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The 2023 McCartan Cup kicked off with Gortskehy taking on the reigning champions Robeen. The game was competitive with some fabulous skills being showcased throughout the field. Gortskehy finished on top with a scoreline of 4 – 3 to 1 – 4.
The next preliminary game featured Gortskehy v Roundfort. The referee threw in the ball at 6.30pm and Roundfort opened the scoring with a fine point. The next score came from Eoin Hession, Gortskehy, who slotted over to level proceedings. This would prove to be Gortskehy’s only score of the half with Roundfort adding a point and finding the net towards the end of half-time (Gortskehy 0 – 1, Roundfort 1 – 2).
Gortskehy came more into the game in the second half with Jamie Delaney tapping over. He added to his tally shortly afterwards following a beautiful pass from Eoin Hession which found Jamie one-on-one with the goalie and making no mistake to leave the teams level. Roundfort responded with a goal and a point of their own to once again take control of the match. A fine goal by Cian Slattery left the bare minimum between the teams but Roundfort finished stronger scoring another two points to see out the game with a three-point win.
Next up was Robeen v Roundfort with the latter finishing stronger and setting up a final where they would once again face Gortskehy. The crowd roared as Mark Tuffy threw in the ball and Roundfort once again opened the scoring with a well-worked point following a lovely passing move. Gavin Murphy was quick to restore parity for Gortskehy who quickly got into their stride and knocked over a string of three unanswered points thanks to Cian Slattery (2) and Jamie Delaney (1). Roundfort continued to press and scored a fine goal on the stroke of half-time to leave the teams level on a scoreline of 0 – 4 to 1 – 1.
The excitement grew as the second half got underway with Eoin Hession blasting home a goal after three minutes of play. Roundfort responded with a point but Cian Slattery extended the lead with a great goal and cemented Gortskehy’s advantage with a great point shortly afterwards. Roundfort hit back with a point but this proved to be their final score as, arguably, the point of the game came from Corey Jennings who somehow managed to slot between the posts from a very tight angle.
Gortskehy ran out winners on a scoreline of 2 – 6 to 1 – 3. It’s the first time in twenty years that Gortskehy have won the competition on their own. The fine, open football and fantastic skills shown by all teams bode well for the future of our local clubs.
For the first time since 2017 Garrymore look forward to a Senior County Semi Final against Knockmore which takes place this Saturday, November 6th, at 7pm in the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence, Bekan. Best of luck to Harry and Patrick’s dad, Brian, who plays in goal and past pupils Justin Commins, Patrick Hession, Jamie Hession, Caolan Crowe, David Dolan, Mark Tierney and Enda Hession. Go n-éirí libh!
