Last week we looked back that the
season so far for the senior teams;
this week we take a look at how
the underage teams have been going.
The seniors were also back in action
this week when they took on Rostrevor
and the U12’s took on a fancied
Carryduff in the League.
• The minor’s season
didn’t get of to the best
of starts. They travelled to Carryduff
only to be well beaten on the day.
They then continued to struggle
with results. However, while the
results may not have been going
their way the performances were
beginning to come together. Following
a number of defeats they put together
their best performance of the season
when they beat the then league leaders
Carryduff by eight points. They
followed that win up with another
impressive victory over Downpatrick
but lost out to Mayobridge in the
championship. Having entered another
East Down League they had wins over
Teconnaught and Loughinisland before
losing to the same team in the B
championship.
• The U16’s kicked
of their season with a home tie
against local rivals Liatroim. In
a very close contest they picked
up a draw and had luck been on their
side they could have won the game.
After that, injuries began to deplete
the side and they lost a few games
on the trot, before picking up a
morale boosting win against Bryansford.
As the injuries continued to mount
they lost out to Ardglass in the
championship while in the league
they took on An Riocht at home and
produced possibly their best performance
of the season. Many expected them
to lose heavily but they produced
a very determined and gritty performance
and despite losing narrowly they
had shown many what they are capable
of. They then recently took part
in the Bryansford tournament and
reached the semi finals only to
be beaten by Castlewellan.
• The U14’s got of
to a fantastic start when they accounted
for Clonduff in their opening match.
After that they reeled of four wins
on the trot, including Burren, before
having a very tough match against
Bosco in which, despite playing
some fantastic football, they lost
out by the narrowest of margins.
They then began to struggle and
compiled with some injuries they
lost to Burren and Mayobridge. In
the championship they easily accounted
for Kilclief and now face Bryansford
in the quarter finals. The team
have however picked up some silverware
this season. Within the last couple
of weeks they took part in the An
Roicht Paul Farrell Cup Saval beating
An Roicht in the final.
• The U12’s season has
been an impressive one to date.
They kicked of the year with a comfortable
win against Ballykinlar, and then
they had wins over Darragh Cross,
Downpatrick, Kilclief and Saul (in
the championship). They remain unbeaten
in the league and proudly sit top
on the section. They picked up the
clubs first piece of silverware
this season when they retained the
Gary Cunningham trophy beaten Downpatrick,
Rostrevor and Mayobridge along the
way. They also recently won the
An Roicht Brian O’Hare Cup,
they lost in the final of the Gary
Murray tournament and they now face
Bredagh in the championship. On
Sunday they had a tough game against
Carryduff and produced a good performance
to win comfortably.
• The season to date has
been an indifferent one for all
the underage teams, for some the
season started brightly before beginning
to struggle for others the struggles
began from the start and as the
year has gone on they have begun
to find their form. There is no
doubt that the continuous injuries
this season have created problems
for some of the teams with the biggest
impact on the U16’s. As in
previous year the underage teams
continue to do the club proud and
the club would like to encourage
them as the season for some of them
slowly draws to a close.
• The seniors were also in
action this week with Rostrevor
the visitors to Own Roe Park. Damian
Grant got the game underway when
he pointed within 30 seconds of
throw in. However it was Rostrevor
who looked the better team in the
first half and they began to take
their chances. In fact with two
minutes of normal time left in the
first half they led 0-6 to 0-2.
Then came the best move of the match,
a long ball from Damian Grant in
defence was caught by Conor Morgan,
he led it of to Dominic McEvoy who
played in Gary McEvoy, his alertness
saw Brian O’Hanlon running
in on goal to walk the ball in to
the net. Following a nasty injury
to Emmett Devlin their was six minutes
of time added on and Rostrevor took
advantage as they added two more
points to leave the half time score
1-3 to 0-8. The magpies started
the second half brightly with Damian
Grant once again getting things
underway from a free, two minutes
later Conor Laverty pointed to level
the match. Rostrevor though responded
and went three points clear with
fifteen minutes to go. Another Grant
free reduced the gap to two before
Conor Laverty put the home side
in front for the first time since
the open minute of the match with
a second goal following some good
play between Gary McEvoy and Conor
Morgan. From then on both sides
exchanged points before a Rostrevor
free was pointed right at the end
of normal time to give them the
win.
Brendan Gribben (PRO)
Kilcoo GFC
028 – 437 - 71672
