The Suffolk County Hibernians Gaelic football club hosted a New York State Gaelic Athletic Association Junior B division match at Hampton Bays High School for the first time in its short existence this past Saturday against Westmeath GAA Club. While the Hibs would have liked a better outcome of the game, they appreciated the local support that was on hand. "We definitely came back into it a lot better in the second half, but we played a strong team, probably too strong for the division that we play in," player Shane O'Keeffe said. O'Keeffe said that Suffolk played much better on Tuesday night against Offaly, and while the Hibs still suffered an 11-6 loss—no goals were scored—it was a much closer match. Players can score mainly in two ways in Gaelic football: they can dropkick the ball through the uprights for one point, or directly into the goal for three points. The first number in the score represents how many balls made it in the goal—with each ball in counting for three points—while the second number represents how many times the ball made it through the uprights.The Hibs are 1-6 in match play but sit fourth in their division, as O'Keeffe noted, "it's been wide open." Having played many of the returning league leaders early on this season, Suffolk will play more evenly match teams going forward and if it can scrounge up two or three more wins that could put it in position to advance to the quarterfinals—the top seven of the 11 teams in the division qualify—which begin in August.
Drew Budd, Sports Editor on Jul 11, 2018