The Seniors play Warrenpoint in the semi-final stage of the Intermediate Football Championship at Pairc Esler on Friday night at 7.00pm. Come out and support the squad in their efforts to make it through to the decider.
The Reserves hosted Liatroim at Pairc Naomh Eoin on Sunday evening but lost on a scoreline of 2-18 to 2-14.
The Under-12’s played Dundrum in Drumnaquoile on Sunday for the third time this year and in the final game of the league. The teams also played each other last Wednesday night in Dundrum with St Johns emerging as winners. On Sunday Dundrum played with a strong wind in the first half and built up a 6 point lead at half time due to a couple of fortunate goals early in the first half. The second half was a much more balanced affair where Damian and Amy took control of the midfield and the other players dug deep and worked hard until the final whistle. Dundrum were the eventual winners on the day. The coaches would like to thank the team for their commitment all year and for their parents support. Training for Under-10’s and Under-12.5’s on Wednesday at 6.30pm.
St John’s sent 10 extremely experienced and hardy men to the Aughlisnafin Recreational Sevens on Saturday and they gave a masterclass in sevens football. As usual they started slowly mainly from Minty, Dee McElroy and Seamie Murray taking too much out of themselves in the warm up! They lost their first game of the day to An Riocht who had emerged as winners of their own tournament just 2 weeks earlier with the Kingdom men winning comfortably on a 1-6 to 0-4 scoreline.
St Johns then started to play to their strengths in their next outing where they defeated Ardglass, who were making their debut in Recreational Sevens, on a 2-6 to 2-0 scoreline. They then faced Downpatrick who had just managed to secure a draw with An Riocht but played their best football of the day to win on a 0-8 to 0-5 scoreline, despite being on the wrong end of a few dubious refereeing decisions and receiving 2 black cards in the process. This meant that if they could defeat hosts Aughlisnafin in the final group game they would secure a final berth against An Riocht and a chance to avenge the defeat earlier in the day. The Fin men put it up to St John’s but a couple of late goals for the Jonnies made the result look more comfortable than what it was. So then it was a rematch against the unbeaten An Riocht side in the Cup final. St John’s started the final impressively scoring two early goals and maintained their lead for the rest of the game to win the Cup on a scoreline of 2-6 to 1-3.
The Johnnies were led by their captain Donal Burns and the experienced Ollie Burns secured much needed possession around the middle. Up front the combination play of Trigger, Dee Savage and Eugene O’Boyle provided most of the scores with Triggers open net chip of the keeper, according to Trigger from the halfway line, was something to behold, senior management take note! In defence Minty, Dee McElroy and Seamie Murray linked well and provided great cover to Aidan Burns who was solid in nets and accurate from the kick outs while big Alan ran himself into the ground all day long. Thanks to Aughlisnafin for the invite and their hospitality afterwards. On Saturday 27 September we host our own Recreational Sevens tournament at 1.30pm and hope to field 2 St Johns sides on the day. Come along and give your support to the old boys and enjoy the refreshments in the club afterwards.
The club are seeking to have underage ladies football and camogie teams entered for the 2015 season but need to determine the level of interest in fielding these teams. If you are interested in playing either underage ladies football or camogie in 2015 can you please let the club secretary Kevin McGlynn know. Kevin can be contacted on secretary.stjohns.down@gaa.ie or on 078 3596 0804.St John’s and Action Cancer have been working together this year to promote good health, cancer prevention and early cancer detection in our community. Please join us as we “Walk a Mile for Action Cancer” on Saturday 27 September at 11.00am. Please come along, either on your own or with friends and family, and walk a mile around the “Highway to Health” within the club grounds. If you wish you can make a donation on the day, or if you don’t you can still enjoy the walk. If you want to collect some sponsorship you can collect a sponsorship form at the club or download one from our website:
The table quiz in aid of Action Cancer has been rescheduled to Friday 26 September at 9.00pm due to a clash with the Senior’s Intermediate Football Championship semi-final this Friday night.
Action Cancer held their induction to the Action Man campaign in the clubrooms last Wednesday evening. Action Man is a 12-week programme which starts with an MOT health check and a review of their current health and fitness levels. Action Cancer staff will then provide a personal plan for each male to help them reach their goals over a 12 week period. Regular support is provided by Action Cancer over the 12 week period through their Facebook page and email correspondence. A mid-programme assessment is carried out at Week 6 and a final review in Week 12 so there is no big time commitment to take part in this programme. The initial MOT health checks are being held in the clubrooms on Saturday 20 September and there is still time to register to take part in this programme. If you are interested in taking part contact Kevin McGlynn on secretary.stjohns.down@gaa.ie or on 078 3596 0804.
The Parent Support Group St Francis Primary School Drumaroad and Kids Kabin Pre-School have arranged “2 Nights With George”. A hilarious production taking place in St Johns on Saturday 11 October 2014. This production is written and performed by Belfast based Donna O’Connor. Tickets are £10 and doors open at 7.00pm for an 8.00pm start. The production is over 16s as it contains strong language and adult humour. Anyone interested in attending should contact Michelle on 07735972345. Tickets are also available from Kids Kabin Pre School, St Francis PS, O’Connor’s Shop (Drumaroad), St Johns GAA, McVeigh’s Shop, (Clanvaraghan), Newcastle & Downpatrick Tourist Information, JR’s (Castlewellan) and Crowes Nest (Crossgar).
If anyone has ordered a new St John’s training top they can be collected from Pep Keenan at the clubrooms on Wednesday evening from 7.00pm. All tops must be paid for before collecting.
The club has been extremely busy over the past few weeks and could do with a good clean. We have arranged to have a general tidy up on Wednesday 17 September at 7.30pm. All help would be appreciated.
If you are interested in representing the club in the Scór contact Ciaran Cahill or Jackie McMullan for more details.
Lotto numbers were 3, 14, 16 and 25. J McPolin was a £10 winner. The jackpot next week is £3,900.
Keep up to date with everything relating to St Johns via the club website at:
www.stjohnsgaa.com]]>
