Garrycastle GAA Club - Under 16 Team

This is the Under 16 team page.

News, Fixtures and Photos of the Under 16 Team will appear here from
now on.

TRAINING

UNDER 16 MANAGEMENT 2010

The Under 16 team will be managed in 2010 by Gerry Duignan. Gerry will be assisted by Niall Ward, John Fagan and John O'Shaughnessy.

FIXTURES

Deelside Coaches Under 16 Football Championship: Monday 2nd August at 3pm in Garrycastle: Garrycastle –v- Mullingar Shamrocks (D Nugent, Referee).

WELL DONE

Congratulations to Ronan Donohue,Justin Barrett, & Mark Keenan on making the final panel on the Westmeath County Under 16 team.We wish them good luck. Westmeath County Under 16 team have an important training session on Sat 19th June in Rosemount @ 10.00am.

RESULTS

UNDER 16 LEAGUE (10/5/10)

Garrycastle 5-7 Maryland/Tang 0-12

Garrycastle Under 16 team recorded their second victory in Division 2 of the Under 16 league 2 with a hard earned victory over near neighbours Maryland/Tang in Garrycastle on Monday night last.

Garrycastle were slow to settle at the start and Maryland/Tang took an early lead of 0-3 to Garrycastle’s no score before a fine run by Ronan Donohue yielded a goal for Garrycastle to bring them back into contention.Garrycastle ‘s midfield pairing of Michael Monaghan and Justin Barrett began to dominate and this ensured that the forwards were getting plenty supply of the ball and Paul Gunning scored a fine goal after a good move and Justin Barrett added another goal after a fine pass from Eddie Farrell to give Garrycastle a comfortable half-time lead of Garrycastle 3-3 to Maryland/Tang 0-5.

Garrycastle got a dream start one minute into the second-half when Ronan Donohue fired low into the Maryland/Tang net to extend Garrycastle’s lead.

Maryland/Tang fought back well in the second-half and thanks to good defending from Cormac Langan,David Hickey,Lee Mc Namara,Sean Gunning,Cian White ,& Conor Duignan they failed to get through for goals to bring them back into the game and when they did Mark Keenan came to the rescue on numerous occassions with some fine saves.

Eddie Farrell scored Garrycastle’s fifth goal and a fine points from Michael Monaghan and Michael Fagan gave Garrycastle a deserving victory .

Final score was Garrycastle 5-7 to Maryland/Tang 0-12.

Garrycastle pane: Mark Keenan, Lee McNamara, Cian White, Sean Gunning, David Hickey, Cormac Langan, Conor Duignan, Justin Barrett (1-0), Michael Monaghan (0-1), Eddie Farrell (1-0), Paul Gunning (1-2), Michael Fagan (0-1), Seamus McCormack, Ronan Donohue (2-3), Mark Curly, Emmett Brennan, Stefan Kilroy, Kenneth Dolan, Eric Kearney & Frank Farrell.

This was a much improved performance by Garrycastle from their previous encounter and they will be hoping to get more consistency in their next play in future matches.

Garrycastle’ next match is away to Moate on Mon night next 17th May .

UNDER 16 LEAGUE (24/4/10)

Balinacargy 2-10 Garrycastle 1-7

On Saturday this team travelled to Balinacargy to take on the home team only to taste defeat on a scoreline of 2-10 to 1-7. This game was lost in the first half when after a very lethargic performance while playing with the wind Garrycastle trailed by a point at half time 1-5 to 1-4, the goal being scored by Paul Gunning and the points from Ronan Donohoe and Kenny Dolan . On the resumption the Garrycastle players became far more competitive and put their opponents under much more pressure. They were unfortunate to see a Kenny Dolan score disallowed for an alleged ”square ball”. As the half wore on the Balinacargy boys gradually got the scores to pull away. Garrycastle’s 2nd half points came from Ronan Donohoe and Justin Barrett. A poor first half by Garrycastle and better teamwork by the Balinacargy players proved the difference between the teams.

Garrycastle Panel: Mark Keenan, Joe McNamara, Sean Gunning, Cian White, Lee McNamara, Frank Farrell, David Hickey, Cormac Langan, Conor Duignan, Eric Kearney, Justin Barrett, Michael Monaghan, Michael Fagan, Paul Gunning, Eddie Farrell, Stefan Kilroy, Emmett Brennan, Mark Curley, Ronan Donohoe, Seamus McCormack, Kenny Dolan.

UNDER 16 LEAGUE (21/4/10)

Garrycastle 3-11 Killucan 3-10

On Wednesday they took on Kilucan at home and won by 3-11 to 3-10. In the early part of this game the Garrycastle boys were on top with Justin Barrett dominating at midfield. A goal from long distance by Justin gave Garrycastle a 2 point lead which was followed by a period of Kilucan dominance during which they got a goal. Garrycastle again replied with 4 unanswered points. The half time score was 1-6 to 1-3 for Garrycastle with the points coming from Justin Barrett, Ronan Donohoe, Eddie Farrell and Michael Fagan. At the start of the second half Kilucan gained midfield dominance and pinned Garrycastle back in their own half. The Garrycastle defence battled hard to restrict the scoring chances. During the half the Garrycastle boys gained enough possession to break upfield and get some very good scores- 2 goals coming from Paul Gunning and Ronan Donohoe and points from Michael Monaghan, Paul Gunning, Kenny Dolan. With 5 minutes remaining Garrycastle led by 6 points and conceded a goal and 2 points to end up hanging on to win by one point. It was battling performance but the players must learn how to deal with the opposition running at them.

GARRYCASTLE 5-7 St Mary's Rochfordbridge 3-9

The under 16 footballers played their 3rd game in the cross border league on Sunday last away to St Mary’s Rotchfordbridge. Having lost to Laois team, Ballyroan/Abbey and defeated Offaly team DER Gaels the Garrycastle boys were looking for their 2nd victory in the competition. Playing with the wind in the first half Garrycastle struggled to get scores and shot a number of wides before Ronan Donohoe got them off the mark with a point from a free. Scores were slow to come for both sides as defences were on top. Sean Gunning, Lee McNamara, Cormac Langan, Cian White, Eddie Farrell and David Hickey were defending very well for Garrycastle. Conor Duignan replaced Seamus McCormack half way through the half. Two further points by Ronan Donohoe and Michael Monaghan as well as a Michael Fagan goal helped to build up a 5 point lead for Garrycastle with a few minutes remaining to halftime. However these minutes were to prove costly as a goal and a point for Marys left the minimum between the sides at halftime, 1-3 to 1-2.

The Garrycastle mentors introduced Emmett Brennan and Kenneth Dolan in the second half in place of Mark Curley and Joe McNamara (injured). On the resumption Paul Gunning pointed and followed it with a goal to restore a 5 point lead. But The Marys boys came back with a goal and two points to level. Further points by Paul Gunning (2) and Michael Monaghan were negatived by Marys points during the next few minutes keeping the minimum between the sides but a two goal Garrycastle blitz in 2 minutes by Paul Gunning and Kenneth Dolan, with about 10 minutes to go looked to leave Garrycastle safe. There was a further twist in the final few minutes when Marys scored a goal and 2 points to again leave just a point between the sides. The final kickout out by Garrycastle goalkeeper Mark Keenan was won by Justin Barrett at midfield resulting in the ball being worked into Ronan Dononoe who goaled leaving a final score of 5-7 to 3-9.

This was a battling display by the Garrycastle boys who are showing improvement in each game. This competition has now advanced to finals day which is planned in early May. The next opposition wont be known until results of all round 3 matches are with the organising committee.

GARRYCASTLE: Mark Keenan, Sean Gunning, Cian White, Lee McNamara, David Hickey, Cormac Langan, Eddie Farrell, Justin Barrett, Michael Monaghan (0-2), Michael Fagan (1-0), Paul Gunning (2-3), Mark Curley, Joe McNamara, Ronan Donohoe (1-2), Seamus McCormack.

SUBS: Conor Duignan for Seamus McCormack, Emmett Brennan for Mark Curley, Kenneth Dolan (1-0) for Joe McNamara (inj). Frank Farrell, Stefan Kilroy.

GARRYCASTLE 0 - 13 DER GAELS 0 - 10

Garrycastle Under 16 team recorded their first victory in the WH/OY/LS Under 16 cross border league with a hard earned victory over near neighbours Der Gaels in Doon on Thursday night last.Garrycastle were playing against the slight breeze in the first-half and their defense had to be at their best to contain Der Gaels. Paul Gunning opened the scoring for Garrycastle with 2 pointed free from 20 metres out. Michael Monaghan added another score for Garrycastle from a free before Ronan Donohue got a fine score from play to leave the half-time score Garrycastle 0-4 to Der Gaels 0-6.

Garrycasle started to play more direct football in the second and the Der Gaels defense could not contain Ronan Donohue who hit over some fine scores from play to bring Garrycastle back into the game. Eddie Farrell made a fine run from centre back to put over a fine point from 35 metres out. Michael Fagan scored another great score from play to lift the spirits of the Garycastle team and a great ball from Ronan Donohue found Kenneth Dolan who side stepped his man to score Garrycastle last score of the match and leave Garrycastle winning by a margin of 3 points.

Final score Garrycastle 0-13 Der Gaels 0-10.

Garrycastle mentors can be pleased with this performance and hopefully the team can build on this going into the future.

Eoin Slevin was solid in goals and came to the rescue on numerous occasions. The backs as a unit played well and had to at their best to contain the Der Gaels forwards. Michael Monaghan and Justin Barrett at midfield worked hard throughout the hour. The forwards got a good supply of ball from the Garrycastle defense and with Ronan Donohue working very hard and bringing the other forwards into the game this ensured that Garrycastle got their first victory in the cross border league.

A special word of thanks to the Der Gaels Committee for providing refreshments after the game.

Garrycastle next match in the cross border league is away against Mary’s Rochfordbridge.

Garrycastle play Killucan in the first round of the Under 16 league in Garrycastle on Mon next 12th Apr @ 8.00pm.Players meet in Garrycastle @ 7.30pm.sharp

The Garrycastle panel was : Eoghan Slevin, Sean Gunning, Cormac Langan, Frank Farrell, David Hickey, Eddie Farrell (0-1), Conor Duignan, Michael Monaghan (0-1), Justin Barrett, Michael Fagan (0-1), Paul Gunning (0-2), Mark Curly, Seamus McCormack, Ronan Donohue (0-7), Joe McNamara and Kenneth Dolan (0-1).

UNDER 16 CHAMPIONSHIP

MOATE ALL WHITES 4 - 12 GARRYCASTLE 2 - 12

The Garrycastle under 16 team have been in championship action in recent weeks. Having defeated Caulry in the first round the boys faced Moate All Whites on Saturday evening last in round 2. Having to concede home advantage due to an unplayable pitch the game took place on a very wet Moate pitch. Playing with the wind in the first half Garrycastle dominated most of the possession with midfielders Robert Henshaw and Justin Barrett on top. A tendency to play the ball short was the main Garrycastle shortfall where much good possession was wasted in tight spaces. On the odd occasions a quick ball was played in full forward Ronan Donohoe was able to make good use. An injury to corner forward Jack Donohoe who had to retire after 10 minutes was a big loss. Incessant pressure eventually paid off when a rebound from the Moate goalkeeper was pounced on by substitute Sean Moran who netted. With one minute to go to halftime the Garrycastle boys led by 1-5 to 0-3. However the concession of a free led to a Moate point and immediately afterwards during a Moate attack the Garrycastle defence stood up expecting the referee’s whistle which didn’t come resulting in the ball ending up in the Garrycastle net. This was a killer blow as a lead of at least of 4 or 5 points was needed considering the strength of the wind. On the restart Garrycastle worked very hard and were rewarded with 2 points giving them a 3 point lead. However the Moate midfield began to win more possession and pressurised the Garrycastle defence who initially stood up very well forcing many Moate wides. However the scores began to come for the Moate boys with the concession of goals being especially damaging to the Garrycastle cause. But Garrycastle with Owen Monaghan now at midfield weren’t for lying down and fought back bravely preventing Moate from getting away from them. A highlight of the second half was the quality of two of the goals scored - one for either team. After the third Moate goal all looked hopeless for Garrycastle but wing forward Alex Gardiner pounced on a ball and after a making 20 yards run unleashed an unstoppable shot from 25 yards to the roof of the net. There wont be many better goals scored this year. The final Moate goal came from a long ball which broke to a forward who picked his spot beautifully. After battling gamely the Garrycastle boys lost 4-12 to 2-12, a few late points sealing it for the Moate boys.

This was a very good game of football between 2 evenly matched teams fought out in championship spirit with every player giving his all. Due to the back door system Garrycastle have another bite of the cherry with a game versus the winners of the loser’s section Caulry or The Downs for a place in the semi final.

GARRYCASTLE: Mark Keenan, Keith Flynn, Sean Carey, Eddie Farrell, David Hickey, Jamie Hoey, Cormac Langan, Robert Henshaw (0-2), Justin Barrett, Gavin Ward (0-1), Owen Monaghan, Alex Gardiner (1-5), Jack Donohoe, Ronan Donohoe (0-1), Ronan McCormack (0-2).
Subs: Sean Moran (1-0) for Jack Donohoe (0-1): Lee McNamara, Michael Fagan, Gavin McCartney, Seamus McCormack.

U16 Football League (Division 2 22 June 2009)

Garrycastle 4 - 8 Athlone 2 - 11

Garrycastle played Athlone Monday evening last in a back dated league game which initially fell foul of the bad weather in March. Garrycastle going into this game would have been underdogs as Athlone were table toppers in the group. Garrycastle started very brightly with a couple of good points from the lively Jack Donoghue in the corner forward position, his most notable one been a fisted effort after a fine solo run in from the right hand side. Garrycastle then went into a five point lead when Alex Gardiner rifled to the back of the Athlone net. Athlone got into the game in the last ten minutes of the half and got a goal of their own to play themselves right back into contention. Point were then exchanged before the very impressive Robbie Henshaw found the back of the Athlone net with a fine shot to put a goal between the teams. The score at half time read Garrycastle 2-6 Athlone 1-6. Garrycastle could indeed have found themselves more ahead were it not for some wasteful shooting during the half.

Athlone commenced the second half very brightly with two fine points of their own and were beginning to exert dominance round the vital midfield sector. Garrycastle then made a few positional switches at this point and clawed their way back into the game with points from Ronan McCormack and a pointed free from Eoin Monaghan. Perhaps the score of the match and indeed which proved to be the actual winning of the game was when Paul Gunning went from right to left on a solo run and blasted the ball to the right hand corner of the Athlone net for a goal fitting to win any match.

Overall Garrycastle can be well proud of this victory, it would be very unfair to dwell on individual performances. The team as a whole were superb throughout and were not found wanting when a result had to be grinded out. This result should provide the platform for greater success for the rest of the year for this group.

GARRYCASTLE: Mark Keenan, Keith Flynn, Sean Carey, Eddie Farrell, David Hickey, Jamie Hoey, Gavin Ward, Eoin Monaghan (0-1), Justin Barrett (0-1), Paul Gunning (1-0), Robbie Henshaw (2-0), Alex Gardiner (1-0), Jack Donoghue (0-4), Ronan McCormack (0-2), Ronan Donoghue.
Subs : Sean Moran and Adam Tobin.

PHOTOS













			This is the Under 16 team page. News, Fixtures and Photos of the Under 16 Team will appear here from now on. TRAINING UNDER 16 MANAGEMENT 2010 The Under 16 team will be managed in 2010 by Gerry Duignan. Gerry will be assisted by Niall Ward, John Fagan and John O'Shaughnessy. FIXTURES Deelside Coaches Under 16 Football Championship: Monday 2nd August at 3pm in Garrycastle: Garrycastle –v- Mullingar Shamrocks (D Nugent, Referee). WELL DONE Congratulations to Ronan Donohue,Justin Barrett, & Mark Keenan on making the final panel on the Westmeath County Under 16 team.We wish them good luck. Westmeath County Under 16 team have an important training session on Sat 19th June in Rosemount @ 10.00am. RESULTS UNDER 16 LEAGUE (10/5/10) Garrycastle 5-7 Maryland/Tang 0-12 Garrycastle Under 16 team recorded their second victory in Division 2 of the Under 16 league 2 with a hard earned victory over near neighbours Maryland/Tang in Garrycastle on Monday night last. Garrycastle were slow to settle at the start and Maryland/Tang took an early lead of 0-3 to Garrycastle’s no score before a fine run by Ronan Donohue yielded a goal for Garrycastle to bring them back into contention.Garrycastle ‘s midfield pairing of Michael Monaghan and Justin Barrett began to dominate and this ensured that the forwards were getting plenty supply of the ball and Paul Gunning scored a fine goal after a good move and Justin Barrett added another goal after a fine pass from Eddie Farrell to give Garrycastle a comfortable half-time lead of Garrycastle 3-3 to Maryland/Tang 0-5. Garrycastle got a dream start one minute into the second-half when Ronan Donohue fired low into the Maryland/Tang net to extend Garrycastle’s lead. Maryland/Tang fought back well in the second-half and thanks to good defending from Cormac Langan,David Hickey,Lee Mc Namara,Sean Gunning,Cian White ,& Conor Duignan they failed to get through for goals to bring them back into the game and when they did Mark Keenan came to the rescue on numerous occassions with some fine saves. Eddie Farrell scored Garrycastle’s fifth goal and a fine points from Michael Monaghan and Michael Fagan gave Garrycastle a deserving victory . Final score was Garrycastle 5-7 to Maryland/Tang 0-12. Garrycastle pane: Mark Keenan, Lee McNamara, Cian White, Sean Gunning, David Hickey, Cormac Langan, Conor Duignan, Justin Barrett (1-0), Michael Monaghan (0-1), Eddie Farrell (1-0), Paul Gunning (1-2), Michael Fagan (0-1), Seamus McCormack, Ronan Donohue (2-3), Mark Curly, Emmett Brennan, Stefan Kilroy, Kenneth Dolan, Eric Kearney & Frank Farrell. This was a much improved performance by Garrycastle from their previous encounter and they will be hoping to get more consistency in their next play in future matches. Garrycastle’ next match is away to Moate on Mon night next 17th May . UNDER 16 LEAGUE (24/4/10) Balinacargy 2-10 Garrycastle 1-7 On Saturday this team travelled to Balinacargy to take on the home team only to taste defeat on a scoreline of 2-10 to 1-7. This game was lost in the first half when after a very lethargic performance while playing with the wind Garrycastle trailed by a point at half time 1-5 to 1-4, the goal being scored by Paul Gunning and the points from Ronan Donohoe and Kenny Dolan . On the resumption the Garrycastle players became far more competitive and put their opponents under much more pressure. They were unfortunate to see a Kenny Dolan score disallowed for an alleged ”square ball”. As the half wore on the Balinacargy boys gradually got the scores to pull away. Garrycastle’s 2nd half points came from Ronan Donohoe and Justin Barrett. A poor first half by Garrycastle and better teamwork by the Balinacargy players proved the difference between the teams. Garrycastle Panel: Mark Keenan, Joe McNamara, Sean Gunning, Cian White, Lee McNamara, Frank Farrell, David Hickey, Cormac Langan, Conor Duignan, Eric Kearney, Justin Barrett, Michael Monaghan, Michael Fagan, Paul Gunning, Eddie Farrell, Stefan Kilroy, Emmett Brennan, Mark Curley, Ronan Donohoe, Seamus McCormack, Kenny Dolan. UNDER 16 LEAGUE (21/4/10) Garrycastle 3-11 Killucan 3-10 On Wednesday they took on Kilucan at home and won by 3-11 to 3-10. In the early part of this game the Garrycastle boys were on top with Justin Barrett dominating at midfield. A goal from long distance by Justin gave Garrycastle a 2 point lead which was followed by a period of Kilucan dominance during which they got a goal. Garrycastle again replied with 4 unanswered points. The half time score was 1-6 to 1-3 for Garrycastle with the points coming from Justin Barrett, Ronan Donohoe, Eddie Farrell and Michael Fagan. At the start of the second half Kilucan gained midfield dominance and pinned Garrycastle back in their own half. The Garrycastle defence battled hard to restrict the scoring chances. During the half the Garrycastle boys gained enough possession to break upfield and get some very good scores- 2 goals coming from Paul Gunning and Ronan Donohoe and points from Michael Monaghan, Paul Gunning, Kenny Dolan. With 5 minutes remaining Garrycastle led by 6 points and conceded a goal and 2 points to end up hanging on to win by one point. It was battling performance but the players must learn how to deal with the opposition running at them. Garrycastle Panel: Mark Keenan, Joe McNamara, Sean Gunning, Cian White, Lee McNamara, Frank Farrell, David Hickey, Cormac Langan, Conor Duignan, Eric Kearney, Justin Barrett, Michael Monaghan, Michael Fagan, Paul Gunning, Eddie Farrell, Stefan Kilroy, Emmett Brennan, Mark Curley, Ronan Donohoe, Seamus McCormack, Kenny Dolan. GARRYCASTLE 5-7 St Mary's Rochfordbridge 3-9 The under 16 footballers played their 3rd game in the cross border league on Sunday last away to St Mary’s Rotchfordbridge. Having lost to Laois team, Ballyroan/Abbey and defeated Offaly team DER Gaels the Garrycastle boys were looking for their 2nd victory in the competition. Playing with the wind in the first half Garrycastle struggled to get scores and shot a number of wides before Ronan Donohoe got them off the mark with a point from a free. Scores were slow to come for both sides as defences were on top. Sean Gunning, Lee McNamara, Cormac Langan, Cian White, Eddie Farrell and David Hickey were defending very well for Garrycastle. Conor Duignan replaced Seamus McCormack half way through the half. Two further points by Ronan Donohoe and Michael Monaghan as well as a Michael Fagan goal helped to build up a 5 point lead for Garrycastle with a few minutes remaining to halftime. However these minutes were to prove costly as a goal and a point for Marys left the minimum between the sides at halftime, 1-3 to 1-2. The Garrycastle mentors introduced Emmett Brennan and Kenneth Dolan in the second half in place of Mark Curley and Joe McNamara (injured). On the resumption Paul Gunning pointed and followed it with a goal to restore a 5 point lead. But The Marys boys came back with a goal and two points to level. Further points by Paul Gunning (2) and Michael Monaghan were negatived by Marys points during the next few minutes keeping the minimum between the sides but a two goal Garrycastle blitz in 2 minutes by Paul Gunning and Kenneth Dolan, with about 10 minutes to go looked to leave Garrycastle safe. There was a further twist in the final few minutes when Marys scored a goal and 2 points to again leave just a point between the sides. The final kickout out by Garrycastle goalkeeper Mark Keenan was won by Justin Barrett at midfield resulting in the ball being worked into Ronan Dononoe who goaled leaving a final score of 5-7 to 3-9. This was a battling display by the Garrycastle boys who are showing improvement in each game. This competition has now advanced to finals day which is planned in early May. The next opposition wont be known until results of all round 3 matches are with the organising committee. GARRYCASTLE: Mark Keenan, Sean Gunning, Cian White, Lee McNamara, David Hickey, Cormac Langan, Eddie Farrell, Justin Barrett, Michael Monaghan (0-2), Michael Fagan (1-0), Paul Gunning (2-3), Mark Curley, Joe McNamara, Ronan Donohoe (1-2), Seamus McCormack. SUBS: Conor Duignan for Seamus McCormack, Emmett Brennan for Mark Curley, Kenneth Dolan (1-0) for Joe McNamara (inj). Frank Farrell, Stefan Kilroy. GARRYCASTLE 0 - 13 DER GAELS 0 - 10 Garrycastle Under 16 team recorded their first victory in the WH/OY/LS Under 16 cross border league with a hard earned victory over near neighbours Der Gaels in Doon on Thursday night last.Garrycastle were playing against the slight breeze in the first-half and their defense had to be at their best to contain Der Gaels. Paul Gunning opened the scoring for Garrycastle with 2 pointed free from 20 metres out. Michael Monaghan added another score for Garrycastle from a free before Ronan Donohue got a fine score from play to leave the half-time score Garrycastle 0-4 to Der Gaels 0-6. Garrycasle started to play more direct football in the second and the Der Gaels defense could not contain Ronan Donohue who hit over some fine scores from play to bring Garrycastle back into the game. Eddie Farrell made a fine run from centre back to put over a fine point from 35 metres out. Michael Fagan scored another great score from play to lift the spirits of the Garycastle team and a great ball from Ronan Donohue found Kenneth Dolan who side stepped his man to score Garrycastle last score of the match and leave Garrycastle winning by a margin of 3 points. Final score Garrycastle 0-13 Der Gaels 0-10. Garrycastle mentors can be pleased with this performance and hopefully the team can build on this going into the future. Eoin Slevin was solid in goals and came to the rescue on numerous occasions. The backs as a unit played well and had to at their best to contain the Der Gaels forwards. Michael Monaghan and Justin Barrett at midfield worked hard throughout the hour. The forwards got a good supply of ball from the Garrycastle defense and with Ronan Donohue working very hard and bringing the other forwards into the game this ensured that Garrycastle got their first victory in the cross border league. A special word of thanks to the Der Gaels Committee for providing refreshments after the game. Garrycastle next match in the cross border league is away against Mary’s Rochfordbridge. Garrycastle play Killucan in the first round of the Under 16 league in Garrycastle on Mon next 12th Apr @ 8.00pm.Players meet in Garrycastle @ 7.30pm.sharp The Garrycastle panel was : Eoghan Slevin, Sean Gunning, Cormac Langan, Frank Farrell, David Hickey, Eddie Farrell (0-1), Conor Duignan, Michael Monaghan (0-1), Justin Barrett, Michael Fagan (0-1), Paul Gunning (0-2), Mark Curly, Seamus McCormack, Ronan Donohue (0-7), Joe McNamara and Kenneth Dolan (0-1). UNDER 16 CHAMPIONSHIP MOATE ALL WHITES 4 - 12 GARRYCASTLE 2 - 12 The Garrycastle under 16 team have been in championship action in recent weeks. Having defeated Caulry in the first round the boys faced Moate All Whites on Saturday evening last in round 2. Having to concede home advantage due to an unplayable pitch the game took place on a very wet Moate pitch. Playing with the wind in the first half Garrycastle dominated most of the possession with midfielders Robert Henshaw and Justin Barrett on top. A tendency to play the ball short was the main Garrycastle shortfall where much good possession was wasted in tight spaces. On the odd occasions a quick ball was played in full forward Ronan Donohoe was able to make good use. An injury to corner forward Jack Donohoe who had to retire after 10 minutes was a big loss. Incessant pressure eventually paid off when a rebound from the Moate goalkeeper was pounced on by substitute Sean Moran who netted. With one minute to go to halftime the Garrycastle boys led by 1-5 to 0-3. However the concession of a free led to a Moate point and immediately afterwards during a Moate attack the Garrycastle defence stood up expecting the referee’s whistle which didn’t come resulting in the ball ending up in the Garrycastle net. This was a killer blow as a lead of at least of 4 or 5 points was needed considering the strength of the wind. On the restart Garrycastle worked very hard and were rewarded with 2 points giving them a 3 point lead. However the Moate midfield began to win more possession and pressurised the Garrycastle defence who initially stood up very well forcing many Moate wides. However the scores began to come for the Moate boys with the concession of goals being especially damaging to the Garrycastle cause. But Garrycastle with Owen Monaghan now at midfield weren’t for lying down and fought back bravely preventing Moate from getting away from them. A highlight of the second half was the quality of two of the goals scored - one for either team. After the third Moate goal all looked hopeless for Garrycastle but wing forward Alex Gardiner pounced on a ball and after a making 20 yards run unleashed an unstoppable shot from 25 yards to the roof of the net. There wont be many better goals scored this year. The final Moate goal came from a long ball which broke to a forward who picked his spot beautifully. After battling gamely the Garrycastle boys lost 4-12 to 2-12, a few late points sealing it for the Moate boys. This was a very good game of football between 2 evenly matched teams fought out in championship spirit with every player giving his all. Due to the back door system Garrycastle have another bite of the cherry with a game versus the winners of the loser’s section Caulry or The Downs for a place in the semi final. GARRYCASTLE: Mark Keenan, Keith Flynn, Sean Carey, Eddie Farrell, David Hickey, Jamie Hoey, Cormac Langan, Robert Henshaw (0-2), Justin Barrett, Gavin Ward (0-1), Owen Monaghan, Alex Gardiner (1-5), Jack Donohoe, Ronan Donohoe (0-1), Ronan McCormack (0-2). Subs: Sean Moran (1-0) for Jack Donohoe (0-1): Lee McNamara, Michael Fagan, Gavin McCartney, Seamus McCormack. U16 Football League (Division 2 22 June 2009) Garrycastle 4 - 8 Athlone 2 - 11 Garrycastle played Athlone Monday evening last in a back dated league game which initially fell foul of the bad weather in March. Garrycastle going into this game would have been underdogs as Athlone were table toppers in the group. Garrycastle started very brightly with a couple of good points from the lively Jack Donoghue in the corner forward position, his most notable one been a fisted effort after a fine solo run in from the right hand side. Garrycastle then went into a five point lead when Alex Gardiner rifled to the back of the Athlone net. Athlone got into the game in the last ten minutes of the half and got a goal of their own to play themselves right back into contention. Point were then exchanged before the very impressive Robbie Henshaw found the back of the Athlone net with a fine shot to put a goal between the teams. The score at half time read Garrycastle 2-6 Athlone 1-6. Garrycastle could indeed have found themselves more ahead were it not for some wasteful shooting during the half. Athlone commenced the second half very brightly with two fine points of their own and were beginning to exert dominance round the vital midfield sector. Garrycastle then made a few positional switches at this point and clawed their way back into the game with points from Ronan McCormack and a pointed free from Eoin Monaghan. Perhaps the score of the match and indeed which proved to be the actual winning of the game was when Paul Gunning went from right to left on a solo run and blasted the ball to the right hand corner of the Athlone net for a goal fitting to win any match. Overall Garrycastle can be well proud of this victory, it would be very unfair to dwell on individual performances. The team as a whole were superb throughout and were not found wanting when a result had to be grinded out. This result should provide the platform for greater success for the rest of the year for this group. GARRYCASTLE: Mark Keenan, Keith Flynn, Sean Carey, Eddie Farrell, David Hickey, Jamie Hoey, Gavin Ward, Eoin Monaghan (0-1), Justin Barrett (0-1), Paul Gunning (1-0), Robbie Henshaw (2-0), Alex Gardiner (1-0), Jack Donoghue (0-4), Ronan McCormack (0-2), Ronan Donoghue. Subs : Sean Moran and Adam Tobin. PHOTOS