The Wild Geese set a number of targets at the start of 2016 and winning the West Coast 7’s was one of them, and we did exactly that. Below were the two groups in the competition and the Wild Geese Panel that traveled on the day.
Game 1 vs LA Cougars:
Our first game was vs old rivals the Cougars, the Cougars had taken the brave decision to bring down two men’s teams which meant that they had only 9 players for the panel. The game was quite edgy in the first few minutes but once the Geese got the first Goal we never looked back and ran out comfortable winners on a score line of 5-4 to 0-2.
Game 2 vs Seattle Gaels:
Similarly to the first game this one started slowly, the Geese went two pints up in the first 4-5 minutes but initially found it difficult to break down the Seattle defence, however after Tim Courtney from Dublin burst through the defence and nearly burst the net with a ferocious shot the Geese never looked back and went on to win 2-7 to 0-4. The Geese had now qualified for the Semi Finals.
Game 3 vs San Diego Setanta:
In a game of little significance as both teams would contest the semifinal the following day anyway, it was nonetheless the best day of the game. An extremely tight game right until the final minute when Tim was pipped at the post to get what would have been the winning goal to Damien o Brien hitting the cross bar with the last kick of the game, it was nail-biting stuff, however the Geese could not find the winner and the game ended 1-8 to 1-7 in favor of San Diego.
Semi Final vs San Diego Setanta:
In a rematch of the day before the Geese took on San Diego in the semifinals on a wet Sunday morning in their home field. The game like the one the day before was extremely tight. The Geese played excellent football in the first half, almost perfecting the game plan that they had brought to the 7’s, Nic Turkington from Down kicked a couple of fine points before Damien O Brien of Donegal latched onto a broken ball and drove it into the net to give the Geese a 4 point lead at half time. The second half was once again nail-biting stuff as San Diego drove forward looking to close the gap, however the Geese defence held strong and played the ball around to ensure that we held on. Final score Geese winners 1-6 to 0-7. We were in the final!
Final vs Austin Celtic Cowboys:
The Geese were now in the Final and would take on the 2015 winners Austin. Austin were unbeaten so far in the competition and presented some very strong opposition. However the Geese gave a masterful and disciplined performance from start to finish, unlike in the Semifinal were we played to 100% in the first half and then let San Diego back in in the second half we never gave Austin an opportunity, leading form start to finish. Some excellent fielding form Shea and Tim and a masterful display from the fullback line as well as awesome scoring from Nick meant we ran out winners on a score line of 2-8 to 0-8. We are champions!
Well done to all the players and management on a fantastic weekend, after beginning training in January 9th, and completing 27 grueling sessions and going over and over our game plan in the weeks before the game it all eventually paid off. A massive thank you also to the management team of Tony McCarthy and Eoin Crowley and also to our cheerleaders Michelle and Michaela for some lovely ham sandwiches!!
