Warsaw take the spoils in season opener, solid start for Vienna

Satuday 18 April saw 17 men and ladies teams gather in Munich for the opening round of the South/East European Gaelic football championship.

There has been a major expansion in the region this season, with new teams from Germany and Italy joining the region’s traditional forces and the excitement of all involved in the event was plain to see.

Favourites progress

10 teams took part in the men’s tournament with the teams divided into two seeded groups. Group A was a fairly straightforward affair as Warsaw won their opening three matches by an average of 12 points, before sealing top spot in the group ahead of Munich Colmcilles’ A team with a dominant 1-5 to 0-1 win.

Meanwhile, Group B was a somewhat tighter affair as Vienna Gaels stumbled their way through a couple of close matches against second placed Prague and newcomers Berlin en route to an unbeaten record.

Champions given a scare

The seven ladies teams were divided into two groups of three and four teams. Reigning regional champions Munich eased past Slovak Shamrocks in their opening match before being challenged for the majority of the match against Vienna. However, after going into the break just 0-5 to 0-3 up, Munich found another gear to take a 5-7 to 1-5 win and topped the group ahead of the Austrian club, who enjoyed an 18-point win over the Slovaks.

New Italian sides Padova and Lazio pushed runners-up Prague all the way in their Group B matches, but none were a match for Warsaw’s goalscoring power as they progressed to the semi-finals with an aggregate score of 9-22 to 1-2.

Fiercely-fought finals

Both Warsaw and Vienna saved their best football for the final stages of the day in the men’s competition. Dominant defensive displays saw Warsaw beat Prague and Vienna beat hosts and defending regional champions Munich, who had to settle for third place.

The largely student-based Polish club enjoyed a better start to the final, but saw their early lead cut in the second half by Vienna. However, it was Warsaw who took their late chances and emerged victorious by the narrowest of margins, 0-6 to 0-5.

The ladies final brought the brilliant day of action to an end. In the semi-finals, Warsaw’s attacking threat proved too much for eventual third place finishers Vienna and Munich had eased past Prague to set up a familiar final showdown.

Scores were traded consistently throughout the match, before a late Warsaw goal got the better of the home side’s spirited performance. The 3-5 to 2-4 victory gave Warsaw double glory on the day and set them up nicely heading into Round 2 of the championship in Vienna on 16 May.