16 Feb - “The Bears” (Mick Kirwan)
Another tough encounter for Cuala's 'The Bears' and once again they kept battling on. Despite being down 8 - 12 at half time their 'never say die' qualities paid off when they ground-down the opposition in the second half to finish out as winners with a final score line of 25 - 15 points. All round the pitch each player gave 100% and made all those in attendance very proud indeed. There were some special moments in this weeks match from Michael McGagh, Des Duggan, Ronan Gammell and Harry Kearns which proved in the end to be the difference between both teams.
Congratulation Bears!

16 Feb - “The Cougars” (Eamonn McGuirk)
A very exciting football game was seen in Thomastown road on Saturday last.The Cuala "99s" and Ballinteer St Johns were level 3 times before Cuala edged ahead in the last few minutes, winning by 1 point. Michael Johnson and Tom Magee were excellent at midfield while the Cuala back line withstood several attacks from the Balinteer forwards.The Cuala forwards made several efforts to block the Ballinteer back line, thus preventing easy clearances.All in all a very exciting , tension filled last 10 minutes, well done to all.

16 Feb - “The Cobras” (Stephen Connolly)
Cuala Cobras 33 : Lucan Sarsfields 20
Saturday the 16th of February 2008 saw the Cuala Cobra's take to the road for their first away game against Lucan Sarsfields. The Cobra's who were down to 7 players owe a debt of gratitude to the Cuala Puma's who provided two players, Jack Macey and Donal Ahern.

The Cobra's attacked strongly in the opening minutes doing well in all positions. Some magnificent scores were taken by Conor Downes, Eamonn Moroney, James Maxwell, Jack Macey and Sean Connolly, Sean converting several 45's. Sarsfields came back at the Cobra's early in the second half putting the Cobra defence under great pressure. Tony Doyle foiled some great efforts with magnificent saves and clearances. Such was the pressure that Cuala's midfielders spent a lot of time assisting the defence. In attack Peader O Cofaigh Byrne, Donal Ahern and James Short working tirelessly relieved the pressure with some great combined team work. James scored three points late in the second half, giving the Cobra's their second successive victory.

Again many thanks from the team to the two players from the Pumas and also to the parents who assisted with the transport and came along to watch a great sporting game in the wonderful sunshine.

16 Feb - “The Pumas” (Paul McGrath)
Cuala Pumas played a thrilling match against Lucan Sarsfields on Saturday. There was great excitement as the boys and their parents made the trip up the M50 for their first away match of the season on a crisp sunny morning.

The team arrived in good time at the fine grounds in Lucan. After a quick warm-up and team talk, the first half was played at a frantic pace, with the Pumas getting stronger with every kick and pass of the ball. By the time the second half started, the Pumas had really turned on the style and were showing determination and skill in every position. Bob O’Hara was a revelation in goals, and distributed the ball well in the kick-outs. Ewan McGrath, Matt McKenna, and Stephen Ryan presented a wall of defence that was almost impossible for Lucan to break down, and never stopped running when needed, kicking well up the field. In mid-field, Neil Holohan, Andrew Tobin, and Ciaran Glansford collected and dispatched any ball that came their way, and Frank Byrne and Shaun Towlson finished off clinically up front. No-one stopped running, with every player working hard over the full game. The second half was especially one to savour. A good morning out and a fine game to watch, with many of the parents joining in from the sidelines.
Special mention goes to Donal Ahern and Jack Macey who were called on by Stephen Connolly’s team in the other game against Lucan. The Pumas missed Donal and Jack, but their skills were needed elsewhere in the Cuala camp. By all accounts Donal and Jack had a great game.

Well done to all the boys.

16 Feb - “The Eagles” (Michael Jackson)
The Eagles landed at 9.15AM on Saturday morning to find they were down five players but this did not rattle them at all and they all put 100% into the game. They played like a real team supporting their team mates at all times. Denis Mc Keown and Phillip Maguire worked well together and we saw the return of Cillian McDonald who showed no signs of last weeks illness with a great display. Jack Twomey and Peter Jackson had strong games in midfield with Rory Mahon and Oliver Ryan putting in huge workrates. Luke Holden and Fionn McGennis worked their socks off for the team and as a whole the overall performance was again a joy to watch for all supporters on the side line. Well done Eagles. Onwards and upwards.

9 Feb - “The Bears” (Mick Kirwan) V Clanna Gael,
A hugely exciting game played at an extremely fast pace. This was a game where credit had to be given to both sides for the sporting manner in which it was played. Certainly there's great future ahead for Dublin football if these lads are to continue turning on style like this.
Cuala's supporters were there in numbers which was also great to see and the lads were encouraged all the way in their first competitive go-games match. Clans got off to an impressive start with three unanswered 'over the bars' in a row. But then Cuala knuckled down and created difficulties for the home team from there on.
The second half became more of a contest with Cuala settling down in their shooting and generally dominating the play. Clans kept up the fight but it has to be said that Cuala's all-round spirit was admirable. In fact had the game gone on a little longer Cuala could have pinched it. Clans however held onto a one 'over the bar' score margin in the end and must have felt relieved to hear the final whistle with the score finishing in their favour 22 points to Cuala's 19. What a game!! !It's very difficult to pick out any Cuala players for particular mention but on this occasion well done to Leon Lewis, Cillian Cummins,Cameron Watson and Oisin McKenna who did very well.

9 Feb - “The Cougars” (Eamonn McGuirk)

After all the training, hard work over the past months, the first away Go Games commenced on Saturday the 9/2/08.Two teams from Cuala travelled to play Clanna Gael in Ringsend on a beautiful mild morning. Both teams met with parents, mentors at the now official meeting point of Johnstown road car park.
Both teams were playing in their first ever Go games compettion.The team managed by Pat O' Loughlin, John Higgins, Eamonn took to the field with great excitment, ready to put all the hard work over the past while to good use. As I was encouraged to referee the game (yes Mick!!) I had a close up view of all the play.
The two teams played some excellent football, with emphasises on the "clean hand pass". Given that there are only 9 players per side, it meant that all players got plenty of play. The midfield partnership of Michael Johnson and Tom Magee were very strong and the hand passing to each other was a treat to see,(the training does work!!).The full forward line of Conor Higgins,Ciaran Grogan, Leon Hamilton Crowe tried very hard, and were unlucky not to have the ball in the back of the Clanna Gael net on at least 3 times, in one instance the ball bounced off the crossbar and was cleared by the Clanna Gael back line, this back line was very strong and kept the Cuala forwards under close observation. Jake Doherty,Eoin Mannion, Conor o Treasaigh all made strong contributions to the game. Some great skills in the blocking of the ball were see.Jack Clarke had a very good game and will see further games as a goalkeeper. Noticable efforts were displayed by Cian Handschuh. All in all a great team effort by all players. A very enjoyable morning and no doubt better days to come.
Cuala; Goals ; 0 Points ; 4 Good Hand Passes ; 11 Blocks; 8
Clanna Gael Goals; 0 Points ; 7 Good Hand Passes; 17 Blocks ; 6
Thanks to all the parents for their assistance on Saturday.

9 Feb - "The Cobras" 35 : Naomh Olafs 30
Congratulations to all players, The Cuala "Cobras" and Olafs for a tremendously entertaining and sporting game. Special congratulations to the Cobras for a magnificent win in their first game in the U9 "Go Games". This was a great contest, and certainly not a game for the faint hearted; Cuala started very strong with some great scores from Diarmaid O Floinn, Conor Downes, and James Maxwell. Naomh Olafs responded with a combination of strong defensive and attacking play. Cuala backs rose to the challenge with great performances from Emanon Moroney, Luke Hoade, and Paul Morrissey. Tony Doyle in goal for the Cobras was magnificent. Cuala's midfield, Sean Connolly and Finn McGowan covered huge amount of ground, defending, distributing and attacking. At half time the teams were level at 15 points all.

Cuala Cobra's dug deep in the second half improving their scoring rate from points and blocks. Cuala's defenders marked their men with dogged determination, with magnificent displays from Peader O Caofaigh Byrne, Alec Daly, and James Short.

A special word of thanks to the great support from the parents who must have been proud of the team's efforts and success. Finally, a special thanks to Jo Byrne for his tremendous assistance and support to the coaches and the team.

9 Feb - "The Pumas" (Paul Mc Grath)

A hugely exciting game played at an extremely fast pace. This was a game where credit had to be given to both sides for the sporting manner in which it was played. Certainly there's great future ahead for Dublin football if these lads are to continue turning on style like this.
The Pumas kicked off the season against Naomh Olaf's on Saturday. All the Cuala players worked hard, trying out different positions in this their first game together. The team showed great spirit, with lots of good passing and managed to score a number of great points. Andrew Tobin in defence had a great game as the team came under pressure. In the end, Naomh Olaf came out on top with a strong margin but the Pumas showed great spirit and teamwork. Well done lads.

9 Feb - "The Eagles" v Thomas Davis

After years of training the morning arrived the first competitive match for the 99's. Cuala 3 were up against the might of Thomas Davis. The morning started off badly with the news that Cillian McDonald was sick and would miss the game. The team rallied and said they would try and win it for Cillian. In the sunshine in Thomastown the game started at a relentless pace that continued for the whole match. The standard of football from both sides was excellent and the spirit in which the game was played was superb. Oliver Ryan was a revelation in goals and was supported brilliantly by the back line of Denis Mc Keown, Connor O' Donnell and Phillip McGuire. Jack Twomey and Peter Jackson marshalled the midfield with Cormac Hurley, Fionn McGennis and Sean Kavanagh causing the Thomas Davis defence terrible problems and scoring some great points. The tackling twins Ruan and Naoise O Conluain never stopped running and Rory Mahon and Luke Holden's enthusiasm was infectious. For the large crowd of supporters that cheered the team on the thing that impressed us the most was how Cuala played like a team always supporting their team mates and representing the club with pride. All the training paid off and Cuala finished the match with 39 points to Thomas Davis 10. But the most important thing was that both teams played superb football in good spirit and all players and supporters had a great morning. Well done lads and the good news is that Cillian will be fighting fit for next week.