28th February 2010......Galway League
    Tigers conquer Titans
     Moycullen 54 Titans 40
The Moycullen Tigers stretched there winning streak to five league wins a row with a workman like performance Sunday evening. Facing a talented Titans side, Moycullen combatted the bigger city team by playing great pressure defence and converting on the fastbreak opportunities it gave.

The Tigers jumped out to an early eight point lead and for all the spirit Titans showed, the game was never any closer than that initial margin. Rebounding was probably the key to the match as Moycullen were able to box and secure their own boards while capatalising on any missed Titan's box outs at the far end. While the game ebbed and flowed, Moycullen were always in control and a Titans comeback never really got going. As a result Tigers were able to extend their lead at the half to 13 and held that lead to win by 14 with all tweleve players contributing significant minutes.

It has been a turbulent couple of weeks for the U-14 team. They had a fantastic showing in Cork but lost by the narrowest of margins at the semi-final stage to eventual winners Neptune. Shortly afterwards they had the worst day of their season, losing to Maree in the Galway cup which ended their dreams of a County double. However, the league has always been the goal and Sunday's win puts them on the verge of securing a place in the final. However, their offensive cohesion will need to be a lot better than showed on this outing as the Tigers struggled to move the ball fluently. Luckily for Moycullen, superb individual talents like Daragh Mulkerrins, Peter Cooke and Padraig Doran were able to carve out baskets when the going got tight.

                                                                             

Next up is the challenge of Corrib and chance at securing that coveted final berth.


Cork U'14 Open Tournament

Parochial Hall, Cork. February 13th 2010

U14 boys strong show in Cork

Moycullen U'14 Boys reached the semi final of the Cork Tournament before losing by two points, 49 -47 to Neptune in a sparkling semi final game at the Parochial Hall in Cork. Moycullen had earlier beaten Tramore from Waterford and Dublin side Tolka Rovers. In the semi final, the lead changed hands a number of times down the stretch with Moycullen having a final three point shot after stealing the ball from Neptune but the shot rimmed out.

Super team performance in a very competitive twelve team tournamnet

Neptune went on to defeat Sligo in the Final

teams

Neptune (Cork)
Sligo
Eanna (Dublin)
Moycullen (Galway)
Demons (Cork)
Maree (Galway)
Tramore (Waterford)
St. Brendans (Kerry)
Ballincollig (Cork)
Claregalway (Galway)
Tolka Rovers (Dublin)
Fr. Matthews (Cork)

                                         The U'14 team enjoying a break at Blarney Castle

Galway League U'14 Boys

Moycullen V Claregalway: February 7th 2010

Four in a row for U-14 'Tigers'

The Tigers squad flexed their muscle on Sunday, putting a good Claregalway side to the sword winning 50 points to 23. The game was not completely one-sided with Claregalway keeping in touch until the middle of the thrid quarter. However, the Moycullen lads always looked comfortable and once the offence started to click, there was only ever going to be one winner. Already renowned as a top defensive side, the Tigers took another step in this game, really getting into the passing lanes and causing turnover after turnover. While they failed to capatalise as they should have on the fastbreak, it meant that a frustratred opponent was never able to find a rythm. The individual work the lads are starting to put in away from group training sessions is beggining to show and Darragh Mulkerrins put on a shooting clinic tallying an impressive 16 points in the contest.Also the game showed Aidan Claffey's continued rise to the top of Galway basketball as he chipped in 4 points along with yet another flawless defensive performance while Donal McDonagh stepped up to the starting five without showing any nerves. The win makes it four in a row for the lads and they control their own destiny in terms of league glory. Wins from here on will see them lift the trophy and go on and challenge for the All-Ireland. Next up though is a trip to Cork and what should be a real challenge for the U-14 Cork County Board Crown.
   Watch some of the Claregalway game on the video below
                                                                 

Galway League U'14 Boys
Moycullen V Corrib January 17th 2009
Tigers winning run continues

Tigers win third straight with victory versus last year's champions The U-14 lads defeated last season's U-13 Galway League champions with a comprehensive win over Corrib on Sunday evening. Inspired by a blistering start by Padraig Doran whose strong moves from the high post caused the Corrib defence constant problems throughout the game, the Tigers continued improvement was on display for all to see, winning with 20 points to spare. After a bit of a sluggish start at the defensive end, Moycullen found their rhythm midway through the first quarter and put in another fantastic overall defensive effort. Led by Aidan Claffey and Loirgnan McDermott who were charged with marshalling Corrib's dangerman, the Moycullen defence caused countless turnovers, frustrating the Oughterard side. Offensively, Moycullen moved the ball well, and while they did not have a fantastic day shooting from distance, they kept taking the good options and crashed the boards to great effect. One of Moycullen's biggest strengths is the talent available on the bench and Sunday was a perfect example with all 12 players contributing during the contest. Most importantly the lads are developing a bit of a killer instinct and were more than willing to put last year's champions to the sword when the opportunity arose. The coaching staff will hope the improvement continues as this team has all the tools to make a real challenge on a Galway league and cup double. Final score of 50-36 with Padraig Doran top-scoring on 19 points and Peter Cook also contributing 10.                    Some action from the start of the game can be seen on the video

Galway League U'14 Boys
Moycullen V Titans December 17th 2009
Tigers defeat Titans for second win

Coming off a strong performance against Claregalway on Sunday, the Moycullen side started Thursday's game a little flat, perhaps believing that another 30 point win would easily be attained again. Titans had clearly not read the script and came out extremely motivated. The difference in intensity was evident throughout the early phases of the game as Moycullen found themselves trailing 10 points to 6 early on. The fantastic defensive display by Ciaran Murphy off the bench steadied the ship and Moycullen fought their way back into the contest as the quarter developed. Led by an in-form Padraig Doran, Moycullen picked up their general effort and smothering full court defence eventually caused the turnovers which helped lead to some easy baskets. As a result the lads went in to the break leading. It was a lead they were never to let up throughout the game. Darren O'Donnell, Kyle Cunningham, Aidan Claffey and Daragh Mulkerrins were constant threats on offense and with no one Titans player able to contain Doran,

Moycullen had some spectacular attacking moments particularly when they could move the ball and isolate there defenders in a one on one situation. On the far side, the opposition were finding it extremely difficult to break down the lads stingy half court defence with every Moycullen player more than a match for his man. Titans were forced to really on difficult shots and some excellent individual shooting to keep in touch. In fairness to Titans they never dropped their heads even when it looked like Moycullen might pull away. Moycullen's biggest failing point so far this year has been an inability to move fluidly on offense without the ball and it came back to haunt them down the stretch as the contest tightened. Titans managed to steal some lazy Moycullen passing and ran in a couple of fastbreaks, bringing the game back to as close as 3 points. However, the lads refocused well and broke the Titans full court defence to secure a well deserved 3 point win, with Kyle Cunnigham and Padraig Doran getting the key buckets at the end.

The season has started well for the Moycullen Tigers. They lost in a heart breaker to Oranmore in overtime in their first game, but should be confident of being able to overturn than result should they continue to train hard. Other than that they have secured two good wins over two of the tops teams in Claregalway and Titans. What is more the team is developing a hard working, defensive minded personality and are without a doubt playing the best defence in Galway so far. It is turning out to be a very strong squad with all 13 players more than capable of contributing. The coaching staff will be hopeful that this strength in depth will stand to the team throughout the season as they deal with injuries and illness that are inevitable in sport. .