Exiles State of Mind: A New York GAA Story

ShireNiner · Post by **ShireNiner** » 29 Dec 2025, 09:59

Nice to see Shockey and Eli back again. Hopefully Plex avoids night clubs and gums this time.

RMJH4 · Post by **RMJH4** » 29 Dec 2025, 13:04

New York 3-14 (23) Toronto 0-12 (12)

ESPN MATCH REPORT
Gaelic Park, New York – Pre-Championship Challenge

New York GAA continued their encouraging build-up to the Connacht Championship with a strong challenge victory over Toronto GAA at Gaelic Park, powered by goals at key moments and a commanding display from Mayo legend Ciaran McDonald.

Despite Toronto enjoying the greater share of possession, New York were ruthless when opportunities presented themselves, striking for three goals and showing the kind of cutting edge that manager Liam McHale has been seeking ahead of championship football.

Toronto opened brightly and worked the ball well through midfield, with Pádraig Crowley accurate from placed balls to keep the visitors ticking over on the scoreboard. However, New York’s defensive unit — marshalled by Derek Riney and Alan Foley — held firm under sustained pressure and limited Toronto to points only.

The breakthrough arrived midway through the first half when Ciaran McDonald finished clinically to the net after a sweeping move involving Eli Manning and Shaun Munnelly. That goal shifted momentum, and New York began to impose themselves physically, with Jeremy Shockey and Kenny O’Connor winning key contests around the middle third.

McDonald was at the heart of everything good for the Exiles, finishing with 1-4 and constantly dragging defenders out of position. His movement created space for the New York Giants trio to influence proceedings, with Manning contributing two points from play and Plaxico Burress adding two more from the half-forward line.

The decisive moment came early in the second half when substitute Kevin Lilly made an instant impact, rattling the Toronto net twice in quick succession. Those goals opened up a comfortable cushion and allowed McHale to rotate his bench, giving valuable minutes to the likes of Robert Moran, Michael Corbett and James Mitchell.

Toronto continued to battle gamely, with Graham and Tuohy tagging on scores and substitute T. Green making an impact from the bench, but the lack of a goal threat ultimately proved decisive. New York, by contrast, showed composure and efficiency, converting chances despite having just 45% possession.

With another challenge match against Boston GAA and upcoming fixtures in Ireland against Antrim and Louth still to come, this performance will please McHale as he sharpens his panel ahead of the Connacht Senior Football Championship opener against Sligo.

Scorers – New York:
C. McDonald (1-4), K. Lilly (2-0), E. Manning (0-2), S. Munnelly (0-2),
P. Burress (0-2), V. Gavin (0-2), J. Shockey (0-1), R. Moran (0-1)

Scorers – Toronto:
P. Crowley (0-5), C. Graham (0-3), S. Tuohy (0-2), T. Green (0-2)

New York now turn their focus to further warm-up games before travelling west for their Connacht Championship showdown with Sligo, buoyed by growing belief and a settled, experienced panel.

New York GAA C. Green, A. Glackin, D. Riney, A. Foley, M. Mitchell, E. Manning, A. Power, J. Shockey, K. O’Connor, S. Munnelly, C. McDonald, V. Gavin, M. Dobbin, P. Burress, R. Garvey

Subs used: R. Moran, K. Lilly, M. Corbett, S. Russell, J. Mitchell, G. Dorgan, D. Rooney.

Toronto GAA D. Wright, P. Martyn, B. Easton, N. Thomas, P. Walker, P. Crowley, M. Ó Cinnéide, C. Kenny, M. McLoughlin, P. Meagher, M. Ó Cinnéide, S. Tuohy, M. Richard, C. Graham, J. Batten

Subs used: T. Green, J McPartland, P Doohan, R. Clarke, B. McEntee, R. Ellis.

Referee: Syl Doyle (Wexford).

Match Stats

Free Kicks: NYK 18 - 12 TOR
Goals: NYK 3 - 0 TOR
Points: NYK 14 - 12 TOR
Ticks: NYK 0 - 2 TOR
Yellow Cards: NYK 0 - 0 TOR
Red Cards: NYK 0 - 0 TOR
Possession: NYK 45% - 55% TOT

Man of the Match: C. McDonald New York.

Match Highlights.

P. Burress - Point

J. Shockey - Point

C. McDonald - Point

K. Lilly - Goal

RMJH4 · Post by **RMJH4** » 29 Dec 2025, 13:13

Any comments on the match report are welcome. I was in touch with Kibaxx7 about making gifs for images. Tried that out at the top, just didnt take enough images in game. Replay feature is not great at all. As regards highlights, there is not inbuilt replay or highlights feature at the end. I have a number of short clips that I upload to youtube, any suggestions? I plan on recording the full game vs Sligo. I have never done video editing or anything like that.

Post by **djp73** » 29 Dec 2025, 19:51

Not having a good replay system is a pretty big issue. I have had to bail on chises for that reason before

RMJH4 · Post by **RMJH4** » 30 Dec 2025, 07:34

djp73 wrote: ↑
29 Dec 2025, 19:51
Not having a good replay system is a pretty big issue. I have had to bail on chises for that reason before

Yeah its very annoying. Look this is a short enough chise so I will stick with it and see it through anyway.

Post by **djp73** » 30 Dec 2025, 07:39

i think it's reasonable to keep going with it, i'd just lean into the videos more