Castletown's dream of winning the Intermediate Football Championship was shattered on a damp August evening in Moynalty when Carnaross finished strongly to eliminate Liam Clarke's side at the quarter-final stage. But three underage titles auger well for the future. Carnaross scored two goals in the space of three minutes, the second from a penalty, and that effectively killed off the Castletown challenge after they had looked capable of winning for much of the contest. Amazingly, Carnaross endured a 35-minute barren spell without a score either side of half-time, but Castletown were left to regret some poor finishing - particularly in the opening half hour when they kicked eight wides - which seriously undermined their chances of making it to the last four. In the end, Carnaross won by six points on a 3-7 to 1-7 score line and there was major disappointment in the Castletown camp as it was a match they felt they were capable of winning. They had opened their championship campaign in less than convincing fashion when being held to a draw (0-8 each) by Drumree at Bective. Indeed, it took an injury-time pointed free from top-scorer Barry Smith to secure a share of the points. However, Castletown then went on a winning run which gave their Group A qualification hopes a significant boost. They trailed by 0-2 to 0-3 at half-time in a second round match against neighbours Rathkenny at Nobber, but really turned on the style in the second period when the switch of regular full-back Aidan Young to full-forward at the three-quarter stage worked wonders. Young lobbed the Rathkenny goalkeeper for Castletown's all-important goal and they had three points to spare at the finish (1-10 to 1-7). A 3-6 to 2-4 victory followed in the third round against Na Fianna at Athboy, a win which enabled Castletown to move into pole position in the group. Smith goaled from the penalty spot after just two minutes, but Na Fianna recovered to lead narrowly by 2-2 to 1-4 at the interval. Damien Ginnity scored Castletown's second goal five minutes after the change of ends and the points were secured when Stephen Duffy netted again just before the full-time whistle. First-half goals from Alan and Barry Smith put Castletown in the driving seat next time out against Curraha at Rathkenny and they held a commanding wind-assisted 2-4 to 0-2 half-time advantage en route to a 2-9 to 1-6 victory. With seven points in the bag from a possible eight, Castletown were looking good for a quarter-final place, but Syddan inflicted a first defeat of the divisional campaign in the fifth round when they won by a point (0-13 to 1-9) at Rathkenny. Syddan led by three points with 10 minutes remaining, before Barry Smith levelled the scores from a penalty, but Syddan edged through in the end. The result meant that Syddan joined Castletown on seven points from a possible 10, but Castletown copper-fastened their qualification credentials when they edged out Drumconrath by 0-9 to 0-7 at Meath Hill. Drumconrath ruined their chances by kicking 15 wides and Castletown just about did enough to win. Castletown were safely through and the major pressure was off when they met Navan O'Mahonys in the concluding group match at Kilberry, a game which the town side won comfortably by 1-11 to 0-8 to secure second place in the section. Barry Smith's accuracy kept Castletown in contention up to the three-quarter stage when O'Mahonys held a slender 0-7 to 0-5 advantage, but a David Hosie goal 10 minutes from the end gave the winners a decisive edge. Mission number one was successfully accomplished and Castletown were through to the knock-out stages, finishing third in the group on nine points after four wins, a draw and two defeats, but their championship dream was soon ended against Carnaross. Barry Smith was as disappointed as any Castletown player that evening in Moynalty. "Losing to Carnaross was a big disappointment for sure," he recalled. "The game just got away from us in the last 10 minutes when Carnaross got the two goals that did the damage. Ollie Murphy flicked on the ball for Danny Reilly to score the first and the second came from a penalty which I didn't think should have been awarded. The forward got a shot in which was saved and I thought advantage should have been played. "But overall we kicked far too many wides, particularly in the first-half when I think we had eight or nine. They really cost us dearly in the end. When you get to that stage of a championship you have to be taking your chances; it's as simple as that." Carnaross may have possessed two high quality forwards in Murphy and McGee and a good sprinkling of talent elsewhere too, but Castletown really felt they could beat them and get through to the semi-finals. "We were very positive going into the game against Carnaross and genuinely felt we could win it," Smith added. "But, unfortunately, it just didn't work out that way on the night. Now we have to look ahead to next year and beyond. "We have a generally young team, with an average age of about 24, so we would have to be very hopeful for the future. Hopefully, things will click together in the next year or two. "We are strong from under-12 up to under-17 and that has to be viewed as a very good sign too. There is definitely a lot of talent coming through and some of those older lads will hopefully further strengthen what is an already strong intermediate panel." The All-County A League Div. 2 brought little in the way of joy for Castletown as they managed only seven points from their 11 outings, winning three times, drawing once and losing seven matches. UNDER-AGE The extent of the talent coming through the under-age ranks was emphasised by the fact that Castletown won no fewer than three juvenile titles during 2003. Back in May, the under-14s defeated St. Michael's by 2-9 to1-4 in the League Div. 4 final at Nobber on an evening when Shane Farrelly was superb at midfield, providing the ideal link between defence and attack and demonstrating some outstanding fielding and distribution skills. Castletown dominated the opening half and held a commanding 0-7 to 0-0 interval lead, but St. Michael's, to their credit, came back and enjoyed a purple patch that brought them into contention. However, Castletown weren't to be denied and when Darren Finney found the net they were comfortably in front. Michael's replied with a goal of their own, but Finney's second goal secured the win for Castletown as he brought his personal tally for the final to 2-2. Daniel Carney, Matthew Carroll, Steven Farnan, Enda Horgan, Kevin Fagan and James McConnell also showed up to particularly good effect for Castletown. The team and scorers in the final were - David Finney; K. Fagan, D. Carney, S. Farnan; K. Weldon, E. Horgan, J. McConnell; S. Farrelly (0-1), D. Farrelly (0-1); M. Carroll (0-1), K. Ross (0-1), D. Cribben (0-3); Darren Finney (2-2), N. Smyth, C. Kearney. Subs - C. Morris, S. Hoey, P. Cribben, H. Rayburn, N. Metry, J. Ross, S. Reilly, W. McConnell, S. Morris. The under-14s made it a double when they defeated St. Michael's again, this time by 2-10 to 1-5 in the Div. 3 Championship final at Rathkenny. Again, they kept the opposition scoreless in the first-half and led by 1-7 to 0-0 at the interval after Finney had netted. Michael's rallied, but Finney's second goal sealed victory for Castletown and they had eight points to spare at the finish. Finney again scored 2-2 and Daniel Carney, James McConnell, Kevin Ross, Matthew Carroll, Kevin Fagan, Stephen Farnan, Kieran Weldon, Cormac Kearney and Daniel Farrelly also impressed. The team and scorers in the final were - David Finney; K. Fagan, D. Carney, K. Weldon; E. Horgan, J. McConnell, S. Farnan; D. Farrelly, S. Farrelly (0-6); M. Carroll, K. Ross, D. Cribben (0-2); Darren Finney (2-2), N. Smith, C. Kearney. Subs - R. Hoey, C. Morris, S. Hoey, P. Cribben, D. Ryan, N. Metry, B. Weldon, D. O'Connor, S. Reilly. The Castletown under-12s weren't to be outdone and they won the League Div. 3B title, defeating Rathkenny by 4-10 to 0-5 in the final at Carlanstown. A blistering start did the trick for Castletown and they scored three goals inside the opening 10 minutes from Matthew Carroll, Cormac Kearney and Darren Finney to take control. Robert Hoey added a fourth goal later in the half and Castletown were ahead by 4-3 to 0-3 at the interval. Rathkenny did their best to get back into contention, but the Castletown defence was resilient, and although they didn't add to their goal tally, they scored seven second-half points. James McConnell, Kevin Fagan, Shane Hoey, Daniel Farrelly, Stephen Farnan, Henry Rayburn, Nicholas Metry, Paul Cribben, Christopher Morris and Daniel Ryan were particularly impressive. Castletown's team and scorers in the final were - D. Ryan; C. Morris, J. McConnell, H. Rayburn; S. Hoey, K. Fagan, S. Farnan; C. Kearney (1-1), D. Farrelly; M. Carroll (1-0), K. Ross (0-3), N. Metry; P. Cribben, R. Hoey (1-3), D. Finney (1-3). Subs - S. Smith, R. Carroll, B. Weldon, W. McConnell, R. Fields, J. Ross, D. O'Connor, S. Morris, R. Duffy. The club's under-16s reached the Div. 4 Championship final, but were beaten by Dunsany (2-6 to 4-8) at Pairc Tailteann as the south Meath team won that particular title for the second successive year. Tweet

Most Read Stories