Castlewellan GAC Notes

enior Hurlers last Sunday evening following their four point defeat in the JHC Final to a very good Carryduff team it gives you some idea how much a championship would have meant to this team given the amount of hard work they have put in this year. A game very much of two halves where Carryduff dominated the game in the first half with some fine long range scores and a sharper mental attitude where they closed the town down very quickly. It was also a time when our first touch seemed to desert us. Castlewellan ruled the roost for most of the second half. Trailing 1-11 to 0-05 at half time things were very bleak. [caption id="attachment_27302" align="alignright" width="400" caption="The Castlewellan Hurlers who played Carr."][/caption] On the resumption we found a sharper and more focussed town team hitting 6 points from the restart without reply to narrow the gap to three points. At this stage it was game on. In fairness to Carryduff they were resolute when they had to be and they steadied their ship with some fine defending with their keeper making a fine save which would have put drawn us level late in the second half. But it was not to be. Carryduff hung on and to be fair they deserved their win. Congratulations to them in what was a well contested final.The game was well refereed by Hugh Pat McCusker. The winners were not without their Castlewellan connection. The Grandson of Dan Rooney – Conor Beatty collected the winners trophy as captain of the Carryduff team. It is congratulations to the Under-14 Camogs who won the Shield Final against Longstone on Sunday. Both teams are commended for their sporting attitude and respect towards each other which was the highlight of the game. The skills level of both the Town and the Stone were excellent. From a Castlewellan point of view the girls skills have come a long way. Fantastic performances from Anna Rogan, Caitlin Small, Catriona Caldwell and the three Aislins – Burns, ‘O’Neill and Connolly. Well done once again. Final score Castlewellan 7-07 Longstone 4-04. Congratulations to our Lady Footballers Karen McMullan and Kelly O’Higgins who starred for the Down Senior Camogie Team last Saturday when they won their All-Ireland Semi- Final against Meath by a score line of 1-17 to 2-12. They will now go on to play in the All-Ireland Final in Croke Park in the next few weeks. Well done to Down and we wish them all the luck in their forthcoming big day. Following the disappointing exit to Clonduff in the championship midweek the Senior footballers followed it up with a hard earned victory against Downpatrick in the ACFL Division 2 clash by a score line of 1-13 to 0-11. We are now just 2 points away from automatic promotion to Division 1. Playing against a stiff breeze in the first half the town battled hard but were playing catch against a strong Downpatrick team who were managing to keep their nose in front trailing by three points before the break Kevin Duffin picked up a ball in centre field and powered his way through cutting the ball over the bar with the outside of his foot. [caption id="attachment_27303" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="The Castlewellan U-14 hurlers. "][/caption] This left us only two down at the break. In the second half the Town introduced Aidan Burns which had a major influence on the game providing the team with more options up front providing scoring opportunities for others and taking them himself. He did the spade work for the decisive score to set up Colm Og Crilly for the goal. A welcome face back on the team was Liam Lennon who came on in the second half to add some backbone to the defence. Good to see Liam back in the town colours after a serious knee injury ruled him out for a year. A great battling performance all round with a good display at midfield from Finty McGreevy and Kevin Duffin whilst up front great foraging from Cahal Crilly, Collie Flanagan, Aidan Burns and Donal McKibben. Final Score Castlewellan 1-13 Downpatrick 0-11. The Under-14 Hurlers lost out to Lower Mourne in the Shield Final last Saturday by a Score line of 6-04 to 4-09. The lads battled very well very hard but in the end the strength of the opposition told. Well done to the lads and to their management team of Paul McCabe and Aidan Keown. The Club are very proud of your efforts and continue to put the hard work in. It will pay off. The Under-12 Hurlers continued their recent fine form with a convincing win over visitors Ballela. The Town boys started well with points from Matthew Muldoon (0-2), James McAleenan (0-1) and Sean Keown (0-1) in the first five minutes. A James McAleenan goal on seven minutes and further Sean Keown point left no doubt what way this game was going. Cahal Caldwell making his first start came onto the field and almost immediately scored a quite superb goal. A further goal was scored before half time in a move involving Matthew, James and Cahal before it was expertly driven to the net by Sean Keown. The lads started the second half where they had left off with goals from R Toner and James McAleenan. The introduction of the younger players did not change the pattern of the game. Lorcan Cairns blasted to the net after good work by Eoghain King and Cahal Cladwell. [caption id="attachment_27306" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Castlewellan's Kevin Duffin inaction against the RGU."][/caption] A great all round performance by all the lads where there is significant improvement every week. Great performances from Matthew Muldoon in defence, in midfield Sean Keown and James McAleenan are forming a great partnership with superb finishing skills. Both controlled the game from midfield. Up front Cahal Caldwell was excellent as was Eoghain King, Corey White and Lorcan Cairns. Keep up the good work lads. Final score Castlewellan 6-10 Ballela 0-2. The Under-16 girls will play their first Under-16 championship game against Bryansford this Sunday so a good turnout to support the girls will be appreciated. Best wishes to club members Ellen, Amy and Frank who are all under the weather at the moment. The Club wishes them all a very speedy recovery. The Club wishes to acknowledge and thank Finnegan Butchers and Shilliday Hardware Store for their sponsorship of equipment on our clean up day. This was very much appreciated. Conratulations to Adam Garland from our Under-12 team who played in Croke Park last Sunday at the All-Ireland Semi Final between Kerry and Mayo. He was part of the games played at half time. I am sure that Adam relished playing on the hallowed surface and hopefully he will be there again in the next couple of years. The Castlewellan GAC Running Club continue with their runs on Tuesday and Thursday nights meeting at the club at 6.45pm to commence running at 7.00pm. Under-8, Under-10 and Under-12 Camogie training in the Meadow on Tuesday evening from 6.30pm to 7.30pm Under-6 and Under-8 football continues on Tuesday at 6.15pm in Meadow and at 6.15pm on Thursday for the Hurling for the same age groups Under age coaching continues in The Meadow for Hurling and Football every Saturday Morning at the usual times of 10.00am for Hurling and 11.00am for Football. The Under-14 and Under-16 Camogie training continues on Tuesday and Thursdays from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. The Under-12 Camogie training is on Tuesdays at 6.30pm. The Under-14 and Under-16 girls football training is on Wednesdays and Friday from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. This week’s lottery numbers were 3, 14, 18 and 21. There was no jackpot winner and three £20 winners who were Lisa Morgan, Terry McArdle and Kevin O’Higgins. Jackpot next week £6900.]]>