writes Pete Ross, xa0the loss of a great Mourne character. This fellow had tramped the mountains for many years and was well known to many Hill and Dale runners as they often watched him disappearing into the distance. Mourne runner Andrew Niblock was particularly attached to him and had these words to say shortly after the loss, “I will miss this old soul terribly and it will be hard for anyone to follow in his footsteps”. Despite a thorough search the remains have not yet been located, a situation which has left all Mourne Runners distraught as his remaining twin brother is not expected to last much longer himself. It has been rumoured that in keeping with Mourne’s sea faring tradition when his time comes he will be buried at sea. Local undertakers Bailey and Mc Neilly have been entrusted with the funeral arrangements and have already chartered a sailing boat for the occasion which will undoubtedly be laced with sadness.

………………………………………………………….

Meanwhile at race five of this year’s Hill and Dale xa0series Des Woods was made to work all the way by young Andrew Annett, with Des just holding on to take the win. In third place came the single shoed athlete mentioned above. When asked why he didn’t stop to pick up his shoe Andrew Niblock said he was worried about Neil Carty passing him and so he decided to the finish the race in one sock and one shoe, true dedication to the cause. Whilst his search for the shoe proved fruitless he was offered some consolation by a Hill and Dale loss adjustor who advised him to fill out a claim form and assured him that it would be filed in the bin as with all previous claims. The race, which many would argue is the true start of the Hill and Dale and indeed was the series opener for many years, starts at the Deers Meadow and takes in the Summits of Pigeon and Moughanmore covering a distance of 3.25 miles and 1560 feet of ascent. It also includes the first of this year’s mountain descents which obviously proved to some peoples like and to others dislike. Paul Carlin, who has been a revelation in the first few races, finished clutching his stomach admitting that he should not have had a sausage supper before the race whilst Gerard Boylan complained that he had injured his calf with his own knee, a feat not terribly common. PJ Mc Crickard after incurring the wrath of the race officials by parking in a restricted area said that he was so affected by the dressing down he got that he just wanted to get the race over and get home. In his rush to do so he left many seasoned athletes in his wake including Newcastle’s Brendan Quail who lives and trains at altitude. In the ladies race it was Shileen O’Kane who once again took the honours ahead of Anne Sandford and Diane Wilson with Megan Wilson finishing first in the junior ladies category. Further down the field one poor lady fell foul of chief steward Captain Marty ‘Mainwaring’ Mc Veigh. The mild mannered and even tempered Mc Veigh spotted her crossing the line whilst listening to a personal stereo which apparently contravenes all good practice regulations. Although she tried to melt into the crowd the eagle eyed mc Veigh, with the assistance of Marty Mc Mullan’sxa0 sniffer dog, spotted her and left her in no doubt about her misdemeanour. Others beware particularly those who ignored the body cover instructions given when entering the race. Whilst on the subject of our chief steward it is worth noting that he carried out all his duties to his usual exacting standards in a pair of Eugene Mc Cann’s trousers as he forgot to bring a pair of his own or perhaps he is doing his bit for the environment and cutting down on detergent. With all runners accounted for the party moved to Greenan’s bar and restaurant in Kilcoo for the prize giving and refreshments. Mourne Runner’s, still reeling from news of their earlier loss, sat sombre faced in a quiet corner; nothing unusual about that. Life goes on without ‘Wee Shooey’ said club stalwart Willy John Brown, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the fifth plate of sandwiches. Many thanks to everyone who helped and in particular to Greenan’s for hosting the prize giving and putting on a fine spread. As the evening drew to a close three men from Monaghan were seen leaving the premises in a hurry. It is a sign of the times that this gave rise to little concern when it was discovered they had simply left the immersion heater on. The next race is a new race, over Millstone Mountain, with registration in Donard Park, Newcastle from 6.15 pm and please remember to make sure your shoes are on good and tight!]]>

[/caption] The format for the open competition was stableford, the Ladies all competitively for the honours. Top scorer: Margo Deeny, 37 points. Runner up: Una McMullan, 34 points. Best front nine: Margaret Mullhal with Janet Hunter on 18 points. Best back nine: Marilyn Henderson. Nearest the pins: Heather Duff, marlyun Henderson, Margo Deeny, Joyce McCammon. Margo Deeny said she was delighted with her round, saying “I scored 18 in the front nine and 19 in the back nine. I played nice xa0and steady in the blustery conditions and was lucky to birdie the third hole.”]]>

[/caption] Mark Quigley, U-11 manager opened the proceedings thanking all the sponsors and helpers for their kind support and said he would keep his promise of buying all the young players a McFlurry ice cream at McDonald’s! xa0He said that he was delighted at the performance of the young players this past year. Guest for the evening was Terry Pateman, IFA Vice-President, who addressed the players. He said, “All the great players I know started off just like you all, playing in youth soccer. There they learned all the football skills from their managers and coaches and enjoyed turning up each week for their games. “It is important to be enjoying the game and also to listen to to your teachers. They are the experts. They will make you play better and your teams play better. You just have to set yourself little targets and your game will gradually improve. Just look around the room. Here there are losts of people doing courses in soccer to help build up a good Killyleagh team. “Around £2 million has been set aside for Grassroots soccer this year and we have grants from the Department of Education for the next three years. xa0What we need now is for your parents to be on hand and all your managers and coaches as all of these courses and benefits start to come about. That is the future of the U-11’s in Killyleagh.” Two letters were also read out to the young players. The first was from David Healy, NI international player, who said, “This may be your first summer playing soccer so just try and improve your game with the help that you get.” And secondly, “Trevor Carson said, “It is good to have a keen interest every week in soccer. I enjoy training and still do. Just train hard, and the results will come. And enjoy your soccer and you will be winners.” The prize winners were: Most Improved Player: xa0Jake Drysdale. Top Goal Scorer and Player of Year: xa0Conor Drysdale. Managers’ Player of the Year: xa0 Curtis Ross. [caption id="attachment_23819" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="The Killyleagh U-11's with Charlene Kelly, Coach, Mark Quigley, Manager, George Fitzpatric, Killyleagh YC Chairman, Terry Pateman, IFA Vice President, Davy Irwin, Coach, and Drew Armstrong, U-10 Coach."][/caption] ]]>

Ardglass Enjoy Comfortable Win Over Newcastle ARDGLASS came out with a resounding victory in this end of season league clash. On an afternoon of heavy cold showers and strong wind, playing conditions were far from xa0pleasant, but Ardglass stuck to their task despite the side being tired after playing a backlog of games. The first real opportunity came when Newcastle in the opening minutes attacked and Jackie O’Connor passed to Philip Fl0od and the knock in was just wide of the post. Ardglass forward Ian Kearneyxa0then took a shot at the Newcastle goal and sent it over the bar. But in the 5th minute, Chris Teggart broke through the Newcastle defence in a head on run and calmly placed the ball into the back of the net. [caption id="attachment_23807" align="alignleft" width="290" caption="Stephen Deegan attacking for Ardglass against Newcastle."][/caption] Even though the surface was slippy, Teggart and Stephen Deegans were showing plenty of attacking spirit, but Newcastle were challenging quickly to pull back the equaliser. But they were to be denied when Ian Kearney went solo from inside the half way line and from 30 yards out sent a low hard shot across the goal into the back post beating keeper Paddy Baker. For the next 20 minutes, Ardglass attacked a lacklustre Newcastle side with incisive forays and looked as though a third would come. Ardglass looked more comfortable in control and were showing positive passing skills. Then the game slipped into another spell of scrappy football where neither team looked on top. There was drama as Newcastle’s Mulholland let fly a volley which just went over the bar. Then in the 43rd minute, Ardglass earned a corner, and Liam Mullan fired it to the head of Teggart xa0prowling in the goal mouth. He headed it down to the feet of Sean-Paul Halpen who made a quick, clinical finish. Before the whistle, both teams again had shots at goal and were just wide. In the second period, Chris Teggart forced Baker to make a do or die save then it was Mark Armstrong turn to make a great save in the Ardglass goal as Newcastle’s Flood unleashed a powerful volley. Ian Kearney was involved in a number of threatening attacks by Ardglass and sent a ball again just past the post in another missed opportunity. But 15 minutes into the second half, Teggart showed his class when he headed the ball to Stephen Deegans who slid it past Baker from a few yards out. Chris Teggart was finding a lot of space on the right to operate and made the best use of it. In the 63rd minute, Teggart passed to Deegans who passed to Ian who and it was quickly despatched into the net from 15 yards out. But Ardglass took their foot off the pedal and allowed Newcastle to come back at them when O’Connor had a great run through the middle and buried the ball [caption id="attachment_23808" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Andrew Kearney drills the ball into the Newcastle nets"][/caption] into the net past Armstrong. A short time later Flood was unlucky not to score when his shot was stopped by Armstrong from going in just inside the post. For a spell, Ardglass looked quite static, and Newcastle were on the comeback. Then Flood sent a cross through the Ardglass goal picked up by O’Connor who made sure of his goal at close range. But this effort was cancelled out as Richard Kerr who came on for a sub for Ardglass collected the ball at the back of the Necastle box and unleashed a volley giving Baker no chance of saving it. Ardglass now look forward to their Clarence Cup final at Wilgar Park on Wednesday xa0evening and have proven they are in a goal scoring mood. But they will have to maintain concentration for the full 90 minutes, with no lapses. And they will have to maintain their discipline in order to bring the silver home. They are fit, capable, confident, and up for it. Currently at the top of Division Ib with 62 points after promotion from 1c last season, Ardglass are on the way up to Division 1A… pending of course Derriaghy not collecting maximum points this coming week as they as sitting on 59 points with a game in hand. It will be a close cut thing, but my money is on Ardglass for the league! The pressure is on Derriaghy to deliver. All the best lads! Ardglass: xa0Mark Armstrong, Daniel Fleming, James Telford,xa0Stephen Rooney, Chris Deegans, Sean Paul Halpen, Stephen Deegan, Gareth Telford, Chris Teggart, Ian Kearney, Liam Mullan. Subs: Mark Feenan, Richard Kerr, Le McEvoy. Newcastle: xa0Paddy Baker, Neil Collins, Chris Collins, Brian McCombe, Ciaran Keenan, Gareth Scannel, David McKenna, Philip Bonny, Philip Flood, Jackie O’Connor, Paddy Mulholland. Subs: Conor Hayes, Dessie McCartan, Neil Corr.]]>