Senior Ladies

Last week saw our senior ladies retain their Division 1 league status courtesy of a draw with Sarsfields on Wednesday and the awarding of points from their games with Ballyhegan and Silverbridge.

The game on Wednesday was a tough and hard fought affair which the sides finish all-square, 5- 8 to 5 - 8. The Shanes were better the side in the opening exchanges of the first-half and led by five points mid-way through the half, 3 - 4 to 2 - 2 thanks to scores from Aimee Mackin, Blaithin Mackin and Aoibheann Jones. However, Sarsfields finished the half the stronger side and by the break they had a four point advantage, 4 - 5 to 3 - 4.

An early second-half goal saw Sarfields stretch their lead to seven and they managed to keep this advantage through-out most of the second period and they looked odds on to claim the win. With less than five minutes to go the Shanes were six points in arrears before Ellen Hannaway punched the ball to the Sarsfields net to leave just three between them. With the game almost over Aimee Mackin was clean through on the Sarfields goal when she was deliberately and nastily yanked back by the pony-tail which resulted in a penalty being awarded. After receiving some lengthy treatment Aimee Mackin stepped up to clinically despatch the ball to the net only for the referee to demand that the penalty be taken again. However Aimee remained calm and again fired home the penalty to see her side claim a fully deserved draw.

The girls were scheduled to play Ballyhegan and Silverbridge later in the week but both games were awarded to the Shanes as neither of their opponents were able to field teams and as a consequence the girls maintained their Division 1 status. Well done to all the girls and their management team on a successful season.

U16 Boys

Congratulations to our U16 boys who claimed the Division 1 shield title with a two point win over Armagh Harps last Sunday evening in Keady, 3 - 10 to 2 - 11.

The sides swapped points in the opening minutes of the game with Eamon McCabe scoring for the Shanes. The Harps then hit three points in a row but the Shanes hit back with three of their own with Matthew Girvan (2) and Eamon McCabe on target. A goal from the Harps put them three ahead again before another Matthew Girvan point reduced the deficit to just two and the same player set up Emmet Osborne to fist to the net to put the Shanes ahead for the first time in the game. A late point from the Harps saw the teams go in level at the break, 1 - 5 apiece.

The Shanes made a great start to the second-half when Ciaran Mackin got on the end of an Emmet Osborne flick to fire the ball to the Harps net and put his side three to the good. The Harps got the next two points to leave just the minimum between the sides before Emmet Osborne popped over a point to edge the Shanes further ahead. The Harps then scored four points on the trot to lead by two before the Shanes hit a real purple patch, scoring 1 - 4 without reply and lead their opponents by five. Ciaran Mackin hit 1 - 2 during this spell with Matthew Girvan and Jack Morgan getting a point each to all but claim the win for the Camlough side. With game in injury time the Harps scored their second goal but the Shanes managed to secure possession from the kick-out and ran the clock down to claim the win, 3 - 10 to 2 - 11.

Well done to all the leads and their management team for all their hard-work and commitment throughout the year.

The winning team was: M Bradley, O Daly, L Cowan, M Byrne, N O'Reilly, E McQuade, J Kenny, R Byrne, S Hillen, N McShane, J Smith, C Mackin (2-2), M Girvan (0-4), E Osborne (Capt) (1 -1), E McCabe (0-2), P Garvey, J Morgan (0-1), C Feely

U16 Girls

It was also a successful week for our U16 girls as they claimed the Division 1 league title on Thursday night with a 2-9 to 2-4 victory over Clann Eireann in atrocious conditions in Lurgan.
The first half was played in torrential rain which made it especially difficult for both sets of players. But this was where Shanes laid the groundwork for the win, being the more dominant side for most of the half and really should have been further ahead than the score-line  of 2-6 to 1-2.
As expected Clann Eireann launched a strong effort to get back into the game but the Shanes defence held firm under pressure and despite the gap being reduced to just  two points, the girls kept their composure to break forward and hit the crucial points to win out on a score-line of 2-9 to 2-4.
This team have been the outstanding side at u16 all year and fully deserve to be Division 1 champions after showing tremendous commitment and skill throughout the league campaign.
Well done to all the girls and their managers for great year of football.
The winning Shanes team was:  Leanne Lennon , Abby Shields, Leah McKeown, Orlagh McKenna, Lia Robb, Cliodhna Sloan, Kirsty Murphy, Ellen Hannaway (0-1), Blaithin Mackin (1-3) Ciara Jones (Capt.),  Jessica Watters (0-1), Sorcha McDonnell (0-1),  Sharmaine Hillen (1-2),  Orlaith McArdle (0-1), Chloe McAllister, Jade Beattie, Lisa Devlin. Missing through injury Shanice O'Hare.

U10s

The U10s were in action in Killeavy last Sunday and they  won their 3 group games against An Ríocht, Silverbridge and Omeath. These results placed them in the cup competition where they played Mayobridge in the quarter-final. There have been a number of tight games with Mayobridge this year but this time the Shane's played really well and ran out comfortable winners. Another Co Down team in the shape of Bryansford provided the opposition in the semi-final and again the Shane's played the better football and progressed to the final. Burren provided the opposition in the final and not for the first time this year the Shanes just fell short against an excellent Burren team. This is the third cup final this young Shanes team have lost to Burren this year but in reaching these finals they have shown that when at full strength they are an excellent footballing team and the future looks bright for this excellent group of players….well done everyone.

U8s

A very young Shane's team, most of the U7, travelled to Dromintee to play in the junior section of the annual U8 tournament last Sunday. This competition was for last year's Primary 3's only and for many of the kids this was their first chance to play exclusively against others of the same age as a few have always played up an age group with the Primary 4's. There were nine games in the competition and we had to play all the other teams in six minute games. Playing excellent football the young Shanes won seven and drew one of their eight games. This combination of results placed them in a final against Killeavy. The Shane's started slowly and went two points down early on but they fought back and went in at the break leading three points to two. They then came out and dominated the start of the second half scoring five points without reply to effectively win the game and the tournament. This was an excellent achievement against eight other teams and there is a bright future for this team at the U8 level next year….well done everyone.

U6s

Training for our U6s continues this Wednesday evening at 6.00pm in Bessbrook Community Centre and all boys and girls at this age group are very welcome to attend.

Club Merchandise

The club will continue taking orders for merchandise on Monday 21st September at 9.00pm in the club for those wishing to order for Christmas. The last night for orders will be Monday 28th September and all orders must be accompanied with full payment…no exceptions. So if you are looking any club merchandise for Christmas please take a note of these dates.

Well Done

Well done to our underage girls player Abbie McVerry who took part in the Cumann na mBunscoil game at half-time during the Dublin v Kerry All-Ireland final on Sunday

Men's Health Programme

A seven week Men's Health Programme began last Tuesday night in the club which involved health checks, measurements and introduction and saw approx. twenty people take part. The programme will continue now each Tuesday night in St Pauls with Barry Monaghan taking some light training sessions. The programme is free and is geared for men aged 40 and over and full guidance on health and nutrition will last for twelve weeks. If anyone is interested in attending please contact Peter Lynch.

Lotto

Last week's winning lotto numbers were 8, 16, 20 & 22. There were no jackpot winners and 1 x lucky dip winner. The jackpot now stands at £1450.

 

Can you please arrange to include the attached pictures with our club notes:

·         Alicia Mines and her family collect their £10,000 winnings from the Shane O'Neill's fundraising draw. Also pictured are Peter McKeown, Mick Mackin and Gareth McLoughlin

·         Shane O'Neills U16 boys - Division 1 shield winners

·         Shane O'Neills U16 girls - Division 1 league winners selfie

·         Shane O'Neills U8s - Dromintee Shield winners

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