Gazette
30 CASTLEKNOCK gazette 31 January 2013
SPORT
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soccer: castleknock enjoy top portuguese coaching
McGee to lead Ireland in Davis Cup opener CASTLEKNOCK man James McGee will lead the Irish Davis Cup team this weekend as they take on Estonia in the Euro/Africa Zone Group II first round tie. He will be joined by Sam Barry, Swords man James Cluskey and the returning Colin O’Brien for the tie at the David Lloyd Riverview facility in Clonskeagh which gets underway on Friday and runs through to Sunday. McGee is back on home turf for the first time in a month after an intense spell of training and competing. This included a strong showing at a $10,000 Futures event in Eilat, Israel where he picked up four strong wins before falling in the final to Czech man Jiri Vesely. The 25-year-old, though, has become Ireland’s top ranked played on the world list following the retirement of Conor Niland and is close to his highest position at 342. Returning to the Davis Cup, though, will no doubt bring back fond memories after last season’s heroics in Egypt last April where he won a thrilling five-setter against Sherif Sabry in a match that was split over two days due to bad light. In the face of a hostile crowd, he eventually prevailed 6-4 in the decisive set for a result which meant Ireland avoided relegation in dramatic style, McGee describing the match as the most memorable of his career. The side is captained by Garry Cahill who said of the upcoming tie: “Estonia are tough first round opponents for us but we have a strong and fit team and we are really looking forward to the tie at David Lloyd Riverview. “Hard work and a good team spirit will be key to a successful start to our 2013 Davis Cup campaign. We have just completed a 12-day intensive training camp in La Manga, Spain and confidence in the Irish camp is very high. On top of that, home advantage counts for a lot in Davis Cup.” Speaking about his first Davis Cup tie on home soil, Sam Barry said: “It is always an honour for me to be selected on the Irish Davis Cup team and whilst I am excited about playing at home for the first time, our focus remains on winning the match against some tough opponents.”
The Castleknock Celtic U-12 group enjoyed a high level coaching camp with SC Braga’s Hugo Vicente this week in Porterstown Park
Celtic blunt Swords edge ndsl u-9 Castleknock Celtic Swords Manor sport@gazettegroup.com
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CASTLEKNOCK Celtic’s NDSL U-9 Red team were determined not to be beaten by the inclement weather and switched their game against Swords Manor from Porterstown Park to their all-weather pitch at Laurel Lodge last weekend. The first half was a tight affair as both teams showed some rustiness after the mid-season winter break. The half ended 1-1 with Celtic having taken the lead midway
through the half with Ciaran Murtagh firing in a well taken free kick. After the break, Celtic’s dominance saw them go 3-1 ahead with well taken goals from Malik Shushan and Ben McDonagh. James Murgatroyd hit Celtic’s fourth to put his side out of sight. The team didn’t have it all their own way and some solid organised defending from Conor Boyle and Jatin Ramesh helped keep Manor at bay with Dauda Danson and Sam Mulhern working hard in midfield. Cillian Hegarty and Jack O’Neill added fine
sean gael awards Keane and Galvin pick up lifetime GAA honour st brigid’s Mattie Keane and Phil
Galvin received Sean Gael awards at Erin’s Isle last weekend. Keane is pictured with Andy Kettle, Dublin county board chairman, at the ceremony. They were honoured with Cumann Luthcleas Gael Merit awards for over 60 years of service to Lucan Sarsfields. The Sean Gael awards is a method of paying tribute to GAA members by the county board for their lifetime of service.
goals to leave the home side comfortable 6-1 winners. Elsewhere, Celtic’s Under-12s squads were treated to a two-hour coaching session by Portuguese football coach and youth academy director of Sporting Club Braga, Hugo Vicente at Porterstown on Saturday evening. His clinics involve a workshop broken down into two sections: theory and practice. Vicente, who also spent some time coaching at Benfica, has been engaged in a series of coaching clinics in Ireland this
week and was the guest of the Celtic management teams, Robbie Ryan, Peter Killian and Antonio Mantero, whose teams are flying high in their respective DDSL divisions. Vicente is concerned with a number of aspects of the Irish system currently. “I feel there is a lack of contact time with the ball, especially in terms of the youth. The quality of that contact time is also questionable.” For example, he continued: “I find sessions in Ireland are very drillorientated or focused on shadow plays, because
they want their players to know how to play the game.” With the kids, Vicente was working on game related situations, developing the skills of the players, with relevant phases of play being demonstrated and then implemented by the players. Hartstown/Huntstown FC, meanwhile, consolidated their position at the top of the AUL Premier C Sunday league as they put 3 past Castleknock Celtic without reply in their game played on the HHFC all weather pitch on Friday night, despite some atrocious rain.