Raleigh Cú Chulainn put up a gallant effort against a strong Charlotte team however Charlotte would end the match with a six-point victory. The final score on the day was Charlotte 4-12 v Raleigh Cú Chulainn 2-12.
Raleigh Cú Chulainn had only 14 players that were able to travel to Charlotte but although Raleigh was missing a number of players they still were able to field a strong team. The Raleigh goalkeeper for the day Dara O’Hannaidh had a dislocated shoulder but still put on the goalkeepers jersey for the team. Dara had a number of good saves – despite the use of only one arm – to deny the Charlotte forwards on several occasions throughout the match.
The Raleigh backs had a good game and held the Charlotte forwards to three points in the first half. The midfield won their fair share of kick outs and was able to feed the full forward line with a lot of decent ball. Gary Dillon dominated the full forward line and scored on plenty of occasions. However, due to the humidity and a lack of substitutes, Raleigh just didn’t have the legs in the second half to hold off a steady Charlotte attack. Even with two late goals from Ed Foley and Tim Cronin, Charlotte would come out on top.
Both teams are looking forward to meeting in the National Championships in Philadelphia at the end of August 2012.
