The third leg of league games took place in Clonkill GAA Club, home of the Midland Jokers on Saturday 4th March 2023
The Bulls arrived in Mullingar with a full squad of 12 Players and a Goalie, much needed for the three games ahead. Kicking off, with no easy games to get settled in, the Flying Ducks followed by Cork Wolfpack, were two teams that drained the tank, with both working towards promotion to League 1. We'd aimed to end the day with a competitive match against Clare Badgers, which is always a challenging game, and held up our cardio as best we could.
#7 Felix Earls
#9 Diane Best
#10 Benjamin Shakal
#12 Laura Dunne
#13 Pádraig Seán Ó Cuinneagáin
#14 Liam Smith
#16 Niamh Reilly
#22 Linards Bartusevics
#26 Gvido Roze
#31 James Osborne (NM)
#34 Jonathan Sweeney
#86 Elie Bassaler
#90 Rachel Bassaler (Shawe)
Game 5 - Mayo Bulls v Dublin Flying Ducks
This morning saw the second game day of 2023, however for three of the Bulls, it was their first. The puck dropped at 9am in a face-off between Mayo Bulls and Flying Ducks. The Ducks have a roster of experienced and skilled players, which showed throughout the game. However, this did not mean that the Bulls were going to back down without a fight.
The game was physical and both teams showed great teamwork, however given the experience of Ducks players, they were better at capitalising on the mistakes of the opposing team. Half way into the game, a controversial 2+10 minute penalty was received by Ben, which sadly meant that he missed the remainder of the game, as well as the following game. The 2 minute penalty was served by Liam Smith. Pádraig Seán Ó Cuinneagáin was the lone goal scorer for the Bulls, in a 1-8 loss.
- Report by Gvido Roze
Game 6 - Mayo Bulls v Cork Wolfpack B
From the start of the game, both teams played to their Optimum ability, the Cork team, with agility, speed, and fierce accuracy, brought a difficult and strenuous game.
With a difficult first half, the Bulls teams decided to regroup and try a new technique, with pure will power, team spirt, the Mayo team went out with no fear, with no lack of precedence, and great team work, we scored a great, skillful goal, by Jonathan Sweeney . With a powerful goalie who is a force to be reckoned with, James Osborne, put up one hell of a fight, and never gave in to the constant ammunition forced by the Cork team, he is definitely one of our most valued players.
Throughout the entire game, everyone worked their best, with great team work and some amazing break outs, tackles and great defensive work the Mayo Bulls were not a team to give in.
The Cork Wolfpack were a strong team and put the mayo bulls to the test, with speed, it was difficult to catch the Wolfpack. They are definitely a team capable of phenomenal things, I'm sure they would even prove to be a winning team, even in League 1.
All in all, it was a great test of endurance and a game to learn and improve from. Many thanks to the Cork Wolfpack, who were a tremendous opposition.
- Report by Niamh Reilly
Game 7 - Mayo Bulls v Clare Badgers B
The Inline Hockey League Game no 3 between the Mayo Bulls and the Clare Badgers was a thrilling encounter that kept the teams and officials on the edge of their seats. Both teams came out firing, but it was the Bulls who took the lead early in the game with two quick goals scored by Johnathan and Liam. The pace of the game was frantic in the first half, and both teams were going back and forth, trying to gain the upper hand.
However, the Badgers were not going to go down without a fight, and they rallied to score three consecutive goals just before half time. This put them in the lead going into the second half, and the Bulls were going to have to come from behind if they wanted to take the victory.
As the second half progressed, fatigue began to set in, and the Badgers took advantage of this by scoring three more goals to pull away from the Bulls. The Bulls managed to pull one goal back through Ben, but it was not enough as the Badgers held on for a well-deserved victory.
It was a hard-fought game, and both teams should be proud of their efforts. The players showed great skill and sportsmanship throughout the match, and the officials did an excellent job of keeping the game fair and under control.
In the end, the final score was Mayo Bulls 3 - Clare Badgers 6, but both teams showed that they have what it takes to compete at the highest level. We can't wait to see what the future holds for these two teams, and we look forward to the next time they meet on the rink.
- Report by James Osborne
It was a challenging day of hockey for all, every team showed up and gave it everything. A big effort was made by number 31 James Osborne who played 4 full games, helping out the Celtic Clovers, due to car issues leaving them stuck for their goalie come Puck Drop which followed our first game. Looking forward to getting back to training and working on chasing our first win of the season, a big ask in such a difficult division of experience.
Thank you again to the Flying Ducks, Cork Wolfpack, Clare Badgers and all the IHI Officiating staff on the day and all who helped organise the venue. A big thank you also to Vitaly Zukov for the lovely memories he captured.
Go raibh mÃle maith agaibh
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