Vienna men retain regional title; ladies impress in Berlin

DSCN1832_900On a sunny and hot Berlin day, far from anything an Irish Gaelic football player is used to, the Vienna Gaels enjoyed a largely successful final round of the South/East Europe championship.

The men’s team were the first to rise and the early start showed in their first match against Berlin ‘B’. After a sluggish start, Vienna began to play simple and skillful football to come from behind and win.

What followed was the Gaels’ best form of the day as they cruised past Munich and Prague with solid defence and converting almost every chance in attack. Three wins gave them top spot in the group and a semi-final date with Berlin ‘A’.

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5th place finish amid confusion

The ladies opened their account with a fantastic win over Luxembourg, with commanding performances by Lucy McMahon, Katie Riley and Laura Sinnott in the middle of the park, which more than made up for the unfortunate loss of goalkeeper Kathrin Schrodt in the opening minutes.

Regional heavyweights Munich were next for the ladies and proved too strong over the course of the match, despite Vienna matching the eventual regional champions for much of the match.

After that there was plenty of confusion among the teams and officials as the semi-final line up was figured out. The final decision left Vienna out of the race for the trophy and they had to contend with battling for 5th place, which they did in style with comprehensive victories over Venetian Lionesses and Berlin.

Congratulations to Holland for the tournament win and regional champions Munich in the ladies competition.

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Out of steam for the final

The men’s semi-final against hosts Berlin was very much a final in itself, as a victory would secure Vienna the overall regional championship. The Gaels couldn’t quite match their earlier form and found themselves entangled in a back and forth battle with Berlin.

Despite not hitting top gear, Vienna found a way through sheer will and a goal by John Sullivan in the dying seconds to force the match into extra-time. The equalising goal signalled a clear shift in momentum and another goal early in the 2×5 minute extra-time by Diarmuid O’Riain meant that Vienna booked their place in the final.

However, that affair had clearly taken its toll on the 12-man squad and they simply could not match final opponents Augsburg for intensity. The southern German side came out firing from the outset and were deserved winners on the day.

Their run to the final meant that Vienna claimed their third regional championship in four years, but left plenty of room for improvement as they look ahead to the pan-European championship later in the summer.