Club Notes 9th February 2010

Bereavements

On behalf of the club I would like to extend our deepest sympathy to the relatives and friends of Pete Ward who passed away last weekend. I was privileged to know the Pete who was a true gentleman. He had a great sense of humour and always had a special place in his heart for Gaelic football. I would also like to extend our sincere condolences to Aidan Sheridan on the death of his uncle Paul McDermott. May they both rest in peace.

Juvenile Presentation Night

Our juvenile presentation night will take place tonight Thursday 11^th February in St. Mary’s Hall at 7.00pm. Medals will be presented to our victorious under 16 team that won the league cup, also runners-up medals will be presented to our minor team who were narrowly defeated in the final and runners-up medals will also be presented to our under 12 team that reached the final of the shield competition. Everyone is welcome to come along and join in for what always is a very enjoyable night. The youngsters will receive their medals from County Monaghan star Eoin Lennon.

Social Night

Our annual social and presentation night will take place on Friday 26^th February in St. Mary’s Hall. Entertainment will be provided by the fabulous Brassroots. The highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Hall of Fame Award and the Senior, Reserve and Minor Player of the Year Awards.  

Lamh Dhearg 0-9  Rockcorry 0-4

A handful of ‘die hard’ supporters decided to brave the bitterly cold weather conditions last Thursday evening when our senior team travelled to Belfast to play Lamh Dhearg in our first game of the Ulster club football league. Played in wet, slippery and very windy conditions Lamh Dhearg had the better of the opening exchanges and opened the scoring in the 8^th minute with a fine point from the left wing and doubled their lead four minutes later when they notched over a free kick.  Our real first attack came in the 15^th minute, when Keith Daly made a good burst up the field and set up Johnny Reilly, however his attempt at the posts was slightly wide.  We eventually got on the scoreboard when Noel Carroll tapped over a neat point in the 18^th minute after excellent attacking football by Garry Calvert. During the next five minutes both teams missed some very easy scoring chances and when Noel Carroll was brought down on the 21 metre line, Mark Daly was on hand to sail over the free kick to leave the sides level after twenty five minutes of play. At this stage of the game it looked like we found our second wind but moments later Lamh Dhearg set up another attack and notched over points in the 26^th and 28^th minute to open up a two point lead. With only seconds remaining of the first half we made a last attack which resulted in Dwayne Rooney’s shot at goal saved by the Lamh Dearg goalie. The half time score Lamh Dhearg 0-4 Rockcorry 0-2. At the interval, team management made two substitutions with Mark McGuirk and Liam Connolly coming on for Coiln Reilly and Keelan Clerkin respectively.  On the restart, Lamh Dhearg extended their lead in the 4^th minute when they notched over a free kick. We suffered a further setback minutes later as our midfielder Mark Daly picked up an ankle injury and had to retire early. Cathal Sheridan came into the game and soon got stuck into the action and with some fine attacking play Keith Daly was set up and shot over a fine point from the right wing in the 12th minute to close the deficit back to 0-2 points. As the game progressed Lamh Dhearg started to apply pressure and dominated the next ten minutes and opened up a five point lead when they scored three points, all from free kicks, in the 13^th, 18^th and 20^th minute. Indeed the lead could off been a lot more only for a great save by our goalie Jamie Smith in the 17^th minute to deny Lamh Dhearg a goal. During the final stages of the game both teams exchanged points to leave the final score Lamh Dhearg 0-9 Rockcorry 0-4. On reflection, it was a good, tight game of football and while the final score shows a five point victory for Lamh Dhearg it doesn’t reflect how tough the exchanges were. There were times when we were our own worst enemies with several promising attacks that led to nothing due to over-elaborating and some players not taking the responsibility to go for their own scores. Overall the management can be quite pleased with the level of performance and the commitment shown by the players.

Ulster Club Football League Fixtures

This Sunday we travel to play Craigbane in Derry. The game has a 2.00pm throw-in and all players are requested to be there no later than 1.30pm.

Senior Debuts

Two of our young players, Keelan Clerkin and Mark McGuirk, made their senior debuts last Thursday evening when they played in the Ulster club football league. Both of these players have shown at underage level they can produce the goods and they have grown from strength to strength. Hopefully, these young players will aspire to work hard and earn themselves a first team place.

Training

We have a tough campaign ahead of us in the intermediate league so no stone must be left unturned as we get ready for the start of the season. Training continues every Monday and Friday nights and all players are requested to attend. If however, you are unable to make it please notify David, Tom or Cormac. Keep up the good work lads.

Website

Check out our brand new website www.rockcorrygaa.ie for all the latest club news, fixtures, results, club activities and visit the “Gallery” page to see a vast selection of photographs. There are still a few pages / sections under construction and I hope to have these completed shortly. I hope you will find the website useful and informative and you can help make it better by sending in your comments through the “contact us” page. I look forward to hearing your views.

Happy Birthday

Garry Calvert celebrated a significant milestone recently and like a fine bottle of wine he’s improving with age. Happy birthday Garry and many more of them and by the way it wasn’t me that put the ad on the radio!

Top 4 Lotto Results

The numbers drawn on Monday 8^th February were 1, 4, 9 and 19. There was no jackpot winner of €1,700.00. The following won €15 each :- Pascal Smyth Lisnalong, Margaret Reilly Aghabog, Sean Delaney Newbliss, Coil & Breda Rockcorry, Thomas Reilly Newbliss, Cathal Sheridan Rockcorry, Aoife & Ryan Finnegan Newbliss, Cecilia Thompson Newbliss. Next weeks jackpot will be €1,800.00 and the draw will take place in the Stag Inn, Newbliss. Thank you supporting our Top 4 lotto draw.

Speedy Recovery

Best wishes and a speedy recovery to John Greenan who picked up a knee injury recently. We look forward to seeing you back in the green jersey as soon as possible.

Club Membership

Stephen Lynch is collecting club membership. The fee is €25 for adults and €5 for under 18’s. All players should pay their membership before the start of the playing season otherwise you will not be covered under the GAA insurance scheme.