Defeat for Abbey Rovers

DIVISION 2 FOOTBALL LEAGUE Abbey Rovers 0-05 Deel Rovers 1-15

Abbey Rovers took on Deel Rovers in their third league football fixture of the season in Castletownroche on Friday, April 1st. There was a distinct chill in the air, but conditions were otherwise perfect for football. After two good performances in the league to this point, there was some reason for optimism heading in to this game, however the lads never got going and the result was never really in doubt.

Scores were at a premium in the opening stages of the game and Abbey Rovers registered their first score on 9 minutes through James, to narrow the deficit to a single point. The score stayed that way until the 16th minute but it was in that second quarter of the game Deel Rovers took over completely registering 9 points without reply in this period of the game to end the game as a context. They led by 0-10 to 0-01 at the break.

Any hope of an Abbey Rovers comeback were dashed when Deel Rovers found the net in the opening minute of the second half. To be fair to our backs, they were under an amount of pressure over the hour, but they stuck manfully to their task, with Johnny in goals making a couple of great saves to keep the score down. We played much better for the remainder of the second half, matching the opposition score for score with a brace of points from both Dylan and Mark.

We threw caution to the wind but no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t get the goal our general play deserved. By the end of the game, Deel Rovers were comfortable and worthy winners on a 1-15 to 0-05 scoreline.

You have nights like this, and there is no doubt the lads will learn from it. They have a couple of weeks before the next football game and hopefully we will be closer to full strength for that game. Thanks to the referee on the night, Dave Twomey, who had to fill in at short notice and did a good job in keeping the game flowing.

Team: Johnny Batterberry, Will Madden, Noah O’Brien, Liam McGrath, Pat Madden, Adrian O’Donovan, Jack Relihan, Shay Mullane, Patrick Sheehan, Leon Farrell, Dylan O’Connor (0-02), Aiden O’Leary, James Ladd, James Linehan (0-01), Mark O’Callaghan (0-02).

DIVISION 2 HURLING LEAGUE Ballyhea 3-17 Castletownroche 1-13

Castletownroche played their second game in 48 hours, with Ballyhea providing the opposition in the latest fixture in the hurling league. This game was played in Ballyhea on Sunday, April 3rd, and conditions were ideal. While the result did not go in our favour, there were some encouraging parts to our play on the day. We are not having much luck on the injury front at present, but hopefully the players who had to go off during this game will be ok for the next game in a couple of weeks.

The first half was an even affair, with Ballyhea having the opening score on 3 minutes. Over the first quarter, the teams traded points to be level at 4 points each. Our scores all came from play through Dane, Mark, a monstrous effort from Muiris and Aiden. Ballyhea had the first green flag of the day on 15 minutes and added 5 of the next 6 points. A goal from Aiden stopped the rot and two points from Patrick had us in a seemingly strong position as we headed towards the half time whistle. However, the Ballyhea men added a goal and a point before the break to lead 2-10 to 1-07 at half time.

The second half saw Patrick open the scoring. Disaster struck on 34 minutes when Ballyhea scored their third goal of the afternoon. No blame can be attributed to the backline who all worked feverishly over the hour. Mick in the goals made a number of fine saves to keep us in the game. We needed goals and a great effort from Aiden almost yielded a second green flag. We hit a number of wides at this stage but overall, our shooting was pretty good, with Mark adding 4 points from placed balls in the second half. Ballyhea added 7 points in total in the second half but the final score of the game fell to that old stalwart, Dave Butler, who hit a great point from distance to conclude the scoring.

Ballyhea it was who emerged deserving 3-17 to 1-13 victors, however we can be pleased with many aspects of our play. The injuries are not helping but once they clear up, we will have a far better idea on how we are shaping up for the season ahead. Thanks to referee Dwaine Collins, who handled what was a tough but sporting contest well over the hour.

Panel: Mick Ryan, Will Madden, Sean Sugrue, Liam McGrath, Shay Mullane, Muiris Browne (0-01), Jack Relihan, Aidan O’Leary (1-01), Dylan O’Connor, Mark O’Callaghan (0-06), Patrick Sheehan (0-03), Pat Madden, Dane O’Neill (0-01), James Linehan, Adrian O’Donovan. Subs: James Ladd for Dylan O’Connor, Adrian O’Callaghan for Jack Relihan, Dave Butler (0-01) for Sean Sugrue.

FIXTURES

After a hectic couple of weeks, the team now get a chance to draw breathe with no fixtures scheduled until April 18th, when the footballers will face off against Glanworth in Castletownroche. At the moment, that game is scheduled for 5pm, and will be confirmed in the coming week.

2019 LEAGUE WINNERS CAR DRAW

There are less than two weeks to go until the rescheduled 2019 Car Draw for teams who won leagues in 2019. The draw will take place on Tuesday, April 19th in Cavanagh Motors, Fermoy. The top prize in the draw - which involves six clubs, being the respective winners of the 2019 leagues in football and hurling - is a Ford Fiesta, with two further prizes of €1,000 and 15 prizes of €250. This is a great fundraising opportunity for the club and ticket sales are going well. Tickets cost €20 each, or €50 for a book of three tickets, and can be obtained from any club official or player.

All funds raised will go towards the development of the facilities at the pitch. As always, the club are very appreciative to everybody who supports these draws, which are vital for the club finances.

CLUB LOTTO

The next club Lotto draw takes place on Monday, April 11th, in The Hill Stop Inn, with the jackpot now standing at €3,900. Tickets are available through local retail outlets in the village, from your usual sellers or through any club officer. The club would like to express our appreciation to everybody who continues to support our draw.

ADULT CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Adult club membership for 2022 remains at €50 per adult/€20 for students and OAPs.

We would appreciate if all of those who have membership outstanding for 2022 can arrange payment to any club officer in the next two weeks.

CLUB SOCIAL

The club social, postponed from March 2020, has finally been rescheduled for Friday, April 29th in Springfort Hall Country House Hotel at 7pm. On the night, we will finally be presenting medals to the victorious 2019 Junior B County Hurling, North Cork Junior B and Division 3 North Cork Football League winners. We will also be honouring the 1998 Junior B County Hurling Champions with a presentation on the night. Tickets are €35 each and can be obtained from any club member. It would be great to have a big turn-out on what promises to be a great night.

REBEL BOUNTY 2022

The latest Rebel Bounty draw took place on Thursday night last in Pairc Ui Chaoimh. The lucky winner of the €20,000 jackpot was Tommy Kennedy from Youghal. There were many other cash prizes drawn on the night but unfortunately, we had no winner from Castletownroche. The next draw is at the end of April and we will continue to post the winners in these notes. You can also find the winners on the Cork GAA website.