Charlestown U16s started their championship campaign with a comprehensive 12 point win over a valiant Davitts side at a dry and mild Fr. O’Hara Park on Tuesday last.
The game started at a good pace and it was Davitts who made most of the early running tagging on a goal and a point, following some confusion in the Sarsfields’ defence. Slowly, the men in green and white began to stem the tide and kicked scores of their own from the boots of Paul Towey, Patrick Goldrick and Jack Mahon. Despite leveling the game midway into the first half through a well taken Ruairi Cullen goal that started with an interception by wing back David Doherty, Davitts struck again with a couple of goals to lead once more. At this stage Charlestown trailed their south Mayo counterparts, 1.03 – 3.02.
This kicked Charlestown into life and a well worked move involving Aaron Doherty, Goldrick and the hard working Ciaran Honeyman found its way to Towey, who made no mistake in slotting the ball to the corner of the net. Scores followed from Mahon, Cullen and Goldrick to ensure Charlestown moved into the lead for the first time in the match, with 22 minutes played. The men in green and white looked to be in the ascendancy at this time and seemed ready to put Davitts to the sword. However, Charlestown were reduced from the full compliment due to a red card in the 23rd minute and this seemed to ignite Davitts who narrowed the gap to just three points at the break, Charlestown leading 3.07 – 3.04.
Many teams may have panicked under such circumstances but our lads dug in magnificently in the second half and came out after the interval like men possessed with Goldrick and Towey kicking superb points to extend the gap, in between a well taken David Doherty score, off his weak foot. Jack Brennan added an extra sense of steel to the team after replacing the hard working Eoin Goldrick at half-time and this combined with a hard working defence, namely Dillon Curry and the excellent Darragh Casey meant Charlestown shut down their opponents at virtually every opportunity; building meaningful attacks in the process. Some fine flowing moves occurred throughout the second half for the ‘town, with Goldrick and Towey in midfield, the orchestrators in chief ably assisted by Honeyman and Mahon; who had now moved to centre forward. Cullen covered the entire full forward line alone, latching on to many passes and combining with others to get vital scores.
At the other end of the pitch, there was heroic defending as bodies were thrown on the line by custodian Declan Forkan and his defensive team mates to ensure the game did not get within the reach of the south Mayo team. A brilliant block in the penalty box by Darragh Casey typified the gutsy spirit of the team throughout the second half and the ever present Ben Conway provided a cool head at the back during this time, working tirelessly to carry ball out of defence at every opportunity. Brendan McCormack, Micheal Durcan and Cahir Vesey entered the game and cemented Charlestown’s footing in the closing stages, ensuring a vital victory in the opening round of a difficult looking championship group.
Charlestown furthered extended their lead with a free from Goldrick and ran out clear and deserving winners. Amazingly, our lads only conceded two points throughout the second half, despite being down a man for the entire period. The fitness levels of the men in green and white were clear to be seen and were vital in ensuring Charlestown pulled away in the closing stages. It was a super effort, with many lads literally having to be picked up off the ground at the final whistle. Tough challenges lie ahead, with their next championship outing away to Ballintubber on July 19th, before a trip to Castlebar the following week. A great start to what will hopefully be a long summer for our U16s.
Team: Declan Forkan, Dillon Curry, Darragh Casey, David Doherty, Daniel Murphy, Aaron Doherty, Ben Conway, Patrick Goldrick, Ciaran Honeyman, Paul Towey, Eoin Goldrick, Ruairi Cullen, Jack Mahon, Jack Brennan, Brendan McCormack, Micheal Durcan, Cahir Vesey, Dylan Marren.
