Charlotte Gaelic Football Club

The Charlotte James Connolly’s Gaelic Football Club traveled to Philadelphia this past Labor Day weekend to compete in the National Championships of the North American Gaelic Athletic Association.  Over 30 members of the Charlotte club, comprising two teams, made the trek to Pennsylvania to compete in the Junior C and the Junior D division Championships.  (A more in-depth explanation of the game, scoring and levels of play are explained below)  This was an historic event as no club from the southeast has ever sent two teams to the Championships!

The arrival of Tropical Storm Ernesto late Friday night wreaked havoc with the field conditions making an interesting affair out of this years’ competition.  Congratulations go out to the Junior C team as they won three matches in as many days to capture the Cup as the Junior C North American Champions for 2006.  An honor never before held by a team outside of Chicago or New England.  Unfortunately for Charlotte, bringing home two Cups from Philly was not meant to be this year as the Junior D team was defeated in their semi-final match.
Game Summaries

Junior D Team
The Junior D team endured horrible conditions Saturday morning, courtesy of Ernesto, in their semi-final contest against the lads from St Louis.  Unusually cold temperatures, heavy rain and windy conditions created a match more about battling the elements than each other.  The scoring in the match was confined to whoever had the wind at their backs. The Charlotte lads fought hard and played tremendously, but unfortunately fell short after having a late goal waved off by the referee.  St Louis took home the victory and earned the right to compete in the National Championship match against Phoenix on Sunday.
St Louis     0-5     (5)
Charlotte    0-4     (4)

Junior C Team
The Junior C team began their run for the Cup with their quarter-final match on Friday morning facing the Buffalo Fenians.  Fortunately for all the weather conditions had not yet become an issue for this match. The Fenians played strong, but it was quickly obvious that they were no match for the quicker and more skilled Charlotte lads.  Charlotte controlled the ball most of the match, winning almost all jump balls at midfield.  The Fenians were unable to mount a strong defense against Charlotte, allowing them to almost score at will.  Charlotte won this one easily to advance to the semifinals.
Charlotte    5-22     (37)
Buffalo     0-3     (3)

For their second match the team faced a much stronger opponent in the Chicago Patriots on Saturday afternoon.  The defending Champions from 2005, the Chicago lads were not about to let Charlotte advance without a fight.  This was one of Charlottes’ biggest games in the history of the club!  Although the rains had stopped by game time they had already done their damage leaving the pitch nothing more than a big pit of mud!  A tremendous battle of skill and determination played out on both sides.  The Chicago team showed why they had won the Championship last year.  Both teams fought hard for every loose ball.  While the tough defenses held either side from scoring many points.  The mud added to the difficulty by grabbing hold of any ball that fell to the ground.  At one point, even causing a Chicago shot on goal to come to a complete stop inches from crossing the goal line.  At the end, though, it was the Charlotte lads who came out victorious.  Beating the Patriots by a slim 1 point margin!
Charlotte    0-5    (5)
Chicago    0-4    (4)

The Championship match brought the Charlotte lads ironically up against their long time rivals Atlanta Clan Na Gael.  Much more than the cup was at stake in this “Battle of the Southeast.”  These two teams face off regularly throughout the season, and it was out of the Atlanta club that the Charlotte club began.  By game time Ernesto had thankfully moved on and left sunny skies in his wake.  But unfortunately the ground conditions had not improved.  With the fields still nothing more than mud and standing water it was a challenge for either team to run or handle the ball.  From the start it was obvious though that Charlotte had the upper hand in this one.  Jumping to an early lead and controlling the ball almost the entire first half.  At the break the tremendously stout Charlotte defense had held the Atlanta lads scoreless!

In the second half, the Atlanta lads came out with renewed determination.  They created more pressure on the defense and took advantage of multiple scoring opportunities.  The Charlotte lads never relented though and added to their already strong lead.  The local boys played tremendously and clearly dominated in this match.  In the end it was Charlotte taking home the Cup for the National Championship!!
Charlotte      2-8     (14)
Atlanta         0-3    (3)

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