Davitt’s U12s narrowly pipped in 13 goal thriller

No, it’s not a misprint – Davitts under 12’s and their counterparts from St John’s served up a feast of goals in a thrilling encounter last Friday at Boucher Road. All credit to both teams for a very sporting game full of endeavour and no lack of ability, and to make it all the more praiseworthy, it was a game played in very difficult conditions due to the gusting wind.Indeed, it was these conditions that played a major part in the outcome as St Johns came from behind in the second half to snatch the game by two points at the end. Against the breeze, the Whiterock outfit started off very well and scored a goal and a point before Davitts started to assert themselves on the game. They probably should have scored more with the wind advantage but had to settle for 3 goals and 2 points in the first half, the scores coming from Niall Hughes who grabbed a brace of goals and Martin Bradley netting the other. Daniel Wilson added 2 great points and St Johns notched a few more scores to leave it 3-2 to 1-4 at the break.Davitts were all set for an onslaught after the interval but the young lads from Dunville started like a house on fire and Martin Bradley scored the goal of the game before Niall Hughes completed his hat trick. At this stage there was 10 points in it for the Davitts side and it looked like a victory was on the cards. However, St Johns sides are never beaten and once they hit back with two quick goals, you got a sense that this game was far from over. The wind certainly picked up at this stage and the young Davitts lads found it hard to get the ball out of defense, however, when they did manage to move the ball up the park, the forward line always looked like scoring. As it turned out, Davitts actually scored 4-1 against the wind but alas, they came up just short as St Johns rattled up an impressive 5-4 of their own during this period.So, a first defeat of the season for this promising Davitts team, but the signs are good and it certainly wets the appetite for the rematch of the two teams in the Championship in a few weeks time.Best for Davitts on the night were Padraig McParland and Brendan Collins who both played a half each outfield and in goal, Shando, Shea McRandle, Caol