IN A year full of uncertainty Glasgow Gaels made a little bit of history as their men’s Senior and Intermediates took to the field to play each other in the first round of the Scottish championship on a cold night in Clydebank.
This year, the Gaels will be fielding three teams in the Scottish championship Senior, Intermediate and Junior—the first for any club in Scotland.
Due to the current pandemic, the fixtures list saw games coming thick and fast. The first game for the club was a bit strange as the Seniors took to the field to play the Intermediates. While the Intermediates gave a good account of themselves the experience and skill of the seniors showed in the end.
Next up for the Intermediates was Dalriada, who had made the long journey down from Aberdeen. It took the Gaels a while to get going with Dalriada flying out of the blocks and settling into an early two-point lead. Dalriada extended their lead going into half time leaving Gaels behind by four points. The start of the second half began with a few scores apiece, meaning that Gaels trailed by four going into the last 10 minutes. Gaels upped the tempo in that time, which saw a red card for Dalriada and a goal for Gaels. Still a point behind, Gaels were given a free in the last minute to draw the game, the free was converted and a draw on the day seemed like a fair result, 2-7 to 1-10.
The first Glasgow derby of the year saw the Intermediates challenge Tír Conaill Harps 1st team. The first half was a tight affair, ebbing and flowing for the first 20 minutes before Tír Conaill kicked a few good points late in the half to go in ahead at half-time by three points. While Gaels tried to rally in the second half, Harps continued to build on their lead and ran out deserved winners on the night, 0-13 to 0-3.
Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 restrictions the season is on hold, however the club remain hopeful that they will be back playing football soon.
In the Senior ranks, the men followed up their victory over Gaels Intermediates with a four-point victory over Dunedin Connollys’ Senior side, 1-9 to 1-5. Played on a Thursday night in Clydebank under the lights, both teams were happy to get reacquainted on continue where they left off from 2019. The following week, the Senior men travelled to Edinburgh to play Dunedin Connollys’ Intermediate side. In a drenched Granton, Gaels stumbled through to gain a four-point victory, 0-9 to 0-4.
Prior to the government’s most recent restrictions, the Seniors managed to squeeze in an important game against Tír Conaill Harps’ Intermediates. A victory in this game would guarantee a place in the county final for the seniors and following a very close run affair, the Gaels finally put a small bit of light between themselves and their Glasgow counterparts with a 1-6 to 0-4 victory.
The Junior side has enjoyed an opportunity for many of the club’s recreational players to stay involved in competitive action. Their first game was against Tír Conaill Harps’ Juniors, (above) in which Gaels recovered from a slow start where they found themselves three points down. Three goals between the first water break and half-time gave Gaels a bit of breathing space as they ran out 3-5 to 0-7 winners.
The Juniors’ second game against Sands MacSwineys. Three points each from Conor woods and Jordan McCallum gave the Juniors a strong foothold on the game as they ran out comprehensive winners against the Coatbridge side.
Game three for the Juniors came against Tír Conaill Harps. It was a tight game in which both sides traded scores in the first half. A late goal from Gareth Brown put a shine on score line which read 2-8 to 0-6. To top it off, the goal came a from quick free-kick from Gaels’ underage graduate Craig, as he made his Senior debut on the night.
PIC COURTESY OF TÍR CONAILL HARPS
