30 DUN LAOGHAIRE GAZETTE 29 September 2011
GazetteSport Sport FastSport
RUGBY: FORMER LEINSTER AND IRELAND SCHOOL PLAYER IN NZ
Gallagher saves the day for Newpark in final tie STEFAN Gallagher, pictured, produced a pair of brilliant penalty saves to hand Newpark a dramatic place in the All-Ireland Schoolboys’ hockey championships for the second successive year, denying Kilkenny College. They emerged through the qualifiers yesterday in a shoot-out after Evan Garland had popped up two minutes from time to earn the Blackrock school a last-gasp reprieve. And Irish underage international Gallagher saw it home as he twice guessed correctly, picking off a stick save to his right and then the crucial save with his boot for a 4-3 success. It looked a long way off for Newpark earlier in the tie as Kilkenny had bossed much of the early phases. The pair had both earlier beaten Dundalk GS 3-0, making this a winner-take-all affair.
Summerfest set for next weekend THE 2011 Tesco mobile SARI Summerfest, the largest intercultural soccer tournament in Ireland, is set to take part this year at the Garda and Camogie Sports Grounds, in Phoenix Park on September 10 and 11 from 11am to 5pm each day. The Summerfest will also coinciude with the CONCERN kitefest, where kite flyers from around the world will display their kites and give kite workshops for children. The two-day festival also includes a wide array of entertainment for all the family.
For more information, see www. facebook.com/sarireland.
Castleknock Celtic seeking ladies talent CASTLEKNOCK Celtic FC’s ladies and girls section are recruiting new talent to the cllub for the soccer season starting later this month. If you were born in 1996 or earlier, visit the club’s website at www.castleknockceltic.com, and pass on your name and contact details in the How To Join section provided on the site. The club are also looking to recruit girls born in 2001/2002 to play soccer in the DubliGirls Soccer League.
Vasily Artemyev appeared for Russia against his adopted country, Ireland, at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand last week
Rock’s Russian star sport@gazettegroup.com
FORMER Blackrock College student, Vasily Artemyev, reminded Irish rugby-loving audiences of what he is capable of when he ran in one of Russia’s two tries last Sunday against Declan Kidney’s side in the Rugby World Cup in Rotorua. It ultimately had little bearing on the final result, which was a 61-12 scoreline in Ireland’s favour, but the winger reinforced his credentials as a topclass operator. During his time at Williamstow n, Ar temyev represented Lein-
ster and Ireland schools teams, claiming a Junior Cup ( JCT) and Senior Cup Team winner’s medal. In the JCT final of 2003, he scored a trio of scintillating tries and he subsequently played for the Irish Under-19s only to be denied a place in the youth World Cup based on a technicality – a boarder in Rock, his family home was in Moscow, thus making him ineligible. During a spell at UCD, he lined out for the Irish Universities before returning to his homeland in 2008 to join professional outfit, VVA Podmoskovye.
While there, he was called up to the Russian national team, and has proven a big bonus for them in his appearances, with five tries coming in his first 17 international games prior to the Irish effort.
Special moment Scoring against the nation that aided his career was a big moment for Artemyev, he admitted af ter wards, and it was a try that bore many of the hallmarks of his 2003 junior heroics. “It was a special moment. I’d like to thank the whole crowd here tonight. There’s a
lot of Russian support and, of course, a lot of Irish and they really made the night special for all of us,” he said. For countries like Russia, the tournament is a huge learning curve, but Artemyev says it is one which will help them progress. “I want to thank all my team-mates and the whole management for the effort we’ve put in the last few weeks. It’s been amazing and we have been improving with every game. “The effort against Ireland was like nothing we have experienced before. It’s good to get games of this
level because the intensity we play here is like nothing we have faced in our careers before.” Asked about playing Australia next weekend, he added: “It’s not getting any easier. We just have to focus on our own game. “There are still a few areas to improve, we still want to play with a bit more ball but we scored a couple of good tries against Ireland and have improved vastly in other areas.” Once the World Cup finishes, he will return to top-level rugby when he takes on a professional contract with Northampton Saints.
Park Celtic win in derby match sport@gazettegroup.com
PARK Celtic’s U-18 SDFL Youth league side produced a masterclass against Dalkey United at a rain-soaked Cabinteely Park last Sunday afternoon. A brace apiece from Jack Rush and Rian Greene, and a hat-trick from Tim Stokes on his home debut, saw the side run up a classy 7-0 win over their near neighbours in a game in which Stephen Bourke, Simon Molony and Diego Martin all made first appearances for the season. Speaking about the win, man-
ager Stephen McGuire said: “The lads were up for this match and have trained well this week. We are gelling as a team and we work hard for each other on and off the pitch and this showed today. “We were convincing winners today but Dalkey United did not make it easy for us. We had to work hard for the win. I am proud to manage this bunch of players and I know we will keep getting stronger with every match.” Next up for the youth team is a home tie against Blessington
FC next Sunday in Cabinteely Park. Elsewhere, the club’s Under12s Premier boys bounced back from a slow start to the season with a solid 3-0 away win at Leicester Celtic. Having suffered in the wild wind in Bray last week, there was only a light intermittent drizzle to contend with in Nutgrove, meaning that the side could attempt to play football and the change was noticeable, rock solid in defence and notching a trio of good goals for a deserved victory. Park Celtic in action