2010 League & Cup Update

Championship Round One : Tir Conaill Harps 1-16, Sands McSwineys 1-5

Derrick McGrath (1-1), Connor Manning (0-4), JP Noonan (0-2), Danny McGowan (0-4), Barry Doherty (0-1), Damien Shannon (0-1), Derry O'Connor (0-1), John Lyttle (0-1), Neil McBride (0-1) 

Championship Preliminary Round : Tir Conaill Harps 3-11, Dundee Dalriada 2-12

Conor Manning (1-4), Derry O'Connor (1-1), Francie Vaughan (1-0), Derrick McGrath (0-2), Danny McGowan (0-1), Damian Shannon (0-1), Kieran Turner (0-1), Paddy McCauley (0-1)

Harps Fall to Derby Defeat

The lads fell to defeat against rivals Glasgow Gaels in their 3rd league game. A strong start saw the harps take the lead from a couple of Damien Shannon scores. However, the Gaels used the advantage of playing with a low sun on their backs to press home a six point lead at half time. Some tricky forward play saw the Harps defence being severly tested, and the Gaels pushed further ahead. A number of good moves resulted in JP Noonan slotting two points which looked like signalling a TCH revival. However, a Gaels penalty goal left the result in no doubt. On what was a poor showing from the Harps, the fluency of the Gaels was too hard to keep up with. It is hoped the team will bounce back from this setback in the next league and championship games.

TCH 6-12, Coatbridge 0-7

The game began with the Harps under pressure, and the hosts went into an early lead as a result of some indiscipline on the Harps part. It was clear that this was a team still getting to know each other, as the first 20 minutes was littered with misplaced passes and bad decisions. However, a coolly slotted goal by Damien Shannon settled the players, and the overall play improved. Young tyro Micheal Doherty was causing havoc in the full forward line, and he was felled to win a penalty before half time, with the evergreen Conor Manning finishing with aplomb.

After half time, the host resorted to route one tactics, with the harps full backline coming under aerial bombardment. However, the defence kept their shape and discipline, and provided a base for the forwards to take the game away from Sands. A couple of Conor Manning goals settled the tie, and at the final whistle the team savoured a convincing win.

Scorers included Conor Manning (4-1...yes, 4-1), Damien Shannon (2-1), JP Noonan (a few points), Danny McGowan (a few more points) and Barry Doherty (just the one point). The strong squad present was also encouraging, with Stephan able to make a number of strong substitutions as the boys tired.

Harps Stumble to Opening Loss : Harps 0-8, Dundee 1-9

A heavily depleted senior team succumbed to a an opening day loss to Dundee. With a number of established seniors missing, a youthful squad fell to an unlucky defeat. There was a large number of debutants for the team, and this rustiness was apparent in the performance. However, there are clearly some green shoots emerging from the intense training, and with a full squad going forward, the managment team are confident of a successful year.