No effort spared

COUNTY JUNIOR B FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP St Catherines 3-14 Abbey Rovers 0-07

Abbey Rovers got their 2022 County Junior B Football Championship campaign underway on Saturday last, May 14th, when they made the short journey to Rathcormac to play St Catherines in round 1. The game was played in lovely pleasant conditions, with a slight breeze favouring Abbey Rovers in the opening half. With the opposition playing Intermediate Hurling and winning their four league games to date, nobody was under-estimating the challenge that we faced.

The game started brightly for us, with Dylan landing the first two scores of the game. We were on top in the opening stages but as has proven our downfall in recent matches, we were to concede an early goal, when a long ball in to the square was fielded by the full forward, giving Johnny no chance in the goals. Nonetheless we rallied and points from Muiris and Dylan, either side of a St Catherines point had the scores level on 14 minutes.

St Catherines took the lead with a free on 15 minutes, before both goalies were called in to action. The St Catherines keeper was the first to be called upon, when he saved a great effort from Leon from point blank range after excellent lead up play, where Dylan played in the final pass. It was Johnny’s turn in the Abbey Rovers goals shortly after, when he got down at the near post to save smartly from the opposition corner forward.

The remainder of the half saw Abbey Rovers concede a number of frees, some of which looked quite harsh, and these were dispatched by St Catherines to allow them to build a lead going towards half-time. A great point off his left foot by Patrick was Abbey Rovers final score of the half and the halftime score read St Catherines 1-06 Abbey Rovers 0-05.

Abbey Rovers suffered two hammer blows at the start of the second half, with the concession of a goal, courtesy of a flowing St Catherines move and then Dylan was withdrawn early due to injury. All the while, St Catherines were starting to put the scores on the board that their general dominance deserved. Shay shipped a hard knock soon afterwards, and he eventually had to be substituted also.

To the lads credit, they kept trying, with some wayward shooting not helping. Dane, who had by now entered the fray, made an impression on the game with a neat point and Patrick added to his tally also. St Catherines made a number of changes to their team, each of whom seemed to further strengthen them. They kept the scoreboard ticking over throughout the second half, and with time almost up, they sealed the game with a third goal, a replica of the goal they had scored earlier in the half. At the final whistle, there can be no doubting St Catherines deserved their 3-14 to 0-07 victory, and based off this display, they will be handful for whoever it is they face in the next round.

For Abbey Rovers, they will no doubt be disappointed with the second half showing, where they were second best for the majority of the half. They did try their utmost, but it was evident that the superior physical conditioning that comes with playing Intermediate Hurling was a clear advantage to the St Catherines team.

All is not lost however, and the back door beckons, with Crosshaven scheduled to provide the opposition in the next round. This is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of May 28th. We hope all of the injuries get a chance to clear up in the next week or so, and with a big effort in training, the lads will be hopeful of a big performance and getting back in to the main draw.

Panel: Johnny Batterberry, Liam McGrath, Sean Sugrue, Pat Madden, Shay Mullane, Adrian O’Donovan, Jack Relihan, Patrick Sheehan (0-02), Aidan O’Leary, David Lenihan, Muiris Browne (0-01), James Linehan, Thomas Barrett, Dylan O’Connor (0-03), Leon Farrell Subs: Noah O’Brien for Dylan O’Connor, Dane O’Neill (0-01) for Shay Mullane, Mark O’Callaghan, James Ladd.

LEAGUE FIXTURES

By the time you read these notes, we will have played our latest football league fixture against Grange. This was played in Castletownroche on Tuesday evening, May 17. Full report to follow next week.

Our next hurling league fixture is scheduled for Monday evening, May 23rd, in Castletownroche versus Newtownshandrum with a 7.30 pm throw in. Any changes to fixtures will be posted on the club social media page.

CLUB LOTTO

The latest lotto draw took place last Friday night, May 13th in the Castle Arms. The numbers drawn were 11, 18, 27 and 29. There was no winner of the €4,100 jackpot and the five €20 lucky dip winners were John Tobin, Noreens Sugrue, Niamh Magner, Nicholas O’Neill and Declan Magnier. Congratulations to all the prize winners.

The next club lotto draw takes place on Monday, May 23rd, in the Hillstop Inn, with the jackpot now standing at €4,200. 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.

CHILD SAFEGUARDING COURSE

A Child Safeguarding Course was held in the Community Hall on Friday night last. This was organised by the Children’s Officer Liz O’Leary and delivered by Irene Hogan. There was a good attendance at the course, with coaches from all of the juvenile teams and club officers in attendance.

This was a very important event and it was great to see such a great turnout. Sincere thanks to Liz and Irene for delivering the course and ensuring everybody is aware of the necessary policies and procedures.