Loss in first league match

Our senior hurlers had their first league game last Thursday against a strong Blackrock outfit up in the Church Road grounds under lights. Lining out with just 4 players from the All-Ireland final because of injuries and knocks, we were relying on our strong panel to shine through on a windy and showery evening.

Blackrock started the better, going 3 points to no score up while playing against the breeze. Castlelyons composed themselves and saw some great play with Brian Spillane finding his range and firing the ball over the bar to get Castlelyons on the scoresheet. Blackrock were looking dangerous however and managed to bisect our defence after 12 minutes to strike for the game’s first goal. They led 1-04 to 0-1. Castlelyons responded very well and through the hard work of Colm McCarthy, Ronan Fenton and James Kearney we were able to reduce the gap. Before half-time we scored a well-deserved goal when Shane Flynn made a long run into the opposition half and his shot was well saved only for Peter Roche to bury the rebound into the net. We went in 4 points down at half-time 1-10 to 1-06.

Castlelyons fought hard for every square inch in the 2nd half although they were playing against difficult conditions and strong opponents. Blackrock were never fully able to break us down and that was due in large part to the sterling efforts of Gavin O’Neill in goals, Colm Barry, Jamie O’Leary and Rob Feeney. Brian O’Donovan was accurate on the frees and converted all the chances he could and finished with 6 points in total. Try as we might, we couldn’t close the gap sufficiently enough and Blackrock were always that little bit too strong for us. The game finished on a scoreline of 1-18 to 1-13 to the home side.

Next up is a trip to Riverstick to play Ballymartle on Thursday, 21st March at 7.30pm.

Team: Gavin O’Neill, Colm Barry, Jamie O’Leary, Matthew Rosner, Colm McCarthy (0-01f), Shane Flynn, Rob Feeney (0-01), James Kearney (0-01), Brian O’Donovan (0-06f), Ronan Fenton (0-3), Shane Cotter, Brian Spillane (0-02), Oscar Hallihan, Peter Roche (1-0). Subs: Ciaran McGann for J O’Leary 40 minutes, Jack Kenny for O’Hallihan, 45 minutes, Eoin Barry for Peter Roche 55 minutes, Michael Griffin for Shane Cotter 55 minutes.

LAST CHANCE SOON FOR REBELS’ BOUNTY

The first draws of the 2024 Rebels’ Bounty will take place at the end of the month which means time is running out for you to buy your ticket for this year. The Rebels’ Bounty draw is becoming a key fundraiser for clubs like ourselves. The funding from this draw has contributed to the overall running costs of the club along with helping to fund the kitting out of the club gym. The money that has been raised also has been placed into the development fund. The Rebels’ Bounty draw has over €500,000 in prize money, 12 draws in the year and with over 30 prizes within each draw. There have been some sizeable Castlelyons winners over the last few years so the only way of being in with a chance to win is to buy a ticket. If you wish to buy a ticket you can contact any member of the GAA committee or visit gaacork.ie/rebelsbounty and make sure to put Castlelyons as your club!

UPCOMING FIXTURES

Div 3 Hurling League v Ballymartle fixed for Thursday, 21st March at 7.30pm in Riverstick. East Cork Div 2 Junior Hurling League v Fr O’Neills fixed for Tuesday, 26th March at 7.30pm in Castlelyons.

LOTTO

Numbers drawn on 11th March were 2, 10, 15 and 32. There was no winner of the jackpot. Lucky dip winners were Ann Cotter, Mary Dorgan, Shane O’Sullivan, Malachy Cullen, Mary Quinn, Finnan Waters, Una Moloney and Donal Sheehan. Next week’s jackpot is €18,800. Make sure to buy your ticket to be in with a chance to win. This week’s draw took place on Tuesday, 19th March at 8pm in the Community Centre.

SPONSOR

Thanks to our sponsors East Cork Oil for their continued support.