The Middle East dominated the Gaelic Athletic Association World Games finals with both the men’s and ladies sides lifting the trophy at Zayed Sports City yesterday.
– #Quiz360: Win dinner for two at Media Rotana
– Middle East teams battle it out at Galeic World Games
In an all-Middle East showdown for the men’s GAA World Games final, Middle East 2 edged Middle East 1 for a 25-18 result.
The two teams went back-and-forth in the first half, settling for single points on shots over the crossbar.
Middle East 2 upped the pressure in the second half to pull ahead, netting two goals for three points apiece in the final minutes to claim the title.
“Shocked and drained,” Middle East 2 captain Joe Melia said of the victory.
Captain Joe Milea with his winning team @GAAmiddleEast 2! #GAAWorldGames WORLD CHAMPIONS!! pic.twitter.com/tXaVqR4hJf
— GAA World Games (@GAAworldgames) March 7, 2015
“It felt like quite an open game of football when we were out there. It could have gone either way up until the last minute or two.
“This nine-a-side format comes down to small little details that can go right or wrong. We spoke yesterday about having team unity. We’ve come together from different clubs in the Middle East and tried to build a team spirit. I think it stuck to us in the second half and certainly in the latter stages when both teams were getting tired.”
Earlier, the ladies Middle East squad defeated Australasia 19-17 with a thrilling comeback.
Australasia got off to a fast start and it looked to be a long day for the Middle East as they trailed 13-8 at half time. But with the breeze at their back and urgency at a high in the second half, Middle East found their rhythm and clawed back.
The turning point came midway through the second half when Middle East captain Una Harkin rose to the challenge and buried a penalty goal to even the scores.
ICYMI yesterday, see how the #GAAWorldGames went on the first day of competition in Abu Dhabi! @GAAWorldGames #GAA http://t.co/oqryvx6mOy
— The GAA (@officialgaa) March 7, 2015
“My nerves were wrecked and I was absolutely panicking,” Harkin said. “But it was just think of a corner, put it in the corner you want it to go and that’s where it went.”
From there, the Middle East tacked on another goal with four minutes remaining to go up two and held the lead to complete the fight back.
“We knew because we had played them before and beaten them, there was no reason why we couldn’t do it again,” Harkin said.
“We came out in the second half and we just put our heart into it. We played our game, played the hand-passing game, worked the ball and just put it in the goal every time. It worked for us. Once we started playing what we know, we ended up winning.”
The finals concluded the inaugural GAA World Games, held in Abu Dhabi over the weekend.
