2010

ACHL Division 1 10/4/10 @ Borris in Ossory

Castletown 2-13 Borris in Ossory 0-12

From Leinster Express

Borris-in-Ossory started their senior league campaign with a tricky home tie against Castletown, and it was the visitors who triumphed with a strong display in O'Keefe Park on Saturday evening.

Castletown 2-13

Borris-in-Ossory 0-12

Last year's intermediate champions looked decidedly out of their depth at times, but improved somewhat in the second half without ever really troubling their opponents.

John Gaughan in particular caused the Borris defence problems all evening, and with their first attack, Gaughan benefitted from some fine Cyril Cuddy play to send a sweet drive past Trevor Moore. That early goal set the tone and with only Kevin Finlay working the umpires at the Castletown end with two well-taken points, the away side chalked up an early lead that Borris never looked like overturning.

With the Borris forwards struggling to hold onto possession, the rearguard was under constant pressure throughout the half with Gaughan, John Palmer, Brendan Reddin and Cyril Cuddy all adding to the Castletown tally that resulted in a 1-7 to 0-5 half-time lead.

Borris looked a bit better in the opening stages of the second half, and Matthew Whelan began to find his range from frees. However, John Gaughan's second goal of the game killed off any hopes of a comeback seven minutes after the restart. Fionán Cuddy sent a lovely ball in to Seamus Lyons, and the busy forward found Gaughan who beat Trevor Moore for the second time.

Darren Abraham put in a solid hour's hurling for the hosts and with the Whelan brothers working effectively together in midfield Borris didn't allow Castletown the space afforded to them in the first period, but Gaughan's brace was enough to secure an opening league win for his side.

Paul Cuddy, John Palmer, Seamus Lyons all stood out for Castletown, as did full-forward Gaughan who came away with 2-5 to his name, and without being severely tested here, they still looked impressive on their first outing of the season. Borris-in-Ossory will need their forwards to retain possession and turn their chances into more scores if they are to put up any kind of challenge in the league campaign.

SCORERS - Castletown: John Gaughan 2-5 (0-4 frees), John Palmer 0-2, Paul Cuddy (free), Cyril Cuddy, Gearoid Gaughan, Declan Keenan, Seamus Lyons and Brendan Reddin 0-1 each; Borris-in-Ossory: Matthew Whelan 0-4 (all frees), Patrick Whelan (two frees) and Kevin Finlay 0-3 each, Adrian Cullinane and John Wall 0-1 each

CASTLETOWN: John Lyons; Kevin Conroy, Patrick Maloney, Loughlin Hegarty; Rob Delaney, Paul Cuddy, Declan Keenan; Fionán Cuddy, James Hooban; John Palmer, Cyril Cuddy, Gearoid Gaughan; Seamus Lyons, John Gaughan, Brendan Reddin. Subs: Paddy Cuddy for Cuddy (30 mins), Kevin Carroll for Delaney (39 mins)

BORRIS-IN-OSSORY: Trevor Moore; Tony Doran, Cathal O'Donnell, Eosin Phelan, Rory Moore, Darren Abraham, Eric Abraham, Matthew Whelan, Patrick Whelan, John Kavanagh, Adrian Cullinane, Frankie Cullinane, Gary Moore, Kevin Finlay, Eoin Whelan. Subs: John Wall for Phelan (injured - 12 mins), Tadgh Finlay for Moore (41 mins), Mick Breen for Cullinane (59 mins)

ACHL Division 1 15/5/10 @ Castletown

Castletown 0-17 Clough/Ballacolla 1-12

From Leinster Express

Castletown collected their third win of their league campaign as they produced an excellent performance to see off Clough Ballacolla on Wednesday last.

The hosts led throughout the game and put themselves in a comfortable position at half time when the brilliant James Hooban, who was central to almost everything, scored three points in quick succession.

Last year's county champions also had their moments in the opening half but only a save from John Lyons prevented them scoring their second goal of the game. The intervention from the former Laois stopper came five minutes before the break when he saved a well struck penalty from Willie Dunphy.

This gave the home side a much needed boost as they immediately went down field and saw Seamus Lyons and James Hooban raise white flags to give the blue and white army a four point lead at the break.

Clough Ballacolla were still in this game but a number of frees from Willie Dunphy and Damien Bergin kept them in the tie.

The winners continued to tag on scores throughout the second half with the impressive Brendan Reddin contributing to his sides total.

However, the visitors were unable to claw back the margin and this defeat will be a minor set back to their hopes of retaining the Division 1 crown.

SCORERS - Castletown: Seamus Lyons 0-5 (all frees), James Hooban 0-4, Brendan Reddin 0-3, Barry McKelvey, Cyril Cuddy 0-2, Paul Cuddy 0-1; Clough Ballacolla: Damien Bergin 0-6 (four frees), Willie Dunphy 1-2 (0-1 free), Aidan Doyle, Jim Doyle 0-2 each

CASTLETOWN: John Lyons; Darren Ferns, Leighton Hegarty, Patrick Mullaney; Declan Keenan, Paul Cuddy , John Gaughan; Fionán Cuddy, Adrian Dollard; Kevin Conroy, Barry McKelvey, Cyril Cuddy; Brendan Reddin, Seamus Lyons, James Hooban.

CLOUGH BALLACOLLA: Danny Hanlon; Tom Phelan, Darren McEvoy, Brian Costigan; Bill Duggan, Canice Coonan, Shane Maher; Jim Doyle, Shane Hanlon; Willie Dunphy, Kevin Keyes, Damien Bergin; Stephen Maher, Mick Dunphy, Aidan Doyle

Referee: Anthony Stapleton (Rathdowney-Errill)

ACHL Division 1 2/6/10 @ Castletown

Castletown 4-15 Abbeyleix 1-11

From Leinster Express

Second half scoring spree seals it for Castletown

Castletown produced a superb second half display to pick up their fourth win in this year's ACHL Division 1, and at the same time leaving Abbeyleix firmly rooted in a relegation battle, in this clash in Castletown last Wednesday night.

Castletown 4-15

Abbeyleix 1-11

Castletown hit 3-9 in the second half, with only one of those scores coming from a placed ball in a clinical display. David Cuddy lead the charge in the full forward line before being forced off with an injury, while Cyril Cuddy and Barry McKelvey also made telling contributions to the scoreboard.

For Abbeyleix, they will be left wondering how it all went wrong so quickly. They hurled well in the first half and probably should have been ahead at the break, but were still in a good position with the teams tied at 1-6 apiece. Castletown tore out of the blocks in the second half and they were just too slow to respond, with the hosts finishing off the game within ten minutes of the restart.

Castletown were the first to register a score, with Seamus Lyons pointing a free after Barry McKelvey was fouled. Paul Cuddy tagged on a '65 moments later before Abbeyleix got their first score, with Stephen Reilly setting up David Coffey for a good point from out on the right wing.

Both sides traded points over the next five minutes before Barry McKelvey struck for the games first goal. Abbeyleix responded well with two points which were canceled out by Castletown, before Stephen Reilly fired home a 21 yard free to level the game. Both sides had time for one more point before the half time whistle went with the teams level at 1-6 each.

The first ten minutes of the second half saw Castletown take total control of proceedings, hitting 1-4 without reply to open up a seven point lead and kill off the Abbeyleix challenge. David Cuddy got that goal, and added another along with a fortuitous effort from Cyril Cuddy to ease Castletown to a deserving victory.

SCORERS - Castletown: David Cuddy 2-4, Cyril Cuddy 1-4, Barry McKelvey 1-2, Seamus Lyons 0-2 (both frees), James Hooban, Paul Cuddy ('65), Fionán Cuddy 0-1 each; Abbeyleix: Stephen Reilly 1-4 (1-2 frees, 0-1 '65), Oisn Carroll, Cathal Fitzpatrick 0-2 each, Conor Bergin (free), PJ Corby, David Coffey 0-1 each

CASTLETOWN: John Lyons; Paddy Mullaney, Loughlin Hegarty, Kevin Conroy; Declan Keenan, Paul Cuddy, Robert Delaney; Adrian Dollard, Fionán Cuddy; Kevin Carroll, James Hooban, Cyril Cuddy; Seamus Lyons, Barry McKelvey, David Cuddy. Subs: Padraig Cuddy for Carroll (half time), Brian O'Connor for D Cuddy (53 mins - injured)

ABBEYLEIX: Bob Cole; Anthony Moore, Anthony Coffey, David Coffey; Timmy Bonham, Danny Gaughan, PJ Corby; Thomas Doyle, Stephen Reilly; Cathal Fitzpatrick, Paul O'Shea, Oisn Carroll; Conor Bergin, Ross Reilly, David Moloney. Subs: Ryan Peacock for Moloney (45 mins), Brian Bergin for R Reilly (49 mins), Ned O'Keeffe for C Bergin (52 mins)

Referee: Brochan Reilly (Portlaoise)

ACHL Division 1 11/6/10 @ Portlaoise

Portlaoise 0-18 Castletown 0-11

From Leinster Express

Portlaoise pull clear at the top

Portlaoise opened up a four point gap at the top of ACHL Division 1 last Friday night, as this seven point win over Castletown, coupled with Camross' loss to Borris in Ossory, saw them pull clear at the top of the table.

Portlaoise's mettle is set to be seriously tested in their last three games, as they face trips to Rathdowney Errill and Clough Ballacolla as well as a home game against Ballinakill. Regardless of those fixtures though, they look a good bet to be contesting a league final this year.

Castletown took an early lead here through Paul Cuddy and John Gaughan, but Portlaoise responded with five unanswered points to open up a three point lead. Castletown came back into the game as the half wore on though, and by half time were just two behind thanks to points from Paul and David Cuddy.

On three occasions in the second half Castletown cut the lead to a single point, only for Portlaoise to respond with a point each time. Midway through the half, however, they hit a vein of form as points from Noel Costello, Tommy Fitzgerald and Tony Byrne eventually saw them run out seven point winners.

SCORERS - Portlaoise: Noel Costelloe 0-8 (six frees, one 65), Tommy Fitzgerland, Tony Byrne 0-3 each, David O'Mahony 0-2, Keith Murphy, Eoin Costello 0-1 each; Casteltown: Paul Cuddy (all frees), David Cuddy (all frees) 0-3 each, John Gaughan 0-2, Fionán Cuddy, Cyril Cuddy, James Hooban 0-1 each

PORTLAOISE: Colm Clear; Tommy Mulligan, Eoin Browne, Michael Bowe; Sean Cotter, Joe Phelan, Keith Murphy; Noel Costello, Derek Delaney; Brian Fitzpatrick, Tony Byrne, Eoin Costello; David O'Mahony, Tommy Fitzgerald, Niall Fitzpatrick. Subs: Craig Scully for Mulligan (half time), Alan Kingsley for B Fitzpatrick (33 mins), Fergal Phelan for N Fitzpatrick (42 mins)

CASTLETOWN: Brendan Cuddy; Kevin Conroy, Loughlin Hegarty, Paddy Mullaney; Declan Keenan, Paul Cuddy, Robert Delaney; Adrian Dollard, Fionán Cuddy; Tadgh Dooley, Barry McKelvey, Cyril Cuddy; James Hooban, David Cuddy, John Gaughan. Subs: Seamus Lyons for McKelvey (41 mins - injured), Eoin Dooley for Keenan (50 mins)

Ref: Anthony Stapleton (Rathdowney)

ACHL Division 1 24/6/10 @ Castletown

Castletown 2-11 Camross 1-14

From Leinster Express

Honours even as Castletown hold Camross

Castletown kept their faint league play-off hopes alive with a draw against fellow hopefuls Camross in Castletown on Thursday evening. In a game that neither side could afford to lose, a draw was a fair reflection of both sides' effort in this hard-fought clash, although the point may prove more valuable to Camross who now have their fate in their own hands and travel to Ballinakill next week safe in the knowledge that a win will guarantee a play-off berth.

For Castletown, things aren't as simple. They need to register a big win over Kilcotton to have any chance of snatching the second play-off spot, but they also need other results to go in their favour. They will however take plenty of encouragement from this tie as they were more than a match for their neighbours and it was only in the last 15 minutes that they lost their way.

Cyril Cuddy and Seamie Lyons got the hosts off to a flying start with two-quick fire points apiece as the Camross defence struggled to contain the busy Castletown forward line. Niall Holmes steadied his side with a sublime score from tight on the left touchline but Camross looked a little nervy and some uncharacteristic errors buoyed on the home side.

The visitors did manage to pull themselves back into it, mostly due to the free-taking expertise of Niall Holmes who converted four first-half frees, but with three minutes of the half remaining John Gaughan reacted quickest to David Cuddy's blocked shot to tap home from close range to give his side a three point advantage at the interval.

Niall Holmes notched a free immediately after the restart to reduce the lead to two, but a second Castletown goal three minutes later opened up a healthy lead for the hosts. Camross' lacklustre performance continued as their efforts to get back into contention were hampered by numerous unforced mistakes but with twenty minutes remaining Damien Culliton ghosted past the Castletown defence to slot a low shot under John Lyons.

Three unanswered Niall Holmes frees edged Camross into the lead as indiscipline looked to have undone their good work but with five minutes left Seamie Lyons and sub Brendan Reddin popped up with successive points to restore their lead. A frantic finale saw both sides spurn good chances before Camross' goal hero Damien Culliton again rescued his side with a well-taken score to grab the equaliser.

The draw means that both sides will be in with a shout of booking a play-off place, but to do so they will need to improve. Camross have been very inconsistent of late and again in this tie they looked to be lacking the killer touch and had it not been for Niall Holmes' unerring accuracy from frees they would have been consigned to a heavy defeat. On their day they are capable of beating anyone, and their winner-takes-all clash next week with Ballinakill could go either way.

Castletown will probably feel they did enough to warrant a victory but indiscipline in crucial areas and at crucial times will perhaps come back to haunt them in their pursuit of that final play-off place. They should have enough to carve out a victory at home to Kilcotton next Saturday but whether that will be enough remains to be seen.

SCORERS - Castletown: Seamus Lyons 0-7 (four frees), John Gaughan 1-1, David Cuddy 1-0, Cyril Cuddy 0-2, Brendan Reddin 0-1; Camross: Niall Holmes 0-9 (eight frees), Damien Culliton 1-1, Joe Phelan 0-2, Damien Keenan and James Palmer 0-1 each

CASTLETOWN: John Lyons; Patrick Mullaney, Loughlin Hegarty, Kevin Conroy; Declan Keenan, Paul Cuddy, Robert Delaney; Adrian Dollard, Fionán Cuddy; David Cuddy, Barry McElvey, Cyril Cuddy; Seamus Lyons, John Gaughan, James Hooban. Subs: Brendan Reddin for McElvey (43 mins), Tom Phelan for Conroy (47 mins)

CAMROSS: Tadgh Doran; Malvin Maloney, Packie Cuddy, James Doran; Sean Gilmore, Tomas Burke, Peter Guilfoyle; Martin Burke, Fran Hogan; Seamus Higgins, Damien Keenan, Niall Holmes; James Palmer, Damien Culliton, Joe Phelan. Subs: Paddy Bergin for Palmer (49 mins), Paul Kavanagh for Hogan (55 mins)

ACHL Division 3 Final 2/7/10 @ Rathdowney

The Harps 1-16 Castletown 0-14

From Leinster Express

ACHL Division 1 3/7/10 @ Castletown

Castletown 2-14 Kilcotton 0-10

From Leinster Express

SHC Round 1 25/7/10 @ O' Moore Park

Castletown 3-16 Borris in Ossory 2-11

From Leinster Express

SHC Round 2 12/8/10 @ O' Moore Park

Castletown 2-15 Mountrath 1-10

From Leinster Express

Castletown put Mountrath to the sword

When the draw for the opening round of the championship was made you would have had heard few complaints from the Castletown area, and as expected, they secured top-spot in Group C with another comfortable win in O'Moore Park on Thursday night.

After a dreadful league campaign, neighbours Mountrath wouldn't have held out much hope for an upset here, and they probably had one eye already on their crucial clash with Borris-in-Ossory knowing that the winner of that will join Castletown in the next round.

Castletown named the same fifteen that started their eight-point victory over Borris in the opening round, although many were deployed in different positions as John O'Sullivan continued to tinker with the versatility at his disposal. For the Mountrath men, Dermot Russell missed out on a starting berth and was replaced in the fifteen by James Hyland, a move which saw Hyland partner Kevin O'Keefe in midfield with Paul Meade moving to centre-forward.

Mountrath enjoyed a decent start and were more than a match for Castletown in the opening stages. They did manage to slip two points behind from a Robert Delaney free and a well-taken David Cuddy score, but that deficit had been erased with less than ten minutes gone. Wayne Sydes was the man who got his side rolling with two quick fire scores and Mountrath took the lead when James O'Keefe's incisive ball found Paul Meade in space to fire over.

James Hooban was Castletown's star man in their first game of the championship and more good work from him early on earned a free that David Cuddy casually converted to level the scores again midway through the first half. Mountrath began to give away possession cheaply as Castletown upped the tempo and for the remainder they built on this to open up a four-point lead. Paul Cuddy's long free in caused havoc in the Mountrath ranks and Cyril Cuddy was on hand to bury the rebound past Brian Russell and Paul Cuddy then dispatched a long-range free before David Cuddy followed with one from a lot closer.

James Hooban limped off with just under ten minutes of the opening period left, but the captain's departure didn't seem to unsettle his teammates too much. Brenda Reddin and John Gaughan both chipped in with first-half scores but Castletown's ill-disciplined defending kept Mountrath alive, handing James Hyland one and Wayne Sythes two late frees which left them trailing by four points at the break.

Both sides were guilty of a number of poor wides after the restart but Mountrath substitute Damien Duggan was desperately unlucky not to find the back of the net three minutes in. Joey Coogan's low ball down the wing allowed Duggan the time to turn and beat Fionán Cuddy for pace. Duggan's low shot whistled past John Lyons but cannoned back off the post, and stung to life by that close call, Castletown subsequently notched three points on the trot. David Cuddy got all three, one from play, and even with twenty minutes to go, it looked like a lost cause for a spirited but less capable Mountrath.

Sydes tapped over another free shortly after but straight away Castletown hit back in style. Paul Cuddy's clearance was collected by John Gaughan who fired over, and it was Cuddy who was again the provider for the second Castletown goal. His huge ball in was only half cleared and Brendan Reddin gathered the rebound before turning quickly to burying his shot past Brian Russell. That goal knocked the stuffing out of Mountrath who did have chances early in the second half to at least drag themselves into contention, but Castletown were ruthless in their finishing and that was perhaps the main difference.

David Cuddy added another free before two from Wayne Sydes again kept his side somewhat interested. Brendan Reddin followed his goal with a well-taken point before Cyril Cuddy added another, and even when sub Donal Russell buried a shot past Lyons with three minutes on the clock, both sides had by that stage settled for the expected outcome.

SCORERS - Castletown: David Cuddy 0-7 (five frees), Brendan Reddin 1-2, Cyril Cuddy 1-1, John Gaughan 0-2, Robert Delaney (free), Paul Cuddy (free) and Kevin Conroy 0-1 each; Mountrath: Wayne Sydes 0-8 (six frees), Donal Russell 1-0, Paul Meade and James Hyland (free) 0-1 each

CASTLETOWN: John Lyons; Tom Phelan, Fionán Cuddy, Cyril Cuddy; Paul Cuddy, Declan Keenan, Adrian Dollard; Robert Delaney, Paddy Mullaney; Kevin Conroy, Brendan Reddin, David Cuddy; John Gaighan, James Hooban. Subs: Joey Delaney for Hooban (22 mins)

MOUNTRATH: Brian Russell; Gavin Daly, Mick O'Brien, Thomas Hill, Michael Meade; Paul Rice, Michael Boyhan, Kevin O'Keefe; Paul Meade, Joey Coogan; James Hyland, Wayne Sydes, James O'Keefe; Damian Lanham, Matthew Rice. Subs: Damian Duggan for M. Rice (24mins), Donal Russell for Boyhan (43mins).

In Brief...

Main Man – Paul Cuddy (Castletown)

An inspirational performance from the rock-solid centre back. Cuddy reads the game superbly and his distribution was the foundation for both of Castletown's goals. He is a match for any forward on the county on his day, and could be a huge figure in the later rounds. Brendan Reddin and the marauding David Cuddy were a nuisance for the Mountrath backline who were best served by Gavin Daly and Wayne Sydes

Turning Point

Just after the restart, with Mountrath trailing by four, Damien Duggan did superbly to beat his man and bear down on goal. Duggan rifles a shot across John Lyons' goal, but rather than settling into the corner of the net, it thumped the post and the chance was gone. Castletown immediately knocked over three points on the bounce to open up an unassailable seven point lead, but had Duggan been a little luckier, who knows what might have happened?

What next?

Castletown can put their feet up now after their two wins sees them take top spot. The game between Borris and Mountrath always seemed likely to be the crunch game, and so it has proven. Both sides lost by eight to Castletown so it would appear that they are extremely evenly matched and it promises to be a cracker.

Match Stats

WIDES - Castletown 11 (4), Mountrath 8 (4); FOULS - Castletown 15 (10), Mountrath 11 (6);

YELLOW CARDS - Castletown 3 (Robert Delaney 9mins, Cyril Cuddy 43 mins, Tom Phelan 51 mins); Mountrath 1 (Michael Boyhan 43mins); RED CARDS - None

JHC Round 3 19/8/10 @ Castletown

Castletown 4-14 Slieve Bloom 0-9

From Leinster Express