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Todays game was won around the middle with Domnic Joyce in fine form tapping down to his rovers who today were very organised. Joyce went on to play one of his best games so far for the Lions scoring the first major of the day and his strong running ability meant he kept popping up all over the field making his presence felt. With the experience of Cian Quigley and Ian O Sullivan the Lions went on to win the majority of clearances and any that we lost were quickly chased down and turned over. What was evident was the fast ball which suited Scanlon to run and attack from midfield and send the footy right down into the pockets.

In defence the Lions had to be on their guard at all times as Big Joe Cunnane was liable to catch scoring marks all day. Christian O Brien and Connor O Halloran who have forged a strong partnership made sure everything that came inside their zone was contested and cleared out to the flanks. John Coman is fast becoming one of the best footballers in the league and makes terrific leads, beats his man and always finds space intelligently. The Demons defence was under huge pressure in contrast with an attacking midfield linking up with forwards and pushing the Demons right back. It was very congested and the Demons under pressure could not clear the ball out of defence and reach their forwards. Instead Quigley would just act as a sweeper and set up the next attack leaving a huge gap inbetween the Lions defence and its midfield. With the lack of forward ball John Enright managed to kick a superb goal for the Demons from a long way out and Coillte kicked one over the top to give the score a much better look. This was a signal to the Lions to shore up the back and not commit so many men forward.

Even though the Lions forwards had plenty of ball it was difficult to move in this area as players were under pressure from all the Demons who were back crowding the play. This congestion added to by some poor shot selection forced many behinds from key forwards and attacking midfielders, the positive is we were getting chances and on another day will convert them into majors. Danny O Brien, Brian O Suilleabhain and the surest kick in the league Vincent Manning came away with 3 each. These scores were well earned with O Brien and O Suilleabhain crumbing well and Manning using his soccer skills to put points on the board. Big Troy Newton really dominates under the high ball and gave Jason Hingston one of the easiest finishes you will see all season. Brian MacCarthy along with Cathal Buckley before he got injured was in fine form using his strong body to win contested football and give clever hand passes to keep the ball moving forward and in Lions control.

This was a strong Lions team that travelled to Dublin today and with many players set to come back into the fold the competition for places will be fierce come our next game which is at home against the Galway Magpies. The Lions who have lost at home to the Pies in the past two years will not be found wanting on this occasion and should be looking for all four points. A win here and the momentum that is gathering guarantees finals football and strong interest from the playing group to take this form right through the summer. A massive thanks once again to Mick Martin for pulling on a Lions jumper and playing a fine game which we will always remember his smashing tackles and memorable goal, looking forward to when he comes to play with us the next time he is in Ireland.

Final Score:

Demons 2.3 (15)

Lions 13.15 (93)

Scores:

Vincent Manning, Danny O Brien, Briain O Suilleabhain 3, Michael Scanlon, Jason Hingston, Domnic Joyce, Mick Martin

Injuries:

Cathal Buckley (Quad Strain)

In defence the Lions really impressed with some hard contests, controlling the corridor was Connor O Hallloran and the experienced Eoin O Suilleabhain, they made it look easy with help from Christian O Brien, Richard MacSweeney and Diarmaid de Barra running hard and giving options on the flanks. We have worked a lot on our kicking and this was in evidence today as it was rare to see the ball go straight up the guts due to the good leading from our talls and hard running midfielders picking up any loose ball.

Midfield really took a firm grip on the first quarter and won a huge percentages of the clearances thanks to the rucking of Domnic Joyce and Brian O Connell giving excellent service to the rovers. John O Keeffe provided fantastic balls for the forwards to lead on to and Ian O Sullivan was like a dynamo winning hard ball and bursting through the defensive screen to get some good scores at crucial times. Michael Scanlon who just passed a fitness test came on late in the second quarter after John O Keeffe got injured and we hope will be back playing soon after some rest.

You have to hand it to the forwards today as they worked their socks off all day. They were the first line of defence and chased and put pressure on the Giants at all times. Vincent Manning was kicking straight and soon had 2 players following him around the park such was his influence in the first quarter. Danny O Brien and Gareth Kelleher took full advantage of this and grabbed some good scores to keep the Lions well in front.

Score of the day has to go to Paul 'Junior' Ryan who judged the flight of the ball perfectly from a long bomb by the evasive Brian O Suilleabhain and as the ball bounced up he ran onto it perfectly and had time to look over his shoulder avoiding the Giants defence before kicking straight between the posts. There was a hard shepherd by Jason Hingston to make sure Junior was home and dry and both celebrated this goal with glee as did the whole team. Miss of the day has to go to Michael Scanlon from a set shot no more than 15 yards in front of goal he somehow managed to fluff his kick and come away with a behind.

Today was a great performance against a really tough Giants team who know how to tackle and put in a good hit, Coach Eoin O Suilleabhain has to be happy that his team are playing exactly as he wants. The simple things are key, good hands, accurate kicking, shepherds, support runners and taking scores from good positions making this the foundation for a big push to play finals football this season. Next game sees us travel to play the Demons who are always tough opposition for any team and enjoy playing a good brand of footy which the Lions have to match.

Final Score:

Lions 14.8 (92)
Giants 3.10 (28)

Scorers:

Vincent Manning 5, Danny O Brien, Ian O Sullivan, Michael Scanlon 2, Paul Ryan, Jason Hingston, John O Keefe

Injuries:
John O Keefe (Knee)

In terms of defence the Lions were well organised due to Chris O Brien and Connor O Halloran who had no interest in giving any advantage to the Swans forwards. They were complimented by the strong support from John Coman and Diarmaid de Barra who ran hard all day and took some good marks to hold up the game and start many forward movements.

The midfield really had its work cut out for them against a much more physical Swans outfit, they held there own however for the majority of the game and it was Brian Roche and John O Keefe who impressed with some stylish play collecting hit outs and giving options all over the field. The ruckmen were having their own battle as Paul O Halloran and Brian O Connell went for the jugular at each set piece. In fact both these players had big parts to play as a defensive screen taking many high balls out of the air. This prompted both teams to use the flanks and avoid the congested corridors where the footy was hotly contested.

Vincent Manning really looked confident in the forwards and didn't need a plum line today as he was kicking straight and finished with 5 in the bag at the final siren. Troy Newman was looking good and brought Jason Hingston into the game to keep the Swans defence guessing with some great crumbing from Fergal Lawlor to add to this. In truth we needed more guile in the forwards but they were starved of quality ball due to the contests that were happening in the middle channel and were forced to kick from difficult postions due to the increasing defensive pressure.

Play of the day has to be from an Eoin O Suilleabhain clearance which found Richard MacSweeney who started a great coast to coast movement. The ball was gathered by Chris O Brien who had the perfect shepherd from Michael Scanlon to spear it right on to Connor O Halloran's chest, who had sprinted from his own back pocket to centre forward where he kicked accurately from outside 50. The Lions were sure going in ahead after the Premiership quarter that the game was theres.

Fourth quarter started at a ferocious pace and within minutes a bluey had broken out in which some Swans and Lions got to know each other pretty well. This signalled a change in the momentum and saw the Lions lose concentration and before they knew it a 5 goal turn around had taken place in favour of the Swans who dominated the breakdown and cleaned every crumb that hit the deck in midfield. Their forwards found space and kicked some quality scores. Even though Vincent Manning kicked the leather off his final goal with minutes to go it wasn't enough and we lost by 10 points.

The positives from the game are that we are now a solid group of players with some new faces and established Lions to come back in. Deservedly the Swans won a hard but fair game and taught us a valuable lesson that its not over until its over and you hear the team sing. Looking forward to our next game which is at home againgst the Leinster Giants.

Score:

South Dublin Swans 8-6 (54)

Leeside Lions 6-8 (44)

Goals:
Vincent Manning 5, Connor O Halloran

It was a quick turn around and the Finals were played in good spirit, Leinster were beaten by Connacht who could have easily got to the final and played some direct football with John O Regan and Domnic Joyce doing well for them as standouts on the day. Leinster take the wooden spoon for the second year in a row as Connacht had too much in the tank.

Munster found themselves in first gear against Ulster from the first bounce and could not get any possession while conceding some early goals and not really working as a team. This all changed when Vincent Manning led the charge and with the wily Briain O Suiileabhain in scoring form Munster took the game to the opposition. Some poor shot selection meant Munster went in at the break a few points behind and set up a great finale. Ulster went behind early after the interval as the heavier bodies could not keep up with the Munster players who found the going easier on what was a very wet oval. However with a bit of luck from a contested hit out Ulster claimed the final score and ran out 2 point winners on the day. Ulster deserving champions for 2013 and have set the benchmark for all teams to match on the field.

A huge thanks has to be said to the Redbacks and sponsors for hosting this event in Belfast and to all the players who travelled and made this footy weekend a success. The venue for 2014 is Galway and hopefully Munster can wrestle back the winners medals when we head across the Shannon.