GRASSROOTS

NEWTOWN

Well done to our Seniors who are through to the quarter-finals of the Senior championship, fixtures to be confirmed.

The lads took on North District on Saturday last and after a tough first half the lads came back to emerge four point victors. Well done to all the lads and management and thanks to all for support on the day in what was a miserable day in terms of weather. Bring on the quarters!

Thanks to all who contributed to the Tesco community fund in Tesco Greystones for the Junior magpies nursery which resulted in a cheque for €338. The nursery is for children aged 4-8 and continues next Saturday and every Saturday at 10am on the pitch; new faces are always welcome to join us. An hour’s fun and excitement are guaranteed every week.

The Under-8s and Under-10s had a blitz in Kilcoole last Friday and even though the weather wasn’t great the skills shown on the night by these two teams was top class stuff. They are training on Tuesday and Fridays at 6.30pm and their next outing is an all-county blitz in Ballinakill on Saturday, September 3.

Coaching for the hurling takes place every Saturday at 11.15am and we are getting quite a good turnout however new faces are welcome to join us at any stage. If you have a child who wants to play either hurling or football this year please come up to the pitch any Tuesday or Friday at 6.30pm or on Saturdays at 11.15 and let the lads know.

The Under-12s under the watchful eyes of Peter and Googers had a great win over Ballymanus last week and have been playing great football recently, their next match is against Michael Dywers on Monday 29th but no venue decided yet.

The Under-16s were beaten by Blessington in the group stages of the championship but with two games left all is not lost and the lads are still in with a shout, please check fixtures for confirmation of next match.

The Under-8 and Under-10 girls travelled over to Ashford for a match last week which was played in monsoon like conditions, well done to all involved for going ahead with it.

Training will continue every Wednesday at 6.30pm. The Under-12 girls played Tinahely last Sunday and although well beaten on the day the girls should be really proud of themselves having competed in the A championship.

The Under-14 girls are playing AGB in the championship tonight (Wednesday)at home. The Under-16 girls have been drawn in the same group as St Pat’s and AGB in the ‘B’ championship, their first match in the championship is at home to St Pat’s.

Tickets are now on sale for our juvenile fundraiser which takes place in the Parkview on Saturday, September 3, music will be provided by the Funky Buskers and there will also be a raffle on the night and we have some fantastic prizes on offer.

First prize is an overnight stay in the 5 star Westbury hotel in Dublin city centre. A great night is in store so get your tickets early to avoid disappointment. Congrats to two of our current junior players who both got married last weekend, Jordan who married Tracie and Danny who married Leona, best wishes for the future to you all.

Lotto jackpot rolled over again last week to €4600 although there were a few match 3 winners, numbers drawn were 3, 8, 12, and 19.

You can keep up to date with us on Facebook and twitter for all the latest fixtures and news.

AGB

AGB’s Under-10 girls hosted Rathnew in Pearse’s Park on Tuesday evening. The girls put in tremendous effort and there was lots of skill on display in the match which lead to a win for the girls and a final score of AGB 3-06 to 1-05.

AGB Under-16 girls played their championship match against Valleymount on Tuesday evening, and made the long journey worthwhile. After a slow start for the AGB girls, they began to make the match their own and converted some fine scores to lead at half-time and continued doing so in the second half, which saw them finish 9-13 to 2-02.

All roads lead to Aughrim this Sunday as AGB’s Junior ladies will take on St. Pat’s in the Junior ‘B’ championship final. Throw in is at 2pm. Wishing our Junior ladies the very best of luck! Go AGB!

AGB’s Under-16 boys played their championship first round against Eire Og on Thursday evening at home in Pearses Park.

The Under-16s put on a great performance and all their hard work and dedication could be seen as the team finished in victory 10-08 to 4-05.

AGB’s Intermediate team played Stratford in their championship game on Sunday afternoon in Aughrim. With what started as a fast first half, AGB pushed to lead from the early stages and were comfortably ahead by 2-09 to 0-05 at the half-time whistle. Two goals by Ross Hynes and Cormac O Shea had the AGB spirts high as they walked off the field.

AGB started the second half in good form and pushed on relentlessly with scores from Tom Maher, Ross Hynes and Darragh Fitzgerald. AGB eased into a 2-14 to 0-09 victory.

AGB’s All-Ireland ticket draw tickets are now on sale - Tickets are available from any club member or can be bought in Ray Menton’s shop. Tickets will also be on sale in Bridgewater Shopping Centre on Saturday and Sunday, August 27 and 28. The draw will take place on Tuesday, August 30, in Pearse’s Park.

Great prizes on offer; 1st prize is Two All Ireland Tickets for the Hurling, 2nd prize is €100 cash, 3rd prize is a €50 Arklow Bay Hotel voucher, 4th prize is a €50 Bridgewater voucher, 5th prize is Two All Ireland Tickets for the Football, 6th prize is a Hamper.

AGB membership badges are now available for €5 for all club members and friends of the club. They can be bought in Pearses’ Park or Ballymoney.

Please send club notes to arklowgaa@gmail. com You can contact the AGB PRO at above email, Facebook (‘Arklow Geraldines Ballymoney GAA Club’ or ‘AGB Ladies’) or Twitter.

EIRE OG GREYSTONES

Senior football - Our Seniors 2016 Championship hopes were dashed by Coolkeno on the green swathe of the County grounds in Eachroim Uí Bhroin on Saturday evening.

Éire Óg were on the wrong side of a 2-10 to 0-10 score-line.

The result it might be said represented a triumph for the more traditional style which has been employed with such success by Tipp on their way to the All-Ireland semi-final over the modern short-passing obsessed style.

Without wishing to take in any way from Coolkenno’s excellent performance one would hazard that there were many who would argue that our defeat was, to quite an extent, self-inflicted. For the Clocha Liatha followers the unfolding of this hari-kari over the hour was excruciatingly frustrating.

The Greystones squad showed an impressive athleticism as they went through their warm-up routine at the town end of the pitch. The manner and speed with which these exercises were being effected inspired one with a feeling of optimism. Unfortunately, however, we were soon to learn once again that there is more to football than aerobic fitness and athletic prowess.

A wind which had the potential to have had a significant bearing on the proceedings blew down the valley from Annacurra. Éire Óg played against this wind in the first half.

Our lads were into the game straight away and soon had the upper-hand. During this period they were moving in an aesthetically-attractive passing-movement and by the 15 min mark had built up a 3 point lead. However, even at this early stage worrying signs were evident in their play: movements were breaking down because of over-elaboration and over-hasty badly-executed delivery. Further a work-study expert would have been perturbed at the amount of energy being expended in executing each score.

In the first-half and indeed throughout the game the Greystones lads showed a certain reluctance to have a “pot”.

This was difficult to understand particularly when one considers that on a number of oc- casions the forwards accomplished the more difficult task with accurately-delivered 30 to 40m kick-passes.

On the other hand the opponents had a more cavalier approach and had a good return on their long-distance scoring attempts, scoring 6 more points before the break in a period where Éire Óg failed to score.

Crucially also they got in for a goal in circumstances reminiscent of that of the goal scored by Donegal in their defeat of Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2012. An Éire Óg attack broke down, a soloing opponent exited at speed from the mass of players and had, when confronted by the defence the luxury of being able to pass to a team-mate standing gloriously alone 10 metres out on the right of our goal. The outcome was inevitable.

Greystones were six points (1-7 to 0-4) down at the break but their followers had not yet thrown in the towel. They nurtured the hope that the wind would come to the team’s rescue in the second-half. Vain was their optimism, not only was it well in to the second half when we scored our first point but Coolkenno added a second well-worked major near the 45 minute mark.

Hugely disappointing but as the experts say there is more to be learned from defeat than victory. So hopefully the experience gained on Saturday will stand the team in good stead for the rest of the season and in 2017.

Táimid buíoch don fhoireann for the enjoyment that they have given us to date and we compliment them for their dedication and commitment.

Girls football - Our U-12 girls had a successful outing in the first round of their championship at home on Saturday. After a nail-biting exciting match, the outcome of which was in doubt till the final whistle, Éire Óg defeated Barndarrig 2-6 to 2-4. Despite having played against a strong breeze the Greystones girls were ahead by a point at half-time.

Barndarrig started the second-half with all guns blazing and were, thanks to a good goal, 2 points ahead with 10 minutes to go. The game again turned the locals’ way thanks to an Abbie Smullen goal and point (2-5 in total). The final few minutes were nerve wracking as both teams missed chances.

Aisling Roche was the only other scorer in this enthralling game of football. Emily Walsh played very well in goals and Camille Madden, Ellie O’Malley, Sophie Keddy and Sarah Doyle were prominent in defence.

Aisling Roche, Ellen Phelan, Aleesha Campbell, Katie Power and Ella O’Reilly were the pick of the forwards. Jayne Merren and Maedhbh O’Neill held the upper-hand in centre-field.

This team is playing the next round at home on Saturday at 12.30.

Lotto - The winning numbers for Monday the 15th were 1, 5, 9 and 18. The main jackpot survived and was €10,600 for the Monday the 22nd draw.

FERGAL ÓGS

On Monday 15th, our men’s hurling team played a challenge match against Eire Óg in preparation for their upcoming Junior C semi-final against Shillelagh.

A well fought game of hurling saw Eire Óg outscore Fergal Ógs with a dominant 2nd half performance, ensuring the victory.

On Friday 19th, the club played host to Avondale, Newcastle and Ballinacor in the U8s/ U10s football “Go Games”.

There were a few new faces pulling on the “white and black” on the night, while there were impressive performances from Jack Cox, Cian Egan and Joshua Temple.

On Saturday 20th, our men’s hurling team travelled to Arklow Rock Parnell’s hurling club to take on Shillelagh in their Junior C championship semi-final.

From the start it was clear that the weather would play an important factor in the outcome of the match, with Shillelagh winning the toss and opting to play with a very strong wind behind them.

They didn’t hesitate in making the most of this advantage in the opening minutes, when four long range strikes sailed over the bar to give Shillelagh the early lead.

Fergal Ógs found it hard to make any inroads into the opposing half, with the strong wind applying the brakes to many of Des Whelans puck outs.

Shillelagh were winning their fair share of high balls, and were keeping Fergal Ógs under pressure at the back. The pressure soon took its toll with the team conceding their first goal, giving Shillelagh a strong lead midway through the first half.

Fergal Ógs began to find their footing in the game, with Paddy O’Brien and Alan Hughes finding their first points to reduce the deficit. Another point from Stephen Moorehouse saw Shillelagh look to kill off a possible Fergal Ógs revival, when they launched the ball behind the Fergal Ógs 13m line and found the back of the net for a 2nd time.

Drifting further behind, Fergal Ógs pushed forward with Gary Fitzpatrick finding a point from play.

Further Shillelagh scoring chances were denied by some superb defending from Frankie Cowan at full back, whose experience kept Fergal Ógs in the game.

Gary Fitzpatrick also put in an impressive shift at half back, while Jason Sommers and Brandon Cowan won plenty of balls down the wings, finding the forwards. A few too many wides saw numerous scoring chances wasted, while the Fergal Ógs link up play was non existant at times, leading to a lot of squandered possession.

At halftime, Shillelagh held a healthy lead, but with Fergal Ógs playing with the wind in the 2nd half, the game still had plenty of life left in it.

A poor restart from the Bray side however diminished any notions of a comeback, with Fergal Ógs losing possession when close to goal with Shillelagh winning the one on one contests for the ball.

The pace of the game slowed, as Shillelagh began to pick their passes, finding their targets in time and space, who in turn, found the uprights with ease.

With Shillelagh pulling further out of reach, a 3rd goal, killed off any chances of a Fergal Ógs comeback.

With 10 minutes remaining, Fergal Ógs fought for scraps, but to no avail.

By full-time, the final score was Fergal Ógs 0-7 Shillelagh 3-14.

Hard luck to all the team, and best of luck to Shillelagh in the final.

The team: Des Whelan, Frankie Cowan, Éamonn McKenna, Declan Doyle, Gary Fitzpatrick, Jason Sommers, Brandon Cowan, Paddy O’Brien, Stephen Moorehouse, Mark Dempsey, Willie Moorehouse, Sean Maloney, David Dixon, Alan Hughes, Daniel Kennedy. Manager: Gary Murphy

On Sunday 21st, our men’s footballers travelled to Roundwood, to take on Valleymount in the 4th round of their Junior C championship campaign.

On the back of two wins in their previous two outings, everything was to play for in this affair.

It was Valleymount who found their names on the score sheet first, when they scored a free in the opening minute.

Mark Doyle quickly responded scoring a point from play, while Valleymount launched a long ball into the Fergal Ógs small square, which saw John Costello make a good save, before a good run from Stephen Jenkins, saw him lay off a pass to Gavin Harris who placed the ball over the bar to put Fergal Ógs in the lead.

Both sides traded wides, before a Paul O’Brien free dropped short and was punched over the bar by David Dixon for the full forwards 1st point. Gavin Harris placed another free over the bar, while Valleymounts response, saw them squander scoring chances with three wides struck.

Mark Doyle didn’t make the same mistake, when he charged past the 21m line, and found his teams 5th point.

A fantastic first half performance by Doyle was topped off when he found another point from play just before halftime.

Both teams struck two more wides before halftime, with Fergal Ógs leading with a score of 0-6 to 0-1 in favour of the Bray team.

Fergal Ógs increased their lead in the opening stages of the 2nd half when Jack Swinburne at corner forward found his 1st point from a tight angle, while Mark Doyle scored a superb point from distance.

10 minutes into the half, Valleymount began to win more ball and play more football in the Fergal Ógs half.

A spell of doninance, saw Fergal Ógs under pressure for the firstt time in the encounter and scores soon followed. 2 points from play raised the Valleymount spirits, before a goal brought them right back into the game.

Tempers started to flare with both teams receiving yellow cards before Chris Carroll recieved a red card for an altercation.

With 14 men now on the pitch, Fergal Ógs were now on the backfoot against a resurgent Valleymount side. A Gavin Harris free put Fergal Ógs 3 points ahead, before Valleymount pulled back again with a point of their own.

The game was anybody’s to win when Valleymount found a late goal to put themselves ahead by one point in the dying minutes.

Fergal Ógs battled to win the ball back, and when they did they found Harris again in the opposing half, who scored his 4th point to level the tie.

The final whistle followed, and tie ended all square with a score of Fergal Ógs 0-10 Valleymount 2-4.

Cúl Camp: Many thanks to everyone who participated in our 2016 Cúl Camp. We had a great week of football and hurling. Many thanks also to St. Kilians C.S for allowing us use of their sports hall when it rained.

CARNEW EMMETS

Congratulations to Robert Roche, Coolfancy and Niamh O’Donovan, Cork on their engagement.

There was no winner of the GAA lotto held last week, numbers were 3, 6, 16, and 21, lucky dips were Callum Ryan, 27 Covesbrook. Lorcan and Brendan Fitzsimmons, c/o Lorcan. Lorraine and Sean Kelly, Ballybeg. Joan Fitzpatrick, c/o Kathleen Keogh. The next draw is August 29 and the jackpot is €6,600.

To the Keenan family Aughrim on the death of Patty Keenan, during the week.

To the family, relatives and friends of Matthew Butler, age 25, 6 Willow Avenue, Carnew and Randwick Austriala who died a few weeks ago in Austriala and was buried on Friday in Askamore cemetery,