2, Kevin McHugh 0-1, Peadar McQuaid 0-1.

Neasden Gaels bounced back from their previous week’s poor championship performance and recorded a high scoring win against St Clarets in Jubilee Park on Saturday evening last.Clarets opened with the first two points before Dermot Gallagher finished superbly after a fine run to goal for Neasden’s
opener. Neasden points followed for Gordon Kerins, Dermot Gallagher and Donal De Barra before John Fitzgerald goaled to give Neasden an eight point cushion. Clarets fought back to leave the half time score at 2-6 to 0-6 with John Raftery and Cillian Griffith taking the last scores of the half for Neasden.

The Clarets began the second half strongly and pulled back four points before Neasden got a third goal from a class finish by Cillian Griffith. Neasden took control and outscored Clarets ten points to two in the rest of the half with Neasden’s points coming from Dermot Gallagher (3), Gordon Kerins (2), Stephen Maguire (2), John Raftery (2) and Fergal Cunningham.

Best for Neasden were Danny Cassidy in goals; John Cunningham, Gordon Kerins and Cillian Griffith were the pick of the back line. John Raftery and John Fitzgerald dominated the midfield area while Dermot Gallagher and Fergal Cunningham done the majority of damage upfront.

Neasden Scorers: Dermot Gallagher 1-4, Cillian Griffith 1-1, John Raftery 0-4, Gordon Kerins 0-3, John Fitzgerald 1-0, Stephen Maguire 0-2, Fergal Cunningham 0-1, Donal De Barra 0-1.

Neasden, with one of the best balanced teams in many years, defied the odds and produced one of the most dismal championship performances ever produced by a Neasden team in Ruislip. A disasterous effort all round saw Neasden fail to capitalise on a high percentage of possesion with some woeful kicking in front of the posts, managing to score only three points in the whole game from Dermot Gallagher, Paddy Tiernan and Donal De Barra. Neasden can walk away still in the hunt for the championship and knowing that they cannot possibly play as poorly again.

Neasden Gaels faced Kingdom Kerry Gaels in a tough Division 1 round six league game at Jubilee Park, Kingsbury in excellent conditions on Saturday afternoon.
The Kingdom started the brightest scoring the first two scores of the game but Neasden responded with points from Paddy Tierney, Donal De Barra and Seamus Cummins but the Kingdom began to pull away from Neasden with John Murphy in fine free taking form for the rest of the half and the Kingdom finished 0-8 to 0-3 up at the break.

The start of the second half saw Neasden blitz the Kingdom in the first ten minutes with points coming from Emmet Kileen, Donal de Barra, Keith Geraghty and then a goal from John Raftery saw Neasden take the lead at 1-6 to 0-8 for the first time in the game. The Kingdom fought back and retook the lead with points from Diarmuid Slattery, Eamon Brennan and Denis McNamara. The lead was short lived however as Neasden finished out the strongest with five points on the trot from Emmet Kileen (0-2), Paddy Tierney (0-2) and Noel Downes which saw Neasden finish with a three point victory.

For the winners Jason McDermot, Noel Downes, Fergal Cunningham, and Barry Comer and were excellent in the back line. The best of the forwards were Donal De Barra, Paddy Tierney and Emmet Kileen who always looked dangerous and took some fine scores under pressure.

Scorers: Neasden Gaels: Emmet Kileen 0-3, John Raftery 1-0, Noel Downes 0-2, Paddy Tierney 0-2, Donal De Barra 0-2, Seamus Cummins 0-1, Barry Comer 0-1, Keith Geraghty 0-1.

Neasden Gaels faced Garryowen in a Division 1 round three game at Jubilee Park, Kingsbury on Tuesday evening. Garryowen, playing against the slight breeze in the first half scored the first points of the game, but Neasden fought back scoring two goals and three points in the first 10 minutes. The first goal in a well worked move and a great finish by Seamus Cummins, and minutes later Noel Downes finished brilliantly from a tight angle. Garryowen to their credit fought back with some well taken scores and faced into the half time just four points down at 2-5 to 0-7.

The second half saw the Neasden pull away from Garryowen with some excellent points from Scott Doran (0-4), Emmet Kileen (0-2), Pady Tierney (0-2) and Donal De Barra (0-1) all scored to record a convincing victory for Neasden.

For the winners Noel Downes, Fergal Cunningham, Emmet Kileen and Pat Coleman were solid in the back line. The pick of the forwards were Paddy Tierney, Seamus Cummins and Scott Doran who played some excellent interworked football.

Scorers:
Neasden Gaels: Scott Doran 0-7, Noel Downes 1-1, Seamus Cummins 1-0, Emmet Kileen 0-2, Paddy Tierney 0-2, Donal De Barra 0-1, John Raftery 0-1.

Dick Munnelly cup semi final: Neasden Gaels 1-09 Parnells 0-11

A late goal from Noel Downes saw a very determind Neasden Gaels side deservedly beat the a strong Parnells side.

Dick Munnelly cup final: Neasden Gaels 1-10 Taras 0-11

A superb game of football between two strong sides which saw an exciting ding dong battle in the second half with the sides going level no less than three times in he final quarter. Neasdens determination and fitness told in the end as they came from a point down with five minutes to go to win the tournament by a deserved two point margin. The whole Neasden team worked extremely hard with great performances all round.

THIS ARTICLE FROM THE IRISH WORLD ON THE 29/04/05 @ http://www.theirishworld.com/homepage.asp?fname=2005-04-29\sports\1.htm

Parnells 2-8 Neasden Gaels 1-6

This wasn’t exactly the most stirring of encounters on Sunday afternoon at Northwick Park, but nevertheless it had sufficient content to keep us interested for the entire hour.

Parnells came into the game minus four crucial elements of their 2005 potion, with Fergus McMahon, Johnny Niblock, Darren McGeehan and Bryan Foley all currently occupying what little spare space their may be in the treatment room and to that end, this game proved to be a test of the resources that new manager Tommy Shea has at his disposal. The fifteen minute spell in the first half when his team (and Neasden to that end) failed to score, will obviously be something that he will have to explore a little, but the impressive second half scoring return of his makeshift team will no doubt please him. Neasden Gaels in contrast won’t be pleased with their second half display, as the need to go foraging for possession caused their side to lose shape, with an imbalance between the numbers occupying the defensive half of the field and those creating the attacking options.

With that imbalance and also the fact that they were playing into that ever present breeze at Northwick Park, it meant that they were always going to struggle to get a real challenge in.

Inspired by the attacking artistry of Scott Doran, Neasden did put together a very impressive first half performance with the former Wexford star being a constant thorn in Declan Crushall’s side, as well as a continuous outlet for ball from the Neasden midfield.

The type of natural talent that Doran has, has to be admired and his ability to turn on the proverbial sixpence is worth turning up to watch any day, and with that talent comes the fact that Neasden are able to compete in any game. A one-man-team they are not, but a one man attack they sometimes tend to be. It was Doran who got the game up and running with an opening point, which was quickly cancelled out by the very impressive Ronan Devlin, playing in midfield for Parnells.

Niall MacTsionnaigh then put Parnells ahead for the first time, although that lead was short lived thanks to a Patrick Tiernan point. Moments later Noel Downes had a great chance for a goal after being set up by Tiernan, but his effort hit the side netting and then almost instantly as the ball was transferred up field, MacTsionnaigh gathered the ball and blasted to the back of Ciaran McGann’s net to give the home side a three-point lead.

Two quick points from Doran brought that back to the minimum and also signalled the end of the first half scoring with fully seventeen minutes still to play. The one glimmer of hope for a further bit of action on the scoreboard was prevented when McGann saved brilliantly from Stephen Morrow’s penalty, after the same player had been hauled down by the keeper. With the wind at their backs in the second half , Parnells set about getting their scoring machine up and running and four quick points from Chris Lynch, Rory Devlin and Ray Kennedy (2) restored their advantage.

Neasden were given a lifeline back into the game when Keith Geraghty was fouled by Steve Mallon in the penalty box, although Scott Doran could only manage to blast the ball over the bar for a point.

Moments later though, Doran more than made amends for his mistake with a quite brilliant goal that fired past Keith Doherty, after he had collected a great ball from substitute Colm Cassidy. With fifteen minutes still to play, the game once more entered a ten minute period of non-scoring activity, before Cathal Diamond shattered that tranquillity with a great midfielder’s goal, as he timed his run into the box to perfection, to latch on to a pass from Devlin and drill the ball home.

With daylight between the teams, Parnells were released from their shackles and two more points from MacTsionnaigh and Devlin rounded off the scoring for them.

A late effort from John Rafftery was all that Neasden could muster and Parnells had a comfortable five point winning margin. As already stated this was a below full strength Parnells team and to that end the performance of several players playing out of position will have impressed their management.

Ronan Devlin was easily the most effective player of the pitch and contributed well at midfield, while Ray Kennedy hit two fine points in the second half.

For Neasden, they have a real find in Patrick Tiernan, who ran himself into the ground for the hour, while Fergal Cunningham had a solid game at the heart of their defence. Doran of course was the real scoring turn, but without Tiernan especially and Noel Downes, those chances would never have come his way.

Scorers:
Parnells: N MacTsionnaigh 1-1; R Devlin 0-3; C Diamond 1-0; R Kennedy 0-2; S Morrow 0-1; C Lynch 0-1.
Neasden Gaels: S Doran 1-4; P Tiernan 0-1; J Rafftery 0-1.

A depeleted Neasden side saw their previous weeks heavy victiry turned into defeat against St Kiernans in Greenford.

Neasden Gaels started the first round of the Divison 1 league campaign with a convincing win against St Kiernan’s is superb conditions at home in Elthorne park Kingsbury. St Kiernan’s worked quickest off the mark with three points in succession.
Neasden working against the breeze managed to peg two points back through Scott Doran and a great effort by Noel Downes. The half finished with Neasden taking a marginal lead through further points by Scott Doran (2), Donal DeBarra and Donal Giblin to leave the score at 0-6 to 0-4.

The second half saw the Neasden side push home the breeze advantage with superb scores from Bernard McCarthy who tallied 1-4 after coming in just before the break for the injured Pat Coleman. Kiernan’s veteran Ger ‘the fish’ O’Shea contributed three points, but Neasden’s second goal, with a cool finish by John Raftery, killed off the game as a contest. For the winners at the back Kieran McGann and Donal Giblin were solid, while Scott Doran excelled in his first game as Neasden captain. Upfront Noel Downes and Donal DeBarra combined well and man of the match Bernard McCarthy had a superb game scoring 1-4 after coming off the bench on the 25th minute.

Team and Scorers:
Neasden Gaels: Bernard McCarthy 1-4, Scott Doran 0-4 (2f), John Raftery 1-0, Fergal Cunninham 0- 2, Donal DeBarra 0-2, Donal Giblin 0-1, Noel Downes 0-1, , Seamus Cummins 0-1

2004 MATCH REPORTS

St Kiernan’s 3-10 Neasden Gaels 1-11 AET

HERE WAS a great way to get Sunday’s sporting service started in Ruislip as these two teams
went to extra time in an entertaining game to decide who would be able to call themselves Division Two Champions for 2004.

However the result could have been so different for Neasden when they were cruising home with a four point advantage with two minutes to go and some how they ended up heading into extra time.

A very dubious converted penalty awarded to Ger O'Shea two minutes from full time saw St Kiernans level in ordinary time. A gutted Neasden team fell away in extra time to lose by five points.

Scorers
ST KIERNANS: D Toher 3-2, P Morgan 0-1, K Browne 0-2, J Ryan 0-2, T Munnelly 0-1, G Crawford 0-1. G O’Shea 0-1.
NEASDEN GAELS: S Doran 1-8, N Downes 0-2, O McGrath 0-1.

1-09 Neasden Gaels 0-03 Thomas McCurtains
SFL D2 R8

Neasden Gaels finished the eight round of the Divison 2 league campaign unbeaten with a convincing win against Thomas McCurtains in Greenford on Saturday evening last. Conditions were very difficult with both teams stuggling with the driving rain, but Neasden worked quickest off the mark with a great goal by Bernard McCarthy in the second minute. Bernard McCarthy and Pat Canavan pointed again for Neasden before Thomas McCurtains pulled two points back in quick succession. The half finished with Neasden extending their lead with further points by Bernard McCarthy and Pat Canavan to leave the score at 1-4 to 0-2.

The second half saw the Neasden side tally on their lead with points from Noel Downes (2), Fergal Cunningham (2) and Donal Giblin while McCurtains struggled upfront and managed to score only one point in the half.

For the winners in defence full back Mick Greene was outstanding, Donal Giblin was solid at half back, while in attack 17 year old Bernard McCarthy was in excellent form and the ever youthful Pat Canavan was the center of every Neasden attack.

Scorers:
Neasden Gaels: Bernard McCarthy 1-2, Pat Canavan 0-2, Noel Downes 0-2, Fergal Cunningham 0-2, Donal Giblin 0-1.

Neasden Gaels 0-11 St Kiernan’s 0-11

St Kiernan’s and Neasden Gaels shared the points in a hard fought encounter on Neasden Gaels inaugural game on their new Elthorne Park pitch in this Division 2 table topping clash . St Kiernan’s started the better racing into a 0-2 to no score lead before Scott Doran and Seamus Cummins pulled the home side level. The remainder of the half saw tit for tat points with Seamus Cummins, Davy Byrne, Scott Doran (2) all pointing for Neasden. The second half saw St Kiernan’s playing with the strong breeze but again the half was tight and Neasden kept a one point lead throughout the second half with John McAteer, Scott Doran, Noel Downes (2) and Fergal Cunningham pointing.

In the end St Kiernan’s pulled it back at the death to earn a much deserved draw. Best for Neasden were Pat Coleman in defence, Adrian Harrington at midfield, while upfront Scott Doran, Noel Downe’s and veteran Seamus Cummins played well.

Neasden Scorers: Scott Doran 0-4, Noel Downe’s 0-2, Seamus Cummins 0-2, Davy Byrne 0-1, John McAteer 0-1, Fergal Cunningham 0-1

Sunday 3rd October SFL D2 Neasden Gaels v Cuchullains Greenford - 12pm

Neasden Gaels 2-11 Cuchullains 0-6

Neasden Gaels chalked up another impressive Division 2 league win over Cuchullains in difficult conditions in Greenford on Sunday morning. Neasden, playing with the breeze, started the half quickly with points from Davy Byrne, Noel Downes and a free from Seamus Cummins. Cuchullains responded with two well taken efforts but Neasden kept the lead with Fergal Cunningham (2) and John Rafferty pointing to leave the half time score 0-6 to 0-2 in Neasden’s favour.

The second half started at a more urgent pace with Cuchullains pointing twice more to reduce Neasden’s lead to two points. A well worked point by half back Donal Giblin, followed by two poachers’ goals from Noel Downes put the contest beyond doubt. Fergal Cunningham, Noel Downes, Seamus Cunningham and Mick Greene finished the scoring to leave an eleven point gap at the end.

Best for Neasden were halfbacks Jason McDermott and Donal Giblin and Fergal Cunningham and Noel Downes in attack.

Neasden Scorers: Noel Downes 2-2, Fergal Cunningham 0-3, Seamus Cummins 0-3(2f), Donal Giblin 0-1, John Rafferty 0-1, Mick Greene 0-1.

SFL D2 - Neasden Gaels v Robert Emmetts -Greenford - 5:30pm - Saturday 18th September

Neasden Gaels 0-6 Robert Emmetts 0-0. Walkover win give to Neasden Gaels

SFC - Neasden Gaels V Shalloe Pearse - Ruislip 8th Aug 2004 - 4:30pm
Irish World Report @ http://www.theirishworld.com

Neasden Gaels 4-9 Shalloe Pearses 1-5
A BRILLIANT goal from a most unexpected source set Neasden on their way to victory over Shalloe Pearse in this low key Senior Championship match, that had no real purpose or consequence. The fact that such was the case had nothing to do with either team and more to do with the set up of the Championship in London at present and the fact that the bank at Ruislip was empty told much of the public’s interest in events.
Neasden No3 Keith Geraghty sparked this game into some form of life when he broke up the field from his full back berth and buried a brilliant shot past Pearses’ keeper Kieran Gaughran, to haul his team back into the game after they had fallen behind by 1-3 to no score in the early stages. Joe Cox had got the Pearses off to a flyer with a goal following a mistake by Neasden keeper Brendan Moore, but after Geraghty’s brilliant effort the Pearses resistance was broken and Neasden had matter pretty much their own way.
By half time Neasden were on level terms at 1-3 each, but two quick goals from Donal de Barra minutes after the restart, made sure that the men in gold were going to have an successful outing.
De Barra’s first was a close range effort after some good work from centre back Jason McDermott and his second came straight from a blocked down kick-out, when he was able to finish into an empty Pearses’ goal.
John Rafftery was responsible for the fourth Neasden goal as they began to rump away with possession over a deflated Pearses team.
Next time out they must play Parnells in a game that has echoes of last year. Granted Neasden are out of the equation on this occasion, but they still have the ability to knock Parnells out of the competition as well.
Scott Doran and Fergal Cunningham should both be back for that game and maybe, just maybe, they can produce that one real decisive performance that would mean that they have had a major say in event in the 2004 Senior Championship.

Scorers:
NEASDEN GAELS: D de Barra 2-1, J Rafftery 1-0, K Geraghty 1-0, D Cummins 0-2, A Harrington 0-1, D Byrne 0-1, N Downes 0-1.
SHALLOE PEARSE: J Cox 1-0, J Lonegan 0-2, S Mallon 0-1, M Mulholland 0-1,R Harrington 0-1.

Thursday 12th August - SFC Neasden Gaels v Parnells - Northwick Park - 7.30pm

Parnells 2-10 Neasden Gaels 0-6

Parnells began this game as a must win event to qualify for the championship playoffs and Neasden had little to play for except pride. After a hectic opening period the sides were level 0-3 all but two mistakes from the Neasden defence gifted a goal and a point before half time left Parnells with a 1-4 to 0-3 advantage.

The first twenty minutes of the second half saw both teams peg on a further 3 points each with Neasden’s scores all coming from Scott Doran. The last 10 minutes of the half saw Parnells score a well worked goal which ended the contest. In the end Parnells deserved the win if not by such a flattering margin.

SFC Taras V Neasden Gaels 18th Jul Ruislip 4-30pm Sun/

Tara 3-11 Neasden Gaels 0-8

Holders Tara welcomed back their star performer Paul Hehir for the champions’ best display so far in this year’s championship. Recently returned from his sojourn in the USA, the former Clare inter-county star played a significant role in his team’s convincing victory over a poor Neasden Gaels side at Ruislip last Sunday.

After a reasonable first half performance at the end of which they were just two points adrift (0-6 to 0-4), it looked good for Neasden Gaels who were looking set to put it up to the champions. However the presence of Paul Hehir made all the difference in the second period.

Hehir’s command of the midfield soon resulted in three goal opportunities from Paul McDermott (2) and full forward Seamus Byrne. This result means Tara are assured of a place in the knock-out stages of the competition and on this form will not be surrendering their title without a fight.

Unlike their previous championship performances, Tara are now looking very strong in defence where Pat Rafter is back to his best form. Inside Rafter, the champions’ last line of defence also looks very secure with Darren McGee, Damien McKenna and Michael Liston all playing very effectively.

The return of Stevie Lynch to action has given the Tara attack an added impetus where forwards Seamus Byrne, Declan Treanor and Adrian O’Grady were most productive in fast moving offence. London and Wexford star Scott Doran scored three of Neasden’s points but lacked sufficient support. However Keith Geraghty, Fergal Cunningham, Oliver McGrath and Dave Byrne tried hard throughout.

SFC Tir Chonaill Gaels V Neasden Gaels Ruislip 7pm Sat

Tir Chonaill Gaels 1-10 Neasden Gaels 0-4

A poor performance from the Neasden forward line in a wind assisted second half saw Tir Chonaill Gaels walk to an easy victory. In goal Brendan Moore was very unlucky saving a point managed to be dispossessed and conceded a goal, only to double save a penalty five minutes later. Good performances were at a premium with Mick Greene at corner back and midfield pairing of Adrian Harrington and John Rafferty providing most effort.

Neasden Gaels 3-13 Shannon Rovers 1-8
League 4th Round

Neasden Gaels faced Shannon Rovers in the 4th round of the league at Jubilee Park, Kingsbury on Tuesday evening. Shannon Rovers got off to a great start but saw a first minute penalty put over the bar for the first score of the game. The visitors played well into the wind but were down 1-05 to 0-04 with the goal coming from Scott Doran
In the second half Neasden, playing with the wind, fought hard to open up a decisive lead with the two second half goals coming from Noel Downes and Adrian Harrington to run out winners 3-13 to 1-08.

Best for Neasden were Jason McDermott and Fergal Cunningham in the half back line, up front Scott Doran played well and Dennis Cummins played after been introduced in the second half.

Tir Chonnail Gaels 2-18 Neasden Gaels 3-04

Neasden put in a poor showing against a hungrier more determined Tir Chonnail Gaels side in Greenford on Thursday night. Neasden got off to a great start with Noel Downes goaling to open the scoring, but then the TCG hit back with five points on the trot before Scott Doran blasted home a great effort. With the midfield crowded, and TCG dominating, Neasden struggled to get the ball past the midfield and were further punished with another five points without reply to leave the half time score 0-10 to 2-0 in TCG’s favour.

Neasden started the second half a lot brighter although most hard worked guilt edged opportunities going wide of the posts; but still Neasden managed to pull the score back to 0-13 to 2-04. With ten minutes remaining, a 40 meter free dropped to the Neasden net ending hopes of a comeback, although Noel Downes pulled a goal back, TCG dominated the final ten minutes to record a convincing 2-18 to 3-04 victory.

For Neasden the few bright spots in this poor team performance came from forwards Noel Downes and Scott Doran.

Neasden Gaels 3-13 St Clarets 0-11

Conway Cup QTR Final

Neasden Gaels faced St Clarets in a sometimes uncompromising Conway Cup quarter final at Jubilee Park , Kingsbury on Saturday evening. Neasden, playing against the breeze in the first half, raced into a 1-1 lead within five minutes with Jason McDermot scoring the first point in a well worked move and a great finish by Noel Downes for the goal. Clarets stuck back with three well executed frees, but both teams were guilty of missing guilt edged opportunities in front of goal in the remainder of the half. Neasden went into the break with a 2-4 to 0-5 lead, with the second goal coming from Scott Doran.

The start of the second half saw the St Clarets veteran Tony Murphy denied two good opportunities by the inform Brendan Heery in goal. Neasden then managed to pull away from Clarets with some excellent points from Colm Cassidy (0-3), Scott Doran (0-3), Davy Byrne (0-2) and then Noel Downes finished for his second goal to record a convincing victory for Neasden.

For the winners Brendan Heery deputising for the warm up injured Brendan Moore, had a man of the match performance in goal pulling off some great saves, Fergal Cunningham and Jason McDermot were solid at half back. In the forward line Noel Downes, Donal De Barra and Scott Doran played some excellent interworked football.

Scorers:

Neasden Gaels: Noel Downes 2-1, Scott Doran 1-4, Colm Cassidy 0-3, Davy Byrne 0-2, Jason McDermot 0-1, Donal De Barra 0-1, John Raftery 0-1.

Neasden Gaels: Brendan Heery, Mick Greene, Keith Geraghty , John McAteer, Seamus Cummins, Fergal Cunningham, Jason McDermott, John Raftery, Adrian Harrington, Noel Downes, Scott Doran, Dennis Cummins, John Donal De Barra, Colm Cassidy, Davy Byrne. Subs: Damien Keaveney for Dennis Cummins, Mick Heraty for Colm Cassidy.

Neasden Gaels 1 18 V 0 9 Harlesden Harps
Neasden had to work hard to put away a determind Harlesden harps side after leading 0-9 to 0-4 at half time in Jubilee park. A composed last 20 minutes saw Neasden take away from the opposition and record a 12 point win.

Neasden Gaels 8-15 Moindearg 0-8
SFL D2 R2

Neasden Gaels produced a slick display to gain a second league victory over a depleted Moindearg in difficult conditions at Jubilee Park , Kingsbury. The game got off to a very even start with the visitors scoring first through Noel Dunning. Points were traded with Adrian Harrington, John Raftery (2) and Fergal Cunningham getting on the score sheet for Neasden to leave the scores level on 0-4 all 15 minutes in. The game then changed with a superb individual effort from ex-Wexford star Scott Doran netting the first of his four goals. Another goal from Doran and then Noel Downes left Neasden with a comfortable 3-8 to 0-6 lead at half time.

The second half saw the Moindearg keeper having a nightmare with five well worked goals coming from Fergal Cunningham, John McAteer, Jason McDermott and Scott Doran (2).

For the winners Brendan Moore was solid between the posts, Donal Giblin had a fine game at half back, John Raftery and Adrian Harrington dominated midfield. Upfront Noel Downes, Jason McDermott and captain Fergal Cunningham caused many problems while Scott Doran terrorised the Moindearg defence scoring 4-3.

Scorers:

Neasden Gaels: Scott Doran 4-3, Fergal Cunningham 1-2, Noel Downes 1-1, John McAteer 1-1, Jason McDermott 1-1, John Raftery 0-3, Pat Coleman 0-1, Mick Greene 0-1, Donal Giblin 0-1, Adrian Harrington 0-1,

Neasden Gaels: Brendan Moore, Pat Coleman, Keith Geraghty, Alistair McDonnell, Donal Giblin, Seamus Cummins, Mick Greene, John Raftery, Adrian Harrington, Jason McDermott, Fergal Cunningham, Noel Downes, Damien Keaveney, Scott Doran, John McAteer. Subs: Mick Heraty for Damien Keaveney

Shalloe Pearse 0 2 v 2 7 Neasden Gaels

SFL D2 R1

Neasden Gaels got off to a bright league start against the reigning Intermediate Champions in this entertaining league fixture at Jubilee Park , Kingsbury. Shalloe Pearse were first off the mark with a good point from Mark Mulholland but Neasden struck back with a point from Mick Hearty. With Neasden gaining the upper hand at midfield, and playing into a slight breeze, Shane Comber and then Aidan Burns scored opportunist goals with the latter also pointing from a free to put Neasden into a commanding 2-2 to 0-1 lead. In the second half Shalloe Pearse struggled to put scores away and only got a single point in the half through Mark Mulholland, while Neasden picked away with five points on the trot from John Raftery, Keith Geraghty, Aidan Burns (2) and an excellent effort from centre half back Seamus Cummins.
Shalloe Pearse worked hard for the hour but failed to capitalise on their possession in front of goal and in the end struggled to come to terms with Neasden's overall fitness.
For the winners the full back line of Pat Coleman, Kevin Moore and Alistair McDonnell were faultless, Donal Giblin was solid at half back and John Raftery dominated the middle of the park. Upfront captain Fergal Cunningham worked tirelessly and Aidan Burns topped a fine display with a tally of 1-3

Scorers:
Neasden Gaels: Aidan Burns 1-3, Shane Comber 1-0, John Raftery 0-1, Mick Heraty 0-1, Keith Geraghty 0-1, Seamus Cummins 0-1.
Shalloe Pearse: Mark Mulholland 0-2

Neasden Gaels: Colm Cassidy, Pat Coleman, Kevin Moore, Alistair McDonnell, Donal Giblin, Seamus Cummins, Mick Greene, John Raftery, Keith Geraghty , Jason McDermott, Fergal Cunningham, Niall Lennon, Mick Heraty, Aidan Burns, Shane Comber. Subs: Brendan Heery for Niall Lennon, John McAteer for Mick Heraty

Garryowen 1-12 Neasden Gaels 0-6

An understrength Neasden side, missing five central players,
went down to a fitter more determind Garryowen side who condemned Neasden to playing Division 2 football for the rest of this year.

2003 MATCH REPORTS

Reserve Championship Final

Neasden Gaels B vs Tir Chonaill B Ruislip

Sat 11-Oct-2003

Neasden B were defeated by a very strong Tir Chonaill B side in Ruislip on Saturday. With Neasden B missing the underpin of the side which won through to the championship final they were on a backfoot from the start. Tir Chonaill on the other hand had the best of the current Minor and U21 championship winning sides along with numerous multi senior championship medalists such as Maurice Carr. Good performances came from Trevor Needham at corner back and John McAteer at midfield while Adrian Carr and Dennis Cummins looked most dangerous up front.

Pictures now in the Gallery section

Neasden Gaels B 1-9 v Tara B 1-3
Senior Reserve Championship Semi-final

A strong team performance ensured that Neasden have a final and the possibility of a medal to show for the committment and effort put in by everyone in the club since last year. The senior team came close to making the break through this summer and Saturday's performance, in the first year Neasden have put forward a reserve team in the Championship, is testament to the work put in by the entire squad, trainer and management team.

The match itself was one of those that could only happen in London - starting 45 minutes late as the sun was disappearing over the rooftops and finishing in complete darkness. Still - it allowed Pat Coleman to pass himself off as a forward and nominate himself as freetaker in the dying minutes of the game.

Neasden dominated possession throughout the match and were the fitter and stronger team, taking some good scores in the first half. Pick of the bunch were Adrian Carr before he went off injured, Joe Geoghegan, Pat Canavan and Mick Heraty who all had the upper hand on their markers and took their scores well.

A soft goal gave Taras some hope early in the second half but the defence held firm, especially Brendan Heery in goal who took a couple of excellent catches and cleared his lines when there was any pressure.

With Dennis Cummins roving up the left wing from half back Neasden made sure that the ball spent most of the second half inside the Tara 50. The two Johns in midfield kept the pressure on right to the end, ably assisted by Trevor Needham at right half back.

Everyone played their part - even Paddy Gallagher who disappeared on holiday at half-time and Kevin Moore, who despite all the transfer speculation, put in a few of his trademark lightning sprints - usually to the sideline to get some water, but it was still pretty impressive.

Good performance from the team, especially as Tara's had beaten us fairly easily in a friendly earlier in the year. The big one is still to come though and Tir Chonaill Gaels will be trying to make up for their absence from the Senior Championship semi-finals. It was good to have the support in Ruislip on Saturday and hopefully there'll be a good turnout for the final.

Parnells 3-12 Neasden Gaels 0-7

With Parnells secured at top of the table and Neasden unable to overtake St Brendans for the semi final spot, this seventh game of the championship lacked serious championship bite as it had no real meaning. Three defensive hiccups gifted Parnell’s early goals with a half-time score of 3-3 to 0-5. An even balanced second half saw Parnells take scores while Neasden forwards overplayed on the ball and did not convert possession into scores. Best for Neasden were John McAteer and Donal Giblin in the half back line, the ever reliable midfield duo of Adrian Harrington and Ollie Mcgrath and up front Joe Geoghegan, Colm Cassidy, Timmy Gallagher and Donal De Barra all done well.

A good year for Neasden’s rebuilding process saw us just miss out on a semi final place finishing third of eight teams. As it ended the semi finalists are An Riocht Kerry Gaels V St Brendans and Parnells V Tara, both to be played in Ruislip on the 21st of September
The four relegated teams are St.Clarets, Shannon / Maguires, Thomas McCurtains, Moindearg.

St Brendans 2-12 Neasden Gaels 2-6

There are times when, no matter how good a team is perceived to be, no matter how talented the collective worth of the team is deemed to be and no matter how confident a team may be in their own ability, that team will still need one individual to take on a Moses like role and lead the team through the mire and into the promised land.
On Sunday last St Brendans were fortunate to have one such individual in their captain Shane Manley, who, whilst all around him faltered, doubted and succumbed to the challenge of the unfancied Neasden Gaels team, was still able to lead by example, in a second half performance of class and composure. Such was the enormity of this display one feels that without him London would already be looking for new Champions for 2003.
This excellent game started in cagiest of fashions. St Brendans appeared unsure of the credentials of the opponents and Neasden appeared uncertain of their worthiness to be dining at the tables of champions. A sixth minute point from Paddy Bowles settled the Brendans though and another from a Martin Gill free further comforted the Hayes men.
As ever though the Neasden boys could rely on their elder statesman Colm Cassidy for his share of scores and a brace of points from the Down man had the teams level on twelve minutes.
The next ten minutes brought a solitary point in favour of the champions before, on a day when luck dealt a very cruel hand to a number of custodians on Sundays programme, Neasden’s keeper Brendan Moore was dealt the cruellest of all when his misplaced hand pass was intercepted and Danny O’Connor had the easiest of tasks of tapping into the empty net.
Five points down, seven minutes to half time, things were looking exactly like they were meant to be. However, Neasden chose not to look at the bigger picture and instead five minutes later found themselves very much back in contention, when a through ball from the Neasden midfield was completely mis-judged by the Brendan’s back line and Donal de Barra waltzed through to hammer the ball past Billy Molloy in the Brendan’s goal. Another free from Cassidy followed and on the half time whistle we had a one-point game in favour of the champions.
The tit-for-tat scoring continued in the opening ten minutes of the second half before Neasden crept into a most unexpected one point lead when, what can only be described as a speculative lob by Mayo man Timmy Gallagher, was misjudged by an under pressure Molloy and that great croupier in the sky was once more dealing from the bottom of the pack to the goalkeepers of London.
Then came the biblical intervention. Stirred by his follower’s shortcomings, Brendans skipper Shane Manley, who for most of the game was well shackled by John McAteer, came down from the mountain and began to dictate how things should be.
Three excellently executed points, all from frees from difficult positions were enough to let his people know that they were in safe hands and that all would be well. Interrupting this one-man show was a penalty for the men in white, which was dispatched by Gill, and really that was that.
The efforts of the first forty five or so minutes had taken their toll on the Neasden men and certainly the final ten minutes was merely an exercise in keep ball and controlled play for the Hayes team a chance to take another step in their own education as they finally came to terms with the art of killing a game.
Credit to Neasden who certainly turned up to play football and the fruits of their labours over the past seven months were there for all to see. To try and assemble a squad in one year is difficult, but given a little continuity, there is no reason why this team couldn’t cause as many problems again next year.
As for the Brendans, well they may be safe in the semi, but they were far from sound in their performance. The pendulum that is their form guide continues to swing this way and that but given that their next serious outing in the championship is going to be a must win semi-final for them, then they really need to find some sort of consistency, for as good as Manley was at resurrecting his team’s hopes this time out, it would be asking an awful lot of any player to continue to perform such miracles time and time again.

Scorers:
St Brendans: S Manley 0-5 (0-3 f), M Gill 1-2 (1-0 pen, 0-1f), D O’Connor 1-0, P Bolwes 0-3, S Murphy, C Conway (0-1each).
Neasden Gaels: C Cassidy 0-6 (0-4f), D deBarra 1-0, T Gallagher 1-0.

Neasden Gaels 3-17 Thomas McCurtains 2-3.

A seventeen point victory this may well have been for Neasden, but for long periods of this game such a result look most unlikely.
Taking on a McCurtains team that has shown significant signs of improvement over the course of this championship, Neasden were very much guilty of taking their eye off the ball before it had ever been thrown in, a practice that so very nearly backfired on them.
Going in at half time level pegging with the men from Dagenham was never an option that would have been considered by the 1999 champions prior to the game, but it was a scenario that they had to come to term with, following some very sloppy and indeed amateur defending by the Gaels that resulted in two first half goals for their opponents.
The half-time pep talk within the Neasden ranks asked for a more professional and ruthless performance and thankfully for them the players were able to respond to this call with a reasonably focused second half display.
Star of the scoring stakes was once again veteran Down man Colm Cassidy, who weighed in with two goals and five points for his side, although he was closely challenged by Donal de Barra, who registered a goal and four points. However, none of this would have been possible had it not been for the excellence of captain Fergal Cunningham, who led from the front and demanded from his players the sort of conviction and determination that he knows will be needed if his team are to progress from this Championship group.
As well as his fellow forwards eventually managed to play, there will be grave concerns over the performance of the Neasden back line, particularly in the first half, when they were guilty of the sort of generosity that only a team with no conviction can produce. Both McCurtain’s goals, one a fisted effort form John Cafferky and the other a scrambled offering from Martin Keys were due solely to sloppy defending, poor communication and a general lack of concentration. If the same were to occur in any of their remaining fixtures, then Neasden will once again be playing Cinderella as they fail to make it to the play-off ball.
The McCurtains, whilst ultimately well beaten showed enough in the first half to suggest that they are still in with a puncher’s chance of staying up, which in fact is all they desired out of the season in the first place.
Shane Manton, although not the fleetest footballer in London, is nevertheless creative in his thinking, Steve Donoghue showed that he is as adept with the size five as with the small ball, whilst John Cafferky, Martin Keys and Martin Geraghty all produced reasonable displays.
Neasden now face into what is basically a championship quarter final against the Brendans, having seen the current champions post a massive score against Jersey Irish in a clinical display of football earlier in the day. Whether they are able to live with the sort of pace and direct running that the Brendans displayed will be the key element as to whether the team are able to cause the shock of the century so far in London football.
On the evidence of Sunday, it would appear highly unlikely that they will be able to do so.

Scorers.
Neasden Gaels: C Cassidy 2-5 (0-3f), D deBarra 1-4, T Gallagher 0-3, F Cunningham 0-2, A Harrington, K Geraghty, d Cummins (all 0-1).
Thomas McCurtains: M Keys 1-1, J Cafferky 1-0, S Manton 0-1 (free), A Cassidy 0-1.

Round Towers B 2-10 Neasden Gaels B 2-15

Neasden Gaels progressed to the semi final of the Reserve Championship with a win over Round Towers in Mitcham on Sunday the 27th July. Neasden will now play Tara or Parnells in the semi final.

Neasden Gaels 0-11 Garryowen 1-8.

Both of these sides have been poised all year, ready to take on the role of party spoilers in this group, however, on Sunday, when both teams had to fight for the right to take on that role, neither proved able to rise to the occasion. Given their inability to get the better of each other, few would fancy either team’s chances of progressing into the semi finals of this year’s championship at the expense of one of the glamour outfits in the group.

At no stage during the game did the men in yellow manage to take the lead, testimony to the resilience of the Garryowen defence and also some woefully poor finishing from the Neasden forwards, whose wide tally went into double figures. This failing alone proved crucial in the time added on for injuries at the end of the game, as on two separate occasion Neasden had the opportunity to seal an undeserved victory and in both instances they were unable to do so.

Garryowen started the brighter, took a first minute lead through the reliable James Scannell and continued to nose themselves back in front every time their opponents drew level throughout the first half. By half time the score stood at 5-4 in favour of the men in red, with Seamus Maguire’s injury time score proving to be the difference between the teams.

The second half was quite simply mapped out for the losers. Playing with the aid of a strong breeze and with the sun at their back, the object was to play plenty of long ball into their talented forward line and to ease away from the Garryowen. However, a scrambled goal by veteran Niall O’Rourke three minutes after the re-start made that simplest of plans look somewhat more complicated and left the 1999 Champions facing into a five point deficit.

Slowly they edged their way back into the contest. Full forward Colm Cassidy, who was completely out of sorts in the first half, found something resembling his range in the second and managed two points before being substituted, whilst midfielder Adrian Harrington also weighed in with a couple of points, the second of which saw Garryowen keeper Errol Brown commit that most cardinal of sins for any goalkeeper by allowing the ball to bounce over his head.

However, none of this was enough to strangle the fight out of the Garryowen team. They hung on with intent, James Power converted a free with five minutes remaining, to nudge his team a point ahead again and despite numerous attempts by Neasden to win the match they were only able to level matters through a Joe Geoghan point two minutes into injury time.

The remainder of the Championship now is fairly plain to both teams. Garryowen need to win all their game and of course hope for favours elsewhere. Neasden on the other hand need to overcome St Brendans, as well as the beleaguered looking McCurtains, to guarantee a semi final place. Can they do it? Well on the evidence of today definitely not, but on what we have seen prior to today, maybe, just maybe, but there is no doubt it would be a major shock if they were to do so.

Scorers.

Neasden Gaels: D de Barra 0-2 (both frees), J Rafferty 0-2, C Cassidy 0-2 (0-1 free), A Harrington 0-2, F Cunningham, J Geoghan, T Gallagher (all 0-1).

Garryowen: J Scannell 0-3 (0-2f), N O’Rourke 1-0, S Maguire 0-2, P Donoghue 0-1, I O’Donovan 0-1, J Power 0-1 (free).

Neasden Gaels 4-21 Moindearg 1-5.

It’s hard to believe that after ten minutes of this game Moindearg were leading by four points to no score and even harder to fathom how following that blistering start the Connemara men only managed to score another goal and a point in the entire game, neither of which came from play and both of which came in the dying moments of the first half.
Neasden received a major wake up call in the opening exchanges of this game and certainly any complacency that they may have been carrying into this match following their heroics in Jersey last week was certainly brushed aside unceremoniously by Moindearg in that opening ten minute spell.
As ever Pat Quirke was at the heart of all that was good in the loser’s play during that period and he received excellent support from full forward Kevin Noone. However, this purple patch was short lived and once the Neasden forwards finally got their account open they proceeded to knock over twelve unanswered points, a return that appeared to knock all fight out of the Moindearg
Their only real consolation came in the form of a penalty following a foul by Donal Giblin and Noone had little difficulty in wrong footing the Neasden keeper Brendan Moore with a neat spot kick. However, no more than thirty seconds and four passes later, Donal de Barra was beating Moindearg keeper John McDonagh from close range to cancel out what little encouragement the men in maroon may have gained from Noone’s goal.
The second half began for Neasden in the same fashion as the first, wide after wide, accompanied by one misplaced pass after another which led to a frustrating period for both the players themselves and the management. Finally though Colm Cassidy, Paddy Morgan and substitute Denis Cummins found their range and secured what was a very easy victory for their side.
Despite the margin of victory the Neasden team will realise that against any of the stronger teams in the group this performance would have undoubtedly resulted in defeat. For too long at the start of the game their backs were unable to gain any control over the Moindearg forwards and only the switch of Giblin to centre back to curtail the threat of Pat Quirke turned the tide for the side. The start of the second half was a similar story with too many of the Neasden players being second to the ball.
For Moindearg, this cruel season appears to have no end in sight. Three games played in the group stages and three heavy defeats. As mentioned Quirke and Noone had something to offer in attack and only really the excellence of keeper John McDonagh who was cruelly beaten four times prevented the score in this game from being unprintable. A keeper like McDonagh will play far worse in games and walk away with a clean sheet and a win for his team, but alas such is the life of the custodian.
Neasden now face the real crunch test for them as they take o their mid-table rivals Garryowen knowing that a win is essential if they are to have any chance at all of challenging either Parnells or St Brendans for one of those precious semi-final berths.

Scorers.
Neasden Gaels. C Cassidy 0-7 (0-2f), D deBarra 1-3 (0-1f), P Morgan 1-3, F Cunningham 0-5, D Cummins 1-2 (1-0 pen), J Rafferty 1-0, A Harrington 0-1.
Moindearg. K Noone 1-1 (1-0 pen), P Quirke 0-3 (0-2f), R Ross 0-1.

Neasden Gaels 2-8 Jersey Irish 0-10.

If there is a more unique place to play football than the island of Jersey then I have yet to see it and if there is a faster footballer in London than Neasden man Denis Cummins then he has yet to take the field at Ruislip or any other location around the capital.

The catalyst for Neasden’s victory in this Championship group match was the introduction of the spring heeled Cummins ten minutes into the second half, at a point where the visitors were very obviously running out of ideas. Jersey had built a deserved and very comfortable lead for themselves of five points by the fortieth minute, thanks in principal to the usual sharp-shooting of Jeremy Clare and also some outstanding long range point taking from full forward Ray Grant, who scored twice from well outside fifty metres.

The fifteen Neasden men on the field at the time had no answers for the questions being asked of them by their amiable hosts and at the time it looked very much like Jersey would be the team carrying the 100% record into the next round of games.

The decision to introduce Cummins though proved to be inspired. Time and again he was able to collect the ball in midfield and leave players in his wake has he covered ground with direct running straight into the danger zone in front of the islander’s goal. Within four minutes of his introduction his team had pulled level thanks to an excellent goal from Timmy Gallagher and a point a piece for Donal de Barra and Colm Cassidy.

At this point Jersey were very obviously the team with dilemmas facing them and the question now being asked was did they have an answer for the electric Cummins? The answer was quite simply no. In the remaining quarter hour of the match they managed only one point, the winners on the other hand were making the best of their new found confidence and in that scrappy closing quarter they were able to notch another goal and two points, the crucial score being a close range goal from de Barra.

Whilst the inspiration for the victory lay in the introduction of Dubliner Cummins, the foundations were set by many of the more familiar faces of the Neasden gang. Keeper Brendan Moore was quite simply immaculate throughout, whether with ball in hand or when kicking. Seamus Cummins had a solid hour at centre back, where he fully accepted the responsibilities of that position, whist Donal Giblin had a quite outstanding hour on the very dangerous Jeremy Clare. In midfield, Adrian Harrington in particular worked extremely hard and never let the more powerful Jersey duo of Noel Roche and Peter Lynch into the game, whilst in attack de Barra can be pleased with his return of 1-1 whilst the star of the starting line up was Mayo man Timmy Gallagher, who recorded 1-2 but also created several other scores for his fellow attackers.

Following this result Jersey now find themselves in a real Championship situation. Their one home fixture is now behind them, their next game is a real showdown with title pretenders Parnells. The team know that if they lose that game then the rest of the year will be a futile exercise in fulfilling fixtures. Despite the result the islanders will have benefited greatly from the game. Their previous match was a non-event when they brushed aside new boys Thomas McCurtains with little or no resistance, a game them gave them little opportunity to test themselves. Following this one they will know a lot more about their strengths and weaknesses and this may transpire into a more cohesive performance next week in Ruislip.

Scorers:
Neasden Gaels:T Gallagher 1-2, D deBarra 1-1,C Cassidy 0-4 (0-1f), D Cummins 0-1.
Jersey Irish: J Clare 0-5 (0-2f), K Carthy 0-2, R Grant 0-2(both frees), C Brady 0-1.

St. Theresa 1-20 Neasden Gaels 1-10

A weakened Neasden suffered a heavy loss to St Theresa on Sunday in Wood Green, with the starting lineup having eight players missing from the previous weeks championship side.

Neasden Gaels 2-13 St Kiernans 0-09

A convincing win was had by Neasden in excellent conditions in Ruislip on Saturday night. After a hectic start Neasden got on top through a goal by John Raferty and points by the the stalwart Colm Cassidy. A further goal by Fergal Cunningham gave Neasden a seven point lead at half time. Neasden finished the second half slightly quieter but further points by Colm Cassidy and Donal De Barra wrapped a ten point win up.
Best for Neasden were the outstanding Brendan Moore in goals, the whole fullback line was solid with Ollie McGrath excelling in midfield and the sublime Colm Cassidy, Fergal Cunningham and Donal De Barra up front.

Neasden scorers: Colm Cassidy 0-9, Fergal Cunningham 1-1, John Rafferty 1-0, Donal De Barra 0-2, Timmy Gallagher 0-1

Neasden Gaels 1-07 St.Brendans 2-10

Neasden dominated large parts of this game and despite leading at halftime eventually fell to two slack goals in the closing stages to the current county champions St Brendans.

Best for Neasden were the midfield duo of Fergal Cunningham and Brendan Moore, with Moore impressively dominating over St Brendans London County stars in one of his first times playing in midfield.

Parnells v Neasden Gaels
27/04/2003 2.00pm Sunday
A poor performance from Neasden left a much stronger, creative Parnells side with an easy victory. Playing with the wind in the first half Neasden forwards struggled to create many chances, while some poor defending gifted some easy points and a goal by Steve Morrow for Parnells. Neasden picked up in the second half but still failed to make much impact to the final scoreline.

Neasden Gaels 3-10 Moindearg 1-7

As comprehensive a victory as this was for the Neasden Gaels, if truth be known it should have been twice as convincing.

Moindearg showed up for this league fixture at Jubilee Park with only the bare bones of a team, decimated by a number of long term injuries and also an unfortunate work accident earlier in the day, which alone robbed them of a total of three players.

Nevertheless, they played as the Moindearg always play, with commitment, determination and that most vital ingredient, team spirit. Neasden on the other hand, whilst playing some good attractive football through the defence and midfield, tended to over complicate things in attack and in doing so wasted the opportunity to add considerably to the 3-10 they did register.

Throughout the match Neasden were in control. Wing forward Denis Cummins had too much pace for the Moindearg defence as a unit and whenever he was given the opportunity he punished them by taking the most direct route to goal. In total he scored 1-2, but given a little more composure on the finish and finesse in his approach he could very easily have climbed into double figures given the number of chances he was presented with.

Elsewhere in attack, Kevin Donoghue proved a very effective target man, contributing 1-1 and he gave the over worked Moindearg full back Connie Cummins a busy hour, whilst centre forward Paddy Morgan although notching 0-2 really should have doubled that total.

The Neasden midfielder Fergal Cunningham, was as ever full of running and inventiveness, but together with Keith Geraghty he only just managed to wrestle victory in his particular battle from the Moindearg pairing of Pat Quirke and Tom Rohan, with Quirke especially demonstrating all the trademarks associated with the top class footballer that he undoubtedly is. Further infield for Moindearg Paudi Mannion and Jerry Griffin were the measure and better of their immediate opponents and between them they contributed all but one of their side’s points.

All in all neither side will have learned or benefited much from this outing. Credit to Moindearg for fulfilling the fixture given the nature of events earlier in the day, but really they were a beaten team before the ball was thrown in. Neasden on the other hand will have gained little either. Their forwards, whilst scoring 3-10 did so under little or no pressure and given their inability to focus fully on the task for the whole hour and the fact that they conceded 1-7 to a makeshift Moindearg side would suggest that a lot more commitment will be needed from the players in future matches if they are to compete against some of the bigger fish in the tiny pond of London football.

Scorers:

Neasden: K Donoghue 1-1, D Cummins 1-2 (1 free), P Gallagher 1-1, P Morgan 0-2, J McAteer, B Heery, K Geraghty, F Cunningham (all 0-1)

Moindearg: P Mannion 1-3, G Griffin 0-3 (0-1 free), P Quirke 0-1.

Shannon Rovers 3-09 Neasden Gaels 0-9
Neasden missing a few regulars, went down to Shannon Rovers by 3-09 to 0-9 in Wood Green on Sunday last. The game was marred by a bad injury to Declan Byrne who sustained a fractured jaw and cheekbone in an accidental collison.

Neasden Gaels 0-18 Shannon Rovers / Sam Maguires 1-5.

It’s probably fair enough to say that no one would ever claim that the standard of senior club football in London was high at present but it is nevertheless a great deal higher than that played in the intermediate ranks, a lesson that Shannon Rovers/ Sam Maguire’s learnt in no uncertain terms at Jubilee Park on Sunday.

Debuting in the Senior League is always going to be a difficult assignment for any team that has just been promoted, but doing so with a weakened line up will only ever bring one result and that is exactly what happened to the Rovers as they lost by 10 points to a tidy and efficient Neasden Gaels team.

Neasden, whose own ambitions are always going to be nothing more than modest and achievable, were far too competent and street wise for their opponents and they had little difficulty in meandering their way through a sorely exposed Rover’s defence. Persecutors in chief were Fergal Cunningham, who was forced to move from corner forward to midfield when Gerry Cassidy was injured early in the first half, Down man Declan Burns, who contributed a total of 0-8 (all frees) and also Timmy Gallagher, who although someway short of anything approaching match fitness, was nevertheless more than capable of taking a score when the opportunity presented itself.

Whilst the Neasden forward line were dancing their way to a total of 0-18 their backs were holding firm against whatever little Rovers had to offer in attack. Keith Geraghty, displaying the benefits of a winter training and playing with the London senior team was solid at full back as was the reliable Brendan Moore between the posts. Elsewhere in defence, Pat Coleman and Mark Hegarty were dominant in the No. 5 and No. 7 positions and Seamus Cummins, although as ever prone to the occasional excursion into the opposition’s half, nonetheless did all that was asked of him at centre half back.

As for the Shannon Rovers/ Sam Maguire’s, mostly they were poor, although at least they did manage to salvage a little pride in the second, scoring 1-3 and limiting a fitter and more cohesive Neasden team to 0-8. Best for the newcomers were centre back Darren Scannel, who scored a magnificent first half point from fully 60 yards, corner forward Mark Carron, whose 1-1 included a last minute penalty and also the ever dependable Mick Higgins in midfield.

On this showing the year promises to be a long and hard learning experience for the Wood Green men and because of this it is vital that they have their strongest pool of players available to them at all times. They would have felt that a game like this was a possible scalp for them but the fact that they turned up so short-handed ensured that there would be no such outcome.

Neasden on the other hand will be pleased with the game. Whilst acknowledging the poor quality of the opposition on the day they will no doubt have benefited from the match practice and from the opportunity to brush away a few of the cobwebs that had built up since last October.

Scorers.

Neasden Gaels: D Burns 0-8 (all frees), D Cummins 0-4, F Cunningham 0-2 (0-1 free), T Gallagher 0-2, P Morgan 0-2.

Shannon Rovers / Sam Maguires: M Carron 1-1 (1-0 pen), J Henderson 0-1, M Higgins 0-1, D Scannel 0-1, F Nash 0-1.

Referee John Galvin had a hassle free hour with both sets of players being prepared to recognise his authority. Credit too to both clubs for ensuring that the game started within 3 minutes of the designated throw-in time.

2002 MATCH REPORTS

Parnells 2-6 Neasden Gaels 3-8

A good victory for Neasden against Parnells in Greenford on Sunday morning last. The deserved final winning margin of five points now puts Neasden with an outside chance of a semi final place in the league. Best for Neasden were Terry Dunleavy deputising in goals, a solid performance by Gerry Cassidy in midfield while Fergal Cunningham and Pat Canavan contributed the most in attack.

Tipperary Cup Result: Neasden Gaels 0-7 St Kiernans 1-5

A poor game all round seen Neasden dominate play but failing to capitalise on numerous scoring chances. Neasden scorers included Seamus Cummins 0-3, Colm Cassidy 0-2, John MacAteer 0-1, Keith Geraghty 0-1. Best for Neasden were Brendan Moore in goal and John McAteer at center half back.