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Saul vs Cumann Pheadair Naofa B Championship final
A long season for the U18 ladies was to draw to a close with the B Championship final, played in Newcastle on Sunday. Saul would go into the match as favourites, having won the league in dominant fashion & beaten Warrenpoint both home & away. The ladies from Warrenpoint had other ideas. Having been working exceptionally hard in training since the conclusion of the league campaign, the Blues were ready.
On a chilly & blustery day, the match started with Saul playing with the wind. Warrenpoint kept possession well, working the ball through the hands. With Saul trying to wrestle back possession, they conceded a string of frees during the first half, the first score of the game coming from one these, converted by Enya Quinn. The first half remained a tight affair, with both teams struggling to find their scoring, however Warrenpoint edged into a four-point lead by the break, thanks to their stronger attacking play & shoot on sight attitude. Scores coming from Enya Quinn & Anna Craven.
The match followed much the same pattern in the second half, with scoring opportunities few & far between. Eventually the Blues made a breakthrough to bag the first goal of the game, which seemingly gave them some breathing space. Saul were far from out of the game. With their physical approach, Saul were always threatening & came back with two goals of their own, the second one a well despatched penalty.
The gap between the teams came down to four points & both sets of players sensed that victory might be theirs. The Warrenpoint ladies put in a fantastic defensive shift, to repel the constant Saul attacks, at one point managing to break out quickly & take a point against the run of play, to open up the gap to 5 & settle the nerves ever so slightly. Time seemed to drag on for an eternity, for those Warrenpoint fans watching, but the calmest ones were the girls on the pitch, who displayed fine game management abilities, to see out the game & become B Championship winners.
Final score: Saul 2-3 Cumann Pheadair Naofa 1-11
Team: Cara Bradley, Millie Power-Bagnell, Muirin Sneddon, Aimee Kelly, Lillie McClorey, Caoimhe Quinn, Lauren Quinn, Katie Howlett, Sara Daly, Sydney Barnett, Enya Quinn, Anna Craven, Siofra McAteer (C), Erin Carr, Lia Rice, Ellen Daly, Chloe Savage, Katey Carvill, Shannon Doyle, Amy Clifford, Tara McGivern, Kate Mansfield, Orlaith Breen, Jennah Doyle, Tara Heatley.
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Ryleigh McComb, a young football coach at Valley Rangers FC in Kilkeel, has won the Young Volunteer of the Year award at this year’s McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards.
Hosted by radio personality Pete Snodden, the 2021 awards ceremony featured a raft of interviews with well-known footballing heroes, including Northern Ireland manager Ian Baraclough and McDonald’s Fun Football Ambassadors Pat Jennings and Casey Stoney.
Attendees of the event also heard messages of support from Junior Minister Gary Middleton MLA on behalf of the First Minister of Northern Ireland.
The annual McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards, which celebrate 21 years in Northern Ireland this year, recognise the incredible work and commitment of football clubs and volunteers who give up their time and make a long-lasting impact on young people and communities across Northern Ireland.
The Young Volunteer of the Year award recognises the contribution young people make in the community within grassroots football. The category is open to young people from 14 to 24 years of age that make a significant impact in helping to support and develop opportunities for people to participate in the local game.
Ryleigh McComb said: “It’s an honour to win this award. We would love to make a big difference and for other girls to get involved in football more.”
McDonald’s Fun Football Ambassador Pat Jennings insisted the awards provide a great opportunity to celebrate the fantastic work that takes place at all levels of the grassroots game in Northern Ireland.
He said: “Congratulations to all of our award winners and nominees, who all work tirelessly in the background of their clubs to keep the local grassroots game alive.
“The McDonald’s Fun Football programme gives young people across Northern Ireland the chance to keep fit, healthy and active as well as engage with others in the community. However, it wouldn’t be possible without the unwavering support of our local grassroots heroes, and it has been fantastic to celebrate with them all again in person.”
Through the McDonald’s Fun Football programme more than 75,000 children across Northern Ireland have benefitted from 250,000 hours of coaching, games and fun.
McDonald’s recently celebrated the huge milestone of providing five million hours of free Fun Football to children in the UK a year ahead of its 2022 goal, before vowing to offer 1.5 million more hours in the next 12 months.
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Newry 1’s 0-1 Mossley 1’s
It was another disappointing result for Newry as they lost narrowly one nil to Mossley on Saturday. The away side started off well with plenty of possession but couldn't force any clear cut opportunities on the Newry goal. Late in the second quarter Mossley did force a succession of short corners but Richard McGivern in nets was more than equal to any attempts. However Mossley did find a break through when a cross corner shot sneaked in at the near post to give them the lead at the half way mark.
Newry grew into the game more as the game progressed but were wasteful with possession in the final third of the pitch leading to frustration. Newry threw everything at it to try and find an equaliser, however Mossley were dangerous on the counter attack. Time was running out but chances fell to Ivan Steen and to Colin Holmes from a short corner however neither could convert. Newry now make the trek to Raphoe next Saturday for their next league match.
Team: R. McGivern, C. Henning, C. Holmes, A. Baird, J. Greer, N. Davenport, I. Steen, C. McKnight, C. Large, P. McKnight, J. Porter, M. Russell, K. Fletcher, J. Gregg, P. McNiece, A. Irwin
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Craobh Rua Camlocha have been crowned County Armagh Junior Hurling Champions for the second year in a row.
Yesterday's final at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh saw Craobh Rua Camlocha create their own bit of club history securing back to back championship titles.
Craobh Rua had already won the All County League title so their victory over a strong and persistent Cuchulainn’s ensured the Rua hurlers an historic double back to back of both league and championship.
The championship final itself was a tough dogged affair with Craobh Rua ending the first half on an 0-8 to 0-3 score line.Cuchulainns scored a goal early in the second half suggesting a comeback from the Armagh City club but the Craobh Rua team held firm and ran out 0-17 to 1-6 victors.
Tiernan O Hare was awarded player of the match an award he also picked up in last years championship final. A large crowd of supporters were waiting at the club ground based at High Street Bessbrook to welcome back the team of history makers, a fitting tribute to a panel of hurlers that have given manager Paul Cunningham, his assistant Damien Britton and the Craobh Rua Camlocha Club great commitment.
Final Score: Craobh Rua Camlocha 0-17 Cuchulainns Armagh 1-6
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This Sunday sees the Armagh Junior Hurling Final at the Athletic Grounds and Craobh Rua Camlocha will face Cuchulainns Armagh.
Craobh Rua, managed by Pól Cunningham who along with Barry Flynn managed Carrickcruppen to Armagh Intermediate Championship success last weekend, go into the final as reigning champions.
Cuchulainns defeated Craobh Rua in their most recent league game and will certainly feel that they can do so again, however Craobh Rua will be determined to add this year’s championship to the Armagh All County League title they won earlier this year. It promises to be an enthralling Championship Final.
The game takes place in the Armagh Athletic Grounds this Sunday 7th November, throw in 1:45pm.
Junior Hurling Championship Final
Craobh Rua v Cuchulainns
Sunday 7th November @ 1.45pm
Athletic Grounds
Senior Hurling Championship Final
Keady v Middletown
Sunday 7th November @ 4pm
Athletic Grounds
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Hurling News
Seniors earn a semi-final berth
Ballyvarley 1-7
Cumann Pheadaír Naofa 1-14
Six points from Ali Higgins and a fortuitous first half goal from Tiarnan Tinnelly was enough to see the blues through to a third successive semi-final in two weeks’ time. In deed Warrenpoint always had control of the outcome of this game, but the soft slippery surface turned the game into a lottery.
The blues were quickest out of the blocks with a Tiernan Murphy free and a Higgins score from play and over the rest of the half John O’Kane, Higgins & Murphy increased the lead for the visitors. When Tinnelly got possession out on the right wing and fired towards the Ballyvarley goal, everyone thought it had dropped over the bar but fortunately for the blues it had evaded Conall McNally and snuck under his crossbar to give the blues a seven-point lead. Ballyvarley to their credit kept plugging away as Conor McPolin pointed from a placed ball only to see the blues move further in front through Higgins and a James Murray point from 40m out. Disaster struck seconds before the end of the half when a high ball into Daryl Freers’ goalmouth was bounced around the square only to see Charlie Lennon get a stick to direct the sliotar to the back of the net.
With a six-point lead Warrenpoint started the 2nd half with points from Oisin Kelly & James O’Hare, but then they allowed the home side to slowly chip away at the lead as McPolin pointed the next four scores. The introduction of Conor Keenan & Tomás Magill settled the visitor as Keenan ended the blues drought with less than nine minutes to play and a Higgins free on 59mins saw Warrenpoint seal a seven-point victory and a place in the semi-final in two weeks’ time.
Team: D Freer, T Magee, M Murtagh, C Kelly, D O’Neill, C Teague, O Kelly 0-1, J O’Hare, M Teague, T Murphy 0-3, J Murray 0-2, A Higgins 0-6 (0-1f), C Fegan, J O’Kane 0-1, T Tinnelly 1-0
Subs: M Murphy for C Teague, K McCullagh for M Teague, C Keenan 0-1 for Murray, T Magill for T Murphy
Congratulations
Congratulations to our club referee Brendan Rice who has been appointed as the man in charge of the Down Morgan Fuels Senior Football Championship Final. We wish Brenan and his team of umpires Martin Slevin, Lar Devlin, Daniel Bird and Shane Lavery the very best of luck.
Lotto Jackpot
This week's jackpot is £6200. Please continue to support the club from as little as £1 a week. Tickets must be bought online by 7pm. WWW.KLUBFUNDER.COM
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Newry 1’s 0-1 Portadown 1’s
After a resounding win last week, Newry hoped to keep the form going but unfortunately they suffered a 1-0 defeat. It was a poor performance from the home side which Portadown took full advantage of to go away with all three points.
Newry started brightly forcing a short corner within 5 minutes, however this was as close as they would get in the first quarter. In the second quarter Portadown took the lead when loose marking allowed a simple tap in at the back post. Peter McKnight nearly drew the sides level but his short from a tight angle flash just over the bar.
In the second half Newry huffed and puffed but could not force a way through, the visitors were hitting on the counter attack. Richard McGivern in the Newry goals kept them at bay and the home side in the game. Chances late in the game fell to Keith McWilliams and John Taylor but neither could convert. Newry host Mossley next Saturday at home in what will need to be a much better performance to get anything from the game.
Team: R. MCGivern, A. Baird, C. Holmes, N. Davenport, J. Greer, I. Steen, J. Taylor, C. McKnight, P. McNiece, P. McKnight, K. McWilliams, C. Large, M. Russell, J. Gregg, K. Fletcher
Newry 2's vs Lisnagarvey Postponed.
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There will be no shortage of GAA action over the next few weeks with the 2021 Armagh Hurling and Football Club Championships featuring at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh over the next three weekends.
Kicking off this Sunday 31 October in the Athletic Grounds at 1.45pm it's the Junior Football Final between Crossmaglen II and Belleeks followed at 4pm by the Intermediate Football Final between Carrickcruppen and Culloville.
Upcoming Fixtures
Junior Hurling Championship Final
Craobh Rua v Cuchulainns
Sunday 7th November @ 1.45pm
Athletic Grounds
Senior Hurling Championship Final
Keady v Middletown
Sunday 7th November @ 4pm
Athletic Grounds
Senior Football Championship Final
Clann Eireann v Crossmaglen
Sunday 14th November @ 3pm
Athletic Grounds
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Newry 1’s 7-1 South Antrim 1’s
Back in league action this week and Newry hosted South Antrim in a thrilling high scoring game. The home side dominated throughout the game and bagged seven goals. With 9 minutes played Newry got their first with Keith McWilliams firing in a reverse shot from the left hand side of the circle, and he doubled his tally just 3 minutes later when he was the first to pounce on a short corner which had been saved by the South keeper.
Newry kept piling forward and Peter McKnight was in the right place to deflect home a Josh Porter cross to give them a commanding 3-0 lead by half time.
South were a young energetic team and Newry knew they would not lie down, Kris Fletcher with only his second appearance of the season got Newry’s forth as he dived to deflect in at the back post. At 4-0 it was comfortable for Newry who kept carving out chance after chance, on the right hand side Ivan Steen fire in a pin point ball for Josh Porter to tap in to make it five. The sixth was probably the goal of the game as John Taylor picked the ball up on the half way line, rounded two defenders and drove forward, he smartly placed the ball down the side of the keeper and Josh Porter knocked it over the line.
South Antrim did get one back when there was a mix up in the Newry defence and McGivern in nets could do nothing about the shot. There was time for one more with Ivan Steen scoring from a short corner to round off an impressive win.
Team: R. McGivern, C. Henning, C. Holmes, N. Davenport, J. Greer, C. McKnight, J. Taylor, I. Steen, P. McKnight, K. McWilliams, J. Porter, K. Fletcher, C. Large, A. Baird, J. Gregg
North Down 1-5 Newry 2’s
Newry travelled to Comber to face North Down and try to put last weeks defeat behind them. The return of Mark Mccullough boosted Newry and his direct running from midfield was causing the home side all sorts of problems, and it was McCullough who got the first scoring from a tight angle.
Both sides cancelled each other out for long periods in the remainder of the first half.
Newry however came shooting out of the blocks in the second half as David Hogg fired home a rocket from the top of the circle to make it 2-0. Hogg was on fire and he got his second from a short corner. North started to create a few chances but Richard Henning in nets kept them at bay.
David Hogg stepped up again and got two quick fire goals, within minutes of each other to bring his tally for the day to 4 and 5 for Newry. North Down did get a consolation goal but it was a good day at the office for the 2nds.
Team: R. Henning, M. McCullough, D. Barlow, I. Lutton, M. McCullough, J. Ross, S. Moffett, J. Whiteside, S. McCarfferty, S. Blakely, D. Hogg, N. Lutton, S. Graham, J. Lutton
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