Write a commentU14 Féile
The Patrick Rankins U14 boys team gave a brilliant account of themselves at the Féile at the weekend, eventually losing out to local team Annaduff in the semi-final by two points, 3 – 7 to 3 – 5.
The team, mentors and supporters left for the West early on Friday morning but not before they all had a hearty breakfast in The Shelbourne in Newry. On arrival in Sligo the lads played their first game on Friday afternoon and defeated Calry St Joseph’s on a score-line of 6 – 5 to 0 – 1, getting their campaign off to a brilliant start. Next up was a game against Adare from Limerick and this proved to be a much tougher encounter but the lads held out for the win by a single point, 3 – 4 to 1 – 9. After the conclusion of this game the players met up with their host families and spend the night with them before their next game on Saturday morning against their host club Easkey St Farnans. The young Rankins went into the game knowing that a win would see them top the group and into a quarter-final of the cup later on Saturday afternoon and they didn’t disappoint as they produced another great display to win thirteen points, 6 – 5 to 1 – 7.
Scarden, the Sligo GAA Centre of Excellence, was the venue for the cup quarter-final and a game against Leitrim side MacDiarmada Gaels who finished second in their group. This proved to be another closely fought encounter, with both sides refusing to give an inch to one another and after a nerve-wrecking final few minutes the Patrick Rankins prevailed by just two points, 3 – 1 to 0 – 8. A semi-final now beckoned for the lads and a game against another local team Annaduff but unfortunately this proved to be a game just too far for the lads as the went down to a narrow two-point defeat, 3 – 7 to 3 – 5. By all accounts the lads played some brilliant football but it just wasn’t to be on the day.
The club would also like to thank to all the families and supporters who made their way to West over the past few days to cheers the lads on. As with all these things it doesn’t come without a lot of hard work and fundraising, and we would like to thank all those who weighed in behind the fundraising activities and we are deeply appreciative of everyone who sponsored the team in any way and helped to make it a brilliant weekend for all concerned.
Finally, the club would like to congratulate all the players and mentors on the tremendous achievement of getting to an All-Ireland semi-final and just losing out by a couple of points.
Senior Men
Friday night saw our senior men record a very impressive seven-point home win over Middletown, 0 – 21 to 1 – 11.
The lads went into the game following two very low scoring games against Wolfe Tones and Clan na Gael but they certainly had their shooting boots on on Friday night, racking up a total of twenty-one points with only one coming from a free.
Captain for the night Kristian Magill got the ball rolling for the Shane’s with that pointed free before Mark McCabe and Paddy Gregory added further points in a great opening five minutes for the Shane’s. The sides then swapped points, with Ryan McCabe on target for the home side before the same player fired over again to keep his side three points to the good. However, all the Shane’s good early work was undone minutes later when Middletown, who looked dangerous going forward, hit the only goal of the contest to bring the sides level. Ryan McCabe, with his third point in a row, restored the Shane’s lead but it was quickly cancelled out with pointed Middletown free, before the Shane’s then hit two points courtesy Ryan Quinn and Mark McCabe to keep the scoreboard moving. Another pointed Middletown free left just one between the sides but scores from Paddy Gregory and Peter O’Brien increased the Camlough side’s advantage with just over five minutes left to the break. The sides registered another point apiece before the half-time with Micheál Brady popping over the Shane’s to give them a fully deserved three-point lead at the interval, 0 – 11 to 1 – 5.
The Shane’s made a great start to the second period and after ten minutes they had added a further three points to their total, with the very impressive Mark McCabe getting two and Kristian Magill the other. The Shane’s were well on top at this stage and they pushed home their dominance with further scores from Magill again and Raymie Fitzpatrick to lead by eight at this stage, however this could easily have been reduced to five only for a brilliant point blank save from Conor McKeown. From the resulting ’45 Middletown registered their first point of the second-half but this was quickly cancelled out by a superb effort from Mark McCabe. Another free saw Middletown trail by seven with just over ten minutes remaining but points from Peter O’Brien and Mark McCabe kept the Shane’s well ahead and on course to claim the win. Three points on the bounce from Middletown, all from frees, saw them reduce the deficit to six but with the game well into stoppage time the Shane’s hit the twenty-point mark courtesy of Mark McCabe, before big brother his Ryan tapped over from close range, with Middletown finishing the scoring with a very late point.
This was undoubtedly one the Shane’s best performances of the season to date and although all the scorers got a mention, the Shane’s defensive unit were outstanding over the course of the game, particularly in the second-half when they restricted their opponents to just one point from play, their remaining five scores coming from placed balls.
The next scheduled game for the senior men is next Friday night at home to Whitecross.
U16 Girls
Our U16 girls travelled to Portadown last Sunday evening to play Tir na nÓg and they put in a brilliant performance to record the win on a score-line of 6 – 9 to 4 – 12. They are back in action on Monday night at home to Dromintee.
U10s
Our U10 footballers had a brilliant run through a tough group in the Carrickcruppen tournament on Saturday with three very impressive wins to qualify for the cup section. They met Dromintee next and it proved to be a great game of football but it was Dromintee who ran out winners by a few scores. Special mention must be made to young Leo Courtney who performed heroically in goals all day and made a number of brilliant saves.
Cúl Camp
This year’s Kellogg’s Cúl Camp will take place at the club from Monday 15th July - Friday 19th July. Online registration for the camp is now open and anyone planning to attend should register online asap using the following link – www.kelloggsculcamps.gaa.ie
Lotto
Last week’s winning lotto numbers were 16, 18, 26 & 31. There were no jackpot winners and 1 x lucky dip winner. The lotto jackpot is slowly but surely creeping up and now stands at £3,900.
Condolences
The club would like to offer their sympathies to the family of Ann O’Connor who passed away recently. Ann was the grandmother of U14 boy’s footballer PJ O’Connor. May she rest in peace.
