With fifteen of the boys away at the Gaeltacht, the U14 squad was somewhat depleted for week nine and as a result only the A team fielded on Monday past. They faced a tricky looking game against an RGU side who had run them close earlier in the season in Downpatrick. On that occasion, the Duff boys edged a competitive encounter by two points.
On a sunny evening in Pairc Aodha Dhuibh, any fears that Carryduff might be vulnerable were quickly put to bed on the back of an outstanding first half performance. Tom McCarroll set the tone with some lovely points from distance and alongside Rory Crosbie he created the platform for victory. The Duff forwards were lively, hitting goals from Eoin Donnelly, McCarroll and a brace from Lorcan Swail. At the other end, the Duff defence was watertight, restricting their visitors to just two points as the sides turned with Carryduff having established a 22 point lead; 4-12 to 0-2.
It would have been easy for RGU heads to drop, but to their credit they produced a much improved display in the second half, matching the Duff boys point for point and hitting some lovely scores of their own. However, it was Carryduff who had the final say and appropriately it was the irrepressible Swail who fired home two late goals to leave a final score of Carryduff 6-16 to RGU Downpatrick 0-7.
Attention now turns to the Féile Peile na nÓg, with Carryduff hosting three teams and no less than forty-eight of our boys, including a large number of u12s, getting the chance to participate. The Féile runs from Friday to Sunday for both boys and girls, with games at Pairc Aodha Dhuibh from Friday at 5pm and on Saturday morning from 9.15am. Why not get along to support our club members and take the chance to see some stars of the future, and the present.
Carryduff A v RGU: Patrick MacFarlane, Joseph Doherty, Ruairi McCann, Lorcan O’Hagan, Callum McLeod, Jamie Cunningham, Eoghan O’Connor, Rory Crosbie, Tom McCarroll, Eoin Donnelly, Cian Duffy, Declan McArdle, Eunan O’Hare, Lorcan Swail, Oran Donaldson, Ronan Donaldson, Niall McGivern, Fergus McGrady
