CLUB CALL
WICKLOW ROVERS
The senior men continued their good winning form when they convincingly beat bottom of the table Greenhills/Greenpark FC winning 6-0 at Whitegates.
They have recently played themselves back into the title mix sitting in fourth place before today’s game, with games in hand on all the teams above them they have pushed themselves very much back into contention.
A fantastic solo goal scoring haul from Gareth Murphy was the highlight of a good team performance. Gareth found the back of the net four times and the tally was added to with singles from Ciaran McGettigan and Mark Johnson. It leaves the lads knowing if they win their games in hand, they can go top of the table.
Junior action started on Wednesday night when our 14Bs took on Coolboy Rangers in a playoff to reach the final of the Division A1 Shield final. Unfortunately for the lads it wasn’t to be as they went down to a narrow 2-1 defeat. Both teams served up an entertaining game of football in atrocious conditions. Robert Cherry fired home the Rovers goal, they will now meet Roundwood in a third/fourth place play-off.
On Saturday our 12Bs defeated Arklow Utd 4-0 at Whitegates, in a fantastic team performance Evan Conyard, Cormac Waldron, Sean O’Toole and Ben Doyle all hit the back of net.
The under-16s were involved in a titanic tussle with hot favourites and local neighbours Wicklow Town in the final of the Choice Media Bowl. The Town controlled the first half and deserved their 1-0 lead at the break.
The lads came roaring out of the traps and matched the Town in the second half equalising when Paul Marah fired home with 13 minutes left on the clock. The game went to extra time and the Town went in front in the first period through a cruel deflection. Try that the lads did they couldn’t breach a strong Town defence. The lads turned in an excellent all-round team performance against a very good Town side.
Our Last Man Standing competition saga continues, we went into round 8 with just three players left standing, unfortunately we won’t have our first female winner as Rosemary Copeland was let down by the red side of Manchester when United could only manage a 0-0 home draw with Crystal Palace.
Mark O’Neill and Jason Tallant both went with Everton and the Toffees obliged but only just by beating Cardiff 1-0 to ensure we go again next week. So, it’s on to round 9 and a head to head battle between Mark and Jason, we would like to wish both players the very best of luck next week and once again a big thanks to everyone who participated in our Last Man Standing competition, your support is very much appreciated.
The club are currently seeking someone to run our club shop, the job would entail ordering club gear through our club sponsor Ronnie Phillips and Jako. Part of the job would be to open club shop on occasions in the clubhouse at Whitegates for the sale of socks, shorts, etc. The shop can be ran by one person or if there’s a group of people who would be interested please contact the club. You can contact any committee member [all contact details on club website at www.wicklowrovers.com] or privately message us on our club Facebook page.
Our Christmas raffle will take place in Ernie’s on Friday, December 21, most members should have their tickets by now. We would ask members to make a big effort to sell their allocation of tickets. All tickets whether sold or unsold should be returned to the committee in advance of the draw. First prize is a monster hamper, second prize is a large hamper, third prize is a medium hamper with many other prizes on the night.
The club’s weekly junior soccer academy continues every Saturday morning (weather permitting) under the watchful eye of senior club coach Johnny Dunne. The academy takes places on the all-weather pitch on the club grounds at Whitegates and is open to all kids from the age of three years to eight years.
The academy starts at 11am and finishes that suits. Come along and learn the skills of football while having fun and enjoyment, it’s a great way of meeting new friends as you learn the skills as you get prepared for the introduction to participate in organised league football in the coming years.
Anyone with anything for our club notes, Facebook page, club website or our weekly online newsletter can contact me by email at jimmy.nolan09@hotmail.com or by text to 087 9108706.
For all news regarding the club, check out our club website at www. wicklowrovers.com or the club Facebook page.
BRAY WANDERERS
Lotto draw - There was no jackpot winner on November 25. Numbers drawn were 5, 17, 24 and 26. €30 lucky dip winners were Mary Fitzpatrick c/o Charlie Kavanagh, Sam c/o Michael Duffy, Marie, Daisy, Jake, Eloise and Alex c/o V. Walsh. Next jackpot is €10,725. You can play the Bray Wanderers lotto online through our website.
2019 Season - The 2019 SSE Airtricity League Premier Division will begin on Friday, February 15, while Bray Wanderers will kick off their First division campaign a week later on Friday, February
22. The mid-season break will take place from Saturday, June 15 through to Thursday, June 27.
The EA SPORTS Cup final will be played on Saturday, September 14 with the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup final on Sunday, November
3. The official Fixture List for the 2019 season will be released on Wednesday, December 19.
For the latest club news visit our website at http://braywanderersfc.ie.
NEWTOWN JUNIORS
Our under-10s were to play last weekend against Wicklow Rovers but for the second weekend out of the last four plan B had to be put into operation and the the two teams played indoor (Futsal).
For over an hour both teams played some lovely passing football and while we may have won the game Rovers took some reward when winning the penalty shoot out.
In saying that, David Mackey from the Newtown team took the prize for ‘cheekiest peno of the day’ when he made the keeper dive to the right before calmly putting the ball to the keeper’s left......a different gravy.
On the day best for Newtown were Luke Turley, Sebastian Anton, Pat Carey and William Valentine.
Our only teams in action next weekend are the 8s and 9s who both are playing WDSL Futsal in Aughrim.They and our 10s and 11s will be playing Futsal before Christmas.
Last Sunday in the Parkview Hotel the WDSL held their annual awards where players from under8 to under-16 received their awards for their endeavors during the season. We had a large number of players and coaches in attendance on the day, but unfortunately there were a number of players who were unable to attend for a variety of reasons.
They will however receive their awards in due course.
Well done to all the teams U8, U9, U10, U11, U12 and U14s for their efforts during the season and a bit.
Some of our girls who are part of the WDSL Girls Academy also received awards on the day which were presented to them by Irish international centurian Aine O’Gorman.
Those girls were Kacey Kelly, Rose Kelly Tynan, Keira Farrelly and Hannah Martin. Our own club presentation day will take place in January (date T.B.C.) as will our A.G.M. (date T.B.C.)
Our ever-popular Development Squad has started back and will continue every weekend from 10am until 11am (Indoors) and new players are always welcome. The cost is €3 per head.
Due to the lack of space in the surrounds of the Sports Hall it may not be possible for all parents to view training inside the playing area.
Also due to the large numbers attending any players failing to attend for a number of weeks without communicating with the coaches may have to wait until spaces in the Squad become available again.
At the moment we have a large number of boys and girls attending each week and thankfully at the moment we have the required coaches needed but we wouldn’t say no to a few more volunteer coaches. If you think you can give an hour or two each week please contact our Secretary at the contact details below.
Three players from the club will celebrate a birthday in the coming week and they are JV Kelly from the Under 9s, Rose Kelly Tynan from the Under 11s and Luke Breen from the Under 14s. Happy birthday to all three from everyone at Newtown Juniors F.C.
Our Last Man Standing competition will go into a eighth week after an eventful Week 7 as five of our remaining seven players exited the competition. Those five players went after Manchester United, Southampton & Wolves all failed to win. Everton did the business for Marie McGuirk and Peter Heffernan but it wasn’t plain sailing for the Toffees but they are both through to Week 8 nonetheless.
Fixtures for Week 8 will be for the weekend of Fri. 30th November-Sun. 2nd December 2018. Fixtures for Week 8 will be sent to all remaining players on Monday 26th November 2018.
The Prize Pot for the com- petition is €550. The very best of luck to our remaining seven players. All selections must be in by 9pm on the Thursday prior to the weekend’s games.Thank you everyone for your continued support. You can keep updated with the progress of our competition on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
For information on Newtown Juniors F.C. contact the secretary at 087 6987653 or by email to hughienolan@gmail.com and follow the club on our Facebook and Twitter pages.