Castlewellan GAC Notes

writes Martin McClean. Clarity of thought and maybe a clearer picture of how the game may play itself out. Preparing the team for the Under-16 Ladies Championship Final against Annaclone on Sunday past was uppermost in Dessie Rice’s mind. Defeat last year to Carryduff had spurred these young ladies and their management team on to do better this year. The game was literally seconds old when midfield player and Captain Saoirse Steele fell awkwardly and had to leave the field. This was a crushing blow for her and the Town. Her injury required hospital treatment. She was ably replaced by Louise McCabe who was unlucky not to start the Final. Within minutes of the restart and playing into a stiff breeze Aoife Keown landed the first point followed quickly by an Anna Rogan goal. This was the sign that this was going to be the Anna Rogan Show. Louise McCabe pointed practically with her first touch. This was then followed by another goal from Anna who added a third before the break. An unfortunate feature of Castlewellan’s game in the first half was some poor passing and poor choice of pass. [caption id="attachment_30800" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="We are the Champions! The U-16 Castlewellan girls footballers."][/caption] The strong breeze may have been a factor in this. Despite going in at half time 3-5 to 0-2 up the management team would not have been happy with the performance. They started the second half in a whirlwind fashion with points from Aoife Keown and Sarah McArdle before Anna Rogan popped up again to score her fourth goal of the game. At this stage and with all due respect to the Annaclone Girls the game was over as a contest. Catriona Caldwell got in on the act with two goals of her own. The girls played on to the final whistle with memory of previous defeats not allowing any complacency. At the final whistle there were scenes of jubilation and absolute delight among the girls and their managers. This is what they prepared themselves for all year. Because of her injury Saoirse Steele had to leave the ground so she was unable to lift the trophy. This honour was left to the reluctant Paidi Hawkins who was mindful of her missing captain when accepting the trophy from Paul Kelly the Down Ladies Board Chairman. Well done to all the girls who worked hard this year. They have completed a League and Championship Double. Congratulations to Clare Drummy, Dessie Rice and Noreen Keown who put in a lot of hard work this year with the girls. We all wish Saoirse a speedy recovery from her injury. Final Score Castlewellan 6-14 Annaclone 0-3. Castlewellan will face Downpatrick in the Division 2 Senior League Final this Sunday. Downpatrick are back in the top division after a long absence after defeating Liatriom in the Play-Off. They will go into this game with two good matches behind them while the Town have had to wait and see who their opponents will be. With both teams already promoted to Division 1 this fixture will be the icing on the cake for the victors. Good Luck to all the boys who deserve a big support there on Sunday to cheer them on. Gavin Corrigan just cannot stay out of the news. He has been nominated for Referee of The Year at the forthcoming Ulster GAA Writer Awards which will be held in November in Bundoran. Good luck to Gavin! Next Saturday see The Gr8t Dundrum Run with many of our Running Club members in attendance. We will be represented by Gary Cairns, Chris Anderson, Donna McCullough, Michael McKibben, Andrea White, Lorna Cunningham, Frankie Toner, Eileen Fegan, Niamh and Ellen Murphy, Niall & Catriona McCabe, Neil McVeigh. Good luck and enjoy! The Running Club will continue with their runs on Tuesday and Thursday night’s meeting at the club at 6.45pm and driving to Newcastle where they will commence their runs. This will be for the duration of the winter months. A couple of dates for your diary. On Friday 28^th October there will be an Adult Disco in the Club in aid of raising club funds. The disco will commence at 9.00pm. There will be a Halloween Children’s party in the Club on Sunday 30^th October from 3.00pm to 5.00pm. This is in aid of raising funds for all our Juvenile teams. Scor time is upon us again. Anyone interested in competing in any of the competitions please contact Ciara Pickering as soon as possible. The Club Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday 24th November at 7.30pm in the club rooms. Nomination forms will be available from behind the bar or by e-mail. Please contact the Secretary at secretary.castlewellan.down@gaa.ie ]]>