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Castlebar Mitchels Hurling
Castlebar Mitchels Hurling Club Notes - 2 Oct 2006
By Michael Murphy
2, Oct 2006 - 22:57

U12 'A' Hurling Championship Final

Mitchels complete three-in-a-row after thriller

Castlebar Mitchels ‘A’ 3-1 ; Tooreen 0-6

Castlebar’s U12A hurling team defeated Tooreen in a great county final played Saturday at Ballyvary as the curtain raiser to the senior hurling championship semi-final. 

Having lost to the same opposition earlier in the championship, Castlebar’s homework on the training ground since then paid off, giving the club its third U12 title in a row. Midfielders Paul Colleran and Aisling Towey were effective in their job of neutralising the main threat from Tooreen’s excellent young midfielders, David Kenny and Fergal Boland. Indeed, most of Tooreen’s scores came from frees, as they could not get through the Castlebar rearguard to grab scores from play. 

Trailing by 0-3 to 0-1 at half time, despite having played well, Castlebar upped their performance in the second half and began to dominate around the middle of the field. Great work by Kevin Keena at centre-forward and Art Ó Súilleabháin on the wing created enough chances for Aran Singh and Cathal Walsh, twice, to hit the back of the net. Tooreen kept coming back, picking off points and the game was in the balance until the final whistle. 

The hooking, blocking and endless harassing of the opposition were the main reasons this game was won. Outstanding for Castlebar were David Bell, Thomas Quinn and Diarmuid Finnan in the backs, Aisling Towey and Paul Colleran at midfield, Kevin Keena and Art Ó Súilleabháin in attack. 

Afterwards John Hopkins, secretary of the hurling board, presented the ‘Dave Sinnott’ Cup to Castlebar Mitchels captain, Kevin Keena. John congratulated both teams on a fine display of hurling and thanked the referee and both sets of management for the hard work they had put into preparing the teams.

Castlebar A : Dara Singh, Ashley Jensen, Eoghan Quinn, Eamonn Kennedy, David Bell, Diarmuid Finnan, Thomas Quinn, Aisling Towey (0-1), Paul Colleran, Cathal Walsh (2-0),  Kevin Keena, Art Ó Súilleabháin, Ronan Byrne, Conor Mylett, Aran Singh (1-0), Luke Ruddy, Sarah Prendergast, Féidhlim Ralph, Eric Gavin, Rory Quinn, Seán Rowan, Abi Abbasi.

On behalf of the players and the club we would like to congratulate and thank Barry Murphy and Michael Howley for their hard work and dedication with the lads. We also wish them continued good luck with the ‘B’ team. Well done also to all the parents and others who came along to Ballyvary to support the team. There was lots of encouragement from the sideline, with some people in danger of losing their voices, and it seemed to help to inspire the young lads to a hard earned victory.

U12B Hurling Championship

The U12 B championship continues tomorrow night (Wednesday) with a home clash against Ballina. Players are asked to be at An Sportlann at 5.30 pm.

Mitchels Under 14 Hurlers gaining valuable County experience

The Mayo U14 Hurling Development Panel finished off their season recently with the Connacht-Leinster Inter-County Hurling Blitz held in Padraig Pearses Grounds in Ballinasloe on Saturday last. The Mayo side faired well in their opening round-robin games against Sligo and Longford but were on the wrong end of a close game with a Galway B selection. These good results gave Mayo a place in the Shield Final in which Mayo were pitted against an Offaly B selection. Mayo competed well in parts during the Shield Final but alas had to concede victory to a sharper Offaly side on a scoreline of 1-8 to 0-2. The Mitchels lads on duty on the day were: Barry Lane, Rory Byrne, Dara O'Malley; Colm Morris; Tony Sweeney, Michael Clune, Richard O'Dea, Alan Gavin, Niall Walsh, Padraig Condon, & Damien McHale.

Results: Round 1 - Mayo 5-6, Sligo 1-1; Round 2 - Galway B 4-7, Mayo 2-4; Round 3 - Mayo 3-9, Longford 1-1; Shield Final: Offaly 1-8, Mayo 0-2.

Under 8s get ready to take on Clarinbridge

Clarinbridge under 8 hurlers will be coming to play against the Mitchels on Saturday October 7th next. Along with Tooreen and Ballyvary they will be playing in a ‘Go Games’ Blitz in Ballyvary pitch at 11am. The Bus will leave the Sportlann at 10.30am and players should bring a packed lunch with them. Cost is €3. Training on Wednesday evening at 6pm and further info on the Clarinbridge game will be available afterwards.



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