Club Notes 24th June 2013

Upcoming fixtures
24th June, U12 Hurling challenge Vs Ahane, Home
26th June, U14 Hurling Vs Kildimo/Pallaskenry, Home, 19:00
27th June, U12 Football
28th June, Minor Hurling Vs Monaleen, Away, 19:30
29th June, U10 Hurling Blitz, Away
29th June, U16 Hurling Vs Bruff, Home, 11:00
5th/6th July Feile
5th July, Minor Football Vs St. Patricks, Home, 19:30
5th July, U8 Hurling Blitz
6th July, County Junior Hurling Vs Castletown Ballygr, Away, 19:30
10th July, U14 Football Vs Ballybricken, Away, 19:30
11th July, U12 Hurling
12th July, Minor Hurling Vs Pallasgreen, Home, 19:30
15th July, U16 Hurling Vs Hospital H, Away, 19:30

U-14 Football
Kilpeacon U14 football played their third game of the season on Wed 19th June vs Shamrock Gaels. While it may seem like a cliché this game was definitely a game of 2 halves (or 4 quarters even)!. Crecora had an awful start and were played off the field for the first quarter of the game and Shamrock Gaels should probably have been out of sight were it not for the excellent goal keeping of their captain Ben Kirby who saved at least 3 really good goal chances. Even with that Kilpeacon were 1-4 to 0-0 down by the end of this quarter. Moving Michael Fitzgerald out to midfield at this stage helped steady the ship and Kilpeacon gradually came to grips with their opposition holding them scoreless for the second quarter and even tacked on a point of their own from Paul Collins just before half time. Whether it was the inspirational team talk at half time or whatever Kilpeacon came out all guns blazing in the second half scoring 3-4 unanswered scores in the third quarter to streak ahead of their opposition. During this glorious patch Kilpeacon dominated in every aspect rarely allowing Shamrock Gaels to enter their half of the field. Unfortunately Kilpeacon lost their way again in the final quarter allowing Shamrock Gaels back into the match with a few well taken scores which ultimately resulted in them winning the match by 4-5 to 3-5. However Kilpeacon should take great heart from their ability and determination to turn around the game in the middle section especially given that they were missing a number of their stronger players to holidays on the night. Kilpeacon play their next game of the season away to Ballybricken/Bohermore on Wed 10th July at 7:30pm in Crecora.

Training continues each Sunday evening in Crecora.

U-12 Football & Hurling
Well done to all players last evening on our emphatic win against our near neighbours Mungret in the U12 Hurling league and this without our older players who were on their school tour. This performance by our players emphasised the strength in depth we have within the squad and while we scored 3:7 , more importantly we held this Mungret outfit to a solitary score over the 40 minutes of play. This type of performance can only happen when every player works hard and chases down everything and all 17 players last evening put 100% into the game so well done to everyone as this was purely a team performance.

Football training continues as normal each Sunday evening at 6pm so hopefully we can have a decent turn out. We have one more game in this round of the football league and being unbeaten so far we are on course to finish top again and move up the rankings. We showed last Saturday that we can match the best of them and with a little bit of training we are well on course for the future. We need to organise some challenge matches against the so called heavy hitters in U12 Football and hopefully we will arrange one over the coming weeks.Please see attached a photo of the U12 footballers who attended the tournament hosted by Boher last weekend.

We have a Challenge U12 hurling match against Ahane on Monday 24th June in Crecora. We will use this game as an opportunity for players to play in different positions to the norm as much as possible and again everyone will get a decent run out on the night.

Our next Hurling League game is on 4th july when we travel to Murroe Boher . This is a game where we need all available so please keep this date in mind.

U6 & U8 Hurling
On Friday evening the Crecora Minister team played a challenge match against a team from Patrickswell.
We had a good turn out from the Crecora Manister Players despite quite a lot of them having a very busy week with school tour and school plays.

Both team contested well and were well engaged despite very wet condition s for the first match.
The rain cleared for the second match and it was an enjoyable evening and beneficial to the players.
Thanks to all the players who took part.
Keep up your training at the pitch and at home!

U8 & U10 Football
Crecora Manister GAA Club currently field underage football teams at all competitive levels from U12 to Minor. The club would like to ensure we continue to field football teams at all underage levels so we have commenced football training for U8 and U10s on Sundays from 6pm to 7pm. Training commenced on Sunday 23rd June, with a good turn-out of players. All enjoyed the drills and the match.

We would also like to hear from anybody who would like to help out in any way, however small, with coaching football at this age group. For further details contact Noel Kennedy 086-1589256

Summer Camp
Crecora/Manister GAA annual Summer Camp will take place from Monday 1st to Thursday 4th July this year at the GAA field. This is not just limited to Crecora/Manister players so feel free to pass on the word to friends, cousins, etc. Enquiries on Summer Camp to Pat Quirke 087-2347077.

Feile
Crecora Manister GAA Club along with Fedamore GAA Club, competing as Kilpeacon and Crecora Camogie Club are host clubs for this years u14 Feile. This is a great honour for our clubs and the GAA ground in Crecora will be the centre of activity on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th July. The parents of the U14 players are acting as hosts for the weekend and it will be a busy time for them looking after players from our visiting teams. We are asking older players and parents of other children in the club to help out over the 2 days in ensuring the club provides a huge welcome to our guests from Dungannon from Tyrone and Truagh from Clare.
There are many ways in which you can help – carparking at the ground, bringing sandwiches\buns\etc. on Sat, serving tea\coffee or even turning up to support our Hurling and Camogie teams. Making yourself available for even just 1 hour can make a difference. Please reply to this email or contact Pat Byrnes or Ronan Kirby if you are in a position to contribute and what times you are available. The plan is to draw up a schedule to ensure the load is shared evenly and to give everybody a chance to enjoy the games as well.

Club Notes 17th June 2013

Upcoming fixtures
19th June, U14 Football Vs Shamrock Gaels, Home, 20:15
20th June, U12 Hurling Vs Mungret
26th June, U14 Hurling Vs Kildimo/Pallaskenry, Home, 19:00
27th June, U12 Football
28th June, Minor Hurling Vs Monaleen, Away, 19:30
29th June, U10 Hurling Blitz, Away
29th June, U16 Hurling Vs Bruff, Home, 11:00

U-14 Football
Kilpeacon U14 football played their second game of the season on Wed 5th June vs Mungret. While Kilpeacon lost this game by 2-4 to 0-4 the score didn’t accurately reflect the tightness of the game. All that separated the team in the end were the two defensive errors that Mungret capitalised on by scoring two goals towards the end of the first half. Kilpeacon on the other hand had numerous chances in the first half that they just failed to finish. Despite the two goal difference Kilpeacon fought very hard in the second half which resulted in only a single point each for both teams. Scorers for Kilpeacon were Cillian Burke 0-1 and Paul Collins 0-3. Kilpeacon play their third game of the season vs Shamrock Gaels this Wed 19th June at 8:15pm in Crecora.

Training continues each Sunday evening in Crecora.

U-14 Hurling
Kilpeacon (Crecora Manister and Fedamore GAA ) held our second u14 Hurling Championship match on Wednesday 12th in Crecora against Newcastlwest. We had a great turnout of players and this made selection of the team difficult for the coaches. We started the match well and had a number of scoring chances which unfortunately went wide. We got on the scoreboard after good attacking play but Newcastlewest scored 2 goals and a point before half time which left us with an uphill battle for the second half.

We made some changes at half time and gradually narrowed the deficit. We scored good points from Karl Moloney , Cathal O’Neill and the other forwards worked hard and gained frees in scoreable positions. These were converted . The match was now very evenly poised but the defence held firm with Padraig Byrnes in goals well protected by Ciaran Humphries, Ben Kirby and Brendan Power. Our half backs of Richard Murphy, Jack Dalton and James Conheady were hurling well along with Donnacha and Karl at midfield. We continued to put pressure on the Newcastlewest defence and were rewarded with a well taken goal by Paul Collins.

We were now in the lead and held on well in the closing minutes for a well-earned victory.

This was very much a victory for the squad and while some players were obviously a bit disappointed that they did not get a full match, we are limited in the number of substitutions that can be used in Championship matches.

Our next Championship match is on 26th June in Crecora against Kildimo Pallaskenry

U-12 Football & Hurling
On Thurs 6th June we played Pallasgreen in the U12’s hurling League . On a very warm evening and with our match being the curtain raiser to a junior hurling match , it was great to see a big turnout from the panel of players and also a great support on the sidelines. The match began very well for Pallasgreen who scored 1:1 to no reply within the first 5-6 mins and at that stage our players knew we had a game on our hands , so after a couple of positional switches our boys came into their own and for the rest of the game kept our opponents down to a solitary point while in the process scoring 4:5. There were some very good displays all around the field with Jack ruling the mid field and Dara Foley proving to be a natural full forward by putting 3:1 up on the score board.

While it is always important to mention those who score , if it were not for the support play , great defence and other forwards laying on the ball , we would not be able to applause the scorers so well done to the whole panel for their contribution last evening in testing conditions.

We are still going well in the football with another win achieved last evening . Not an easy one though , Caherconlish gave it a right lash and really put it up to us all through the game. It must be said that although we were not at our best on the day , the group of 19 players all played their own part in working hard to ensure the outcome in the end. It is good to have these strong physical matches .No matter what code we play , be it hurling or football things do not always go the way we want them , and to see a team dig deep and work hard together is very pleasing for us the coaches , no matter what the outcome in the end. Crecora won the game on a scoreline of 1:6 to 1:2 , with both sides having gone in level at half time. Well done to both teams on a spirited performance. Speaking to the referee at the end of the game , he said he thoroughly enjoyed the game which was played in good spirit.

Our U12 football players were invited to a tournament hosted by Murroe Boher on Saturday and with eight teams split into two groups there was a lot of football played. We won our three group games and played Oola in the final which was a tough affair with both teams giving everything even after already having played 3 games . In the end Oola prevailed by 2 points but to be fair to both teams , the game could have gone either way and we look forward to playing Oola later again this season . thanks a million to murroe boher for the welcome and hospitality they afforded us. We have a hurling match next Thursday 20th June against Mungret .

Summer Camp
Crecora/Manister GAA annual Summer Camp will take place from Monday 1st to Thursday 4th July this year at the GAA field. This is not just limited to Crecora/Manister players so feel free to pass on the word to friends, cousins, etc. It follows on Friday with the opening round of Feile na Gael where we welcome the Tyrone hurling champions Dungannon. Enquiries on Summer Camp to Pat Quirke 087-2347077.

Fundraising
The sponsored walk up Keeper Hill to raise funds for Feile took place last Sunday 16th June and was an enjoyable and well supported event despite the inclement weather. The majority of walkers made it to the top and back with a few choosing some slightly more leisurely alternatives. Thanks to all who came along on the day and supported the event.

Club Notes 3rd June 2013

Upcoming fixtures
5th June, U14 Football Vs Mungret, Home, 19:00
6th June, U12 Hurling Vs Pallasgreen, Home, 18:30
8th June, Junior Hurling Vs Feenagh/Kilmeedy, Home, 19:30
12th June, U14 Hurling Vs NCW, Home, 19:00
13th June, U12 Football Vs Caherconlish, Away, 18:45
19th June, U14 Football Vs Mungret, Home, 19:00

U-14 football
Congratulations to Kilpeacon U14 footballers Karl Maloney and Paul Collins on their selection to the U14 County football panel. Karl and Paul are getting their reward for loyalty to the game of football and to the club that nurtured their skills. Proof if it was need that Kilpeacon continues to be a great nursery for both hurling and football and that all players can make their potential at the club. Karl and Paul impressed the county selector at a training session in Crecora, there are several other players on the panel with the potential to setup up to county level and if they continue to train on Sunday evening and practice their football skills, they will.
Our under 14 football team hit the ground running in the first game of the season with a big win over Hospital/Herbertstown in a fast-paced, exiting game. Kilpeacon showed they were in winning form when early in the first half the hard working Karl Maloney floated in a ball to the danger zone and Jack Dalton took advantage and cunningly deflected it into the net, perfect start. With the every reliable Ben Carew playing at half back any break away attack was cut off , Ben was combining well with his half forwards and ensure CKilpeacon were keeping the territorial advantage.

The opening score was quickly followed by Paul Collins racking up two points from play and then he converted a third from a free. Paul was showing skills that impressed the U14 Limerick selectors to earn his call up to the county panel. Kilpeacon were now playing with the wind at their backs and showed they could use the elements. There was a ready supply of ball into the forward target man Cillian Burke he was working very hard and combining well with the half forwards to cause problems for the Hospital/Herbertstown defense. Kilpeacons hard work was rewarded and they bagged two more goals prior to the interval. When Peter Boohan converted a specular point with his favorite left boot it closed out the perfect first half performance from the Kilpeacon team.

For the second half Hospital/Herbertstown men were aided with a strong wind that strength through the second half. It took something special from the Kilpeacon men to hold the game. The second half was all about a sturdy Kilpeacon defence and how Kilpeacon would deal with the Hospital/Herbertstown comeback and the strengthen wind. Center half back Ben Carew played in his best position, showing composure under pressure and was able to hold the fort. Matthew Stenson combined well with his midfielder Karl Maloney to set up the opening score of the second half. This score settled Kilpeacon and they grew in confidence after the score. The final attaching channel was cut off by Donnacha Connolly last year’s U12 captain, he has carried last years form into this season and he is certainly maturing well into a footballer with style and elegance. We expect if this form continues he will be a player that Limerick will be looking to for next years U14 panel. Richard Murphy and Mike Fitzgerald were rock solid at full back, not giving an inch of space to the attacking side and were able to use the ball efficiently to keep the attack at bay. The ever reliable and versatile Ben Kirby played in goals for most of the match, and did everything required from him when the pressure came on. In the final 10 mins of the game Kilpeacon showed the best form of defence is attack, Jack Galvin who moved to his natural half forward position, he carried a ball from almost the 45 bursting through the defense and buried the ball in the corner of the net and it was clear that the ball had gave over written on it, certainly the goal of the evening and a just reward for a player who always gives 100%. Man of the match for was Sam O’Donnell, he played in forward and in defense, he exemplified the Kilpeacon’s determination on the night. If the team can replicate this performance, this team will be hard to beat. Its clear that Kilpeacon footballers are on the right road and the are looking forward to the next match on Wednesday 6th June at 7pm in Crecora.

Training continues each Sunday evening at 6pm in Crecora.

U-12 Football & Hurling
Summer is finally here , at least for a few days anyway !!

We played our first Game of the Second Round U12 Hurling League against a very strong Garryspillane side on Thursday 21st May evening and despite losing by a solitary score , credit where credit is due , our lads never gave up and with some very strong displays from Jack and Chris plus a great opportunist goal from Ciaran , we left nothing behind us. It was easily a step up in Level for us both on the Skills element but also on the physical and fitness element and we as coaches learnt a lot from this game . These games help in the further development of the squad and if I was to pick one point only to emphasise to all the players it would be to work on first touch. Win the ball , get it into the hand , take four steps out of trouble and then drive it on or move forward.

Last Thursday evening 27th May we hosted Murroe Boher in the first game of the second phase of the football league where we are playing the winners of groups from the first phase. All I can say about the performance last evening is excellent . There seemed to be a great bond running throughout the team with everyone supporting each other , players competing very well , and closing down their opponents when we did not have the ball. We won the game on a score line of 5:03 to 1:05 , a comfortable 10 point win . Murroe Boher proved to be tough opponents and displayed some great skills of their own and certainly made us work hard for our win.On a fine evening the game was played in good spirit and was a very clean game with minimal frees given. Well done to both teams.

Training will continue both for football on Sunday evening at 18:00pm and on hurling on Monday at 7pm. We have a home hurling Game next Thursday 6th June against Pallasgreen again at 18:30pm and with the pitch in such good condition it promises to be a fast open game. We look forward to all your support on the night.

Summer Camp
Crecora/Manister GAA annual Summer Camp will take place from Monday 1st to Thursday 4th July this year at the GAA field. This is not just limited to Crecora/Manister players so feel free to pass on the word to friends, cousins, etc. It follows on Friday with the opening round of Feile na Gael where we welcome the Tyrone hurling champions Dungannon. Enquiries on Summer Camp to Pat Quirke 087-2347077.

Fundraising
A sponsored walk will take place up Keeper Hill on Sunday 16th June at 2pm to raise funds for Feile. More details on this next week.