If Castletown-Geoghegan are not one of the front runners for the 2003 Club of the Year award, then the selection process will most definitely have to be reviewed as their haul of six titles in all grades will hardly be surpassed by any club. Here 'Maroon and White' takes a look back at a magnificent year for the black and amber. Even though they failed at the penultimate stage of the senior championship this year and have now gone 13 years without lifting the Westmeath Examiner Cup, the omens look good for the black and ambers as no fewer than three championships and three league titles were annexed throughout the year. Castletown have been a hurling stronghold in Westmeath since the early 1900's with their first honour being the junior championship of 1921. Two years later the won the first of their ten senior titles. Since 1990 the club has gone through somewhat of a transitional period but in recent years the club have benefited from the building boom in the area with a number of underage titles secured. This year was one of the most successful in the club's history as they won the Junior, Minor and Under 12 Premier championships while also coming out on top in the Senior, Under 16 and Under 12 league. It is a testament to the clubs character that all finals won by the narrowest margin apart from the minor final, although that took a replay to separate themselves and St Oliver Plunkett's. The senior side began the year as one of the favourites for the title and they came through the group stages as winners after beating both Brownstown and Ringtown, and then drawing with Raharney which left them in the semi-final against 2001 champions Clonkill. The previous year Castletown were within minutes of causing a major upset by beating favourites Lough Lene Gaels in the decider but two late goals from the Collinstown side broke the hearts of the Black and Amber following. The match against Clonkill was played as a curtain raiser to the meeting of the Gaels and Castlepollard in the other semi-final and the game was played in miserable conditions. The tie started brightly but soon faded out and became a dull contest with scores being at a premium. Castletown could not have asked for a better start as after only 35 seconds Emmet Dalton fired home from close range. Sharpshooter Ronan Whelan then added to their lead before Clonkill raised their first white flag of the evening. The Loughegar side clawed their way back into the match and were level 1-3 to 0-6 at half time. Points were once again exchanged early in the second half but it was Clonkill who looked the more threatening as Castletown began to fade. The fact that the south Westmeath side could only manager two points in the second half was to prove crucial as late scores by their opponents ensured their place in the 2003 decider. There is no doubt that the club's main goal is to once again have their hands on the Westmeath Examiner Cup and the defeat to Clonkill was a crushing blow, especially when the player's know that they can play so much better, but it was not to be all doom and gloom for the club as success in other competitions was on the way by the bucket load. First up was the minor final as curtain raiser to the senior decider between Castlepollard and Clonkill. Castletown were defending champions having won their first title in the grade the previous year by beating 2003 opponents St Oliver Plunkett's. As expected not much was to separate these sides as the game ended in a draw. Castletown were the favourites for this one having beaten the Mullingar side rather easily in the round robin section of the championship on a scoreline of 4-9 to 1-7 but in finals you can take nothing for granted. It was a case of backs to the walls for Castletown in the second half of the match as Plunkett's threw everything at them with a Blaine Lehart converted free being the only score registered by the Black and Ambers for the entire final thirty minutes. Plunkett's deserved another day out and that's what they got when a late point deep in stoppage time meant the game would go to a replay a fortnight later. Castletown had defeated Plunkett's, Turin Gaels and Derravaragh Gaels to make it to the final and they were still confident of capturing the two-in-a-row in the replay. The fact that star forward Joe Clarke was failed to register on the score sheet in the drawn game drew some comfort for the team's mentors as they knew their captain would put an off day for two games in a row. The replay was an entertaining contest with the game not being decided until stoppage time when a goal by Sean Whelan put some daylight between the sides. Not much separated the sides during the first half and it was no surprise when the half time whistle blew they were level at 0-6 a piece with Eamonn Og Clarke, Joe Clarke, Blaine Lehart and Whelan all raising white flags. Lehart edged CTG in front just after the interval and Eamonn Og Clarke doubled the lead moments later. Joe Clarke then added two points to leave four between the teams midway through the second half. Plunketts pulled one back from a free before Castletown restored their four point advantage. With time running out a goal for the Mullingar side left the minimum between the teams and the game was set up for a grandstand finish. But Whelan's late effort was enough to give his side the Ben Kelly Memorial Cup. Indeed Saturday, September 27 will long live in the memories of the Castletown club as the same day the Under 12's produced a magnificent display to clinch the premier championship at the expense of Clonkill. It was a magnificent double for the club in Cusack Park on that Saturday afternoon with the Under 12 final being arguably the best underage final in the county in recent years. Clonkill lead by the minimum at half time after they got off to a great start but scores from Conor Keegan (0-2) and Aonghus Clarke (0-3) kept CTG in the match. Clonkill seemed to hold the upper hand in the early second half exchanges but their failure to convert their dominance into scores was to prove crucial as another point by Aonghus Clarke levelled matters. Catherine Lynam edged Castletown in front with a superb point and Mark Lynch stretched the lead with well-taken goal shortly afterwards. Clonkill's response was immediate when they too found the back of the net and the game was set for a pulsating finish. But despite increasing pressure from the Loughegar side, the Castletown defence held firm for a deserved victory with captain Mark Lynch accepting the shield from minor board chairman Ger Kenny. On the same weekend that the club's under 16 side hopes of completing the three-in-a-row in the premier competition were dashed by amalgamation side Turin Gaels after a replay, the junior side pipped old foes Raharney by a point in that decider. It took an injury time pointed free by Eamonn Og Clarke to separate the sides after a pulsating encounter which had everything from terrific scores to heated exchanges between the sides. Castletown began the brighter when Eamonn Og Clarke scored the first point of the match. Then goalkeeper Christy Maloney made a fine save to keep his side's lead preserved. Both sides hit a number of wides each before Colm Geoghegan scored a goal to put daylight between the two teams. Raharney then opened their account and narrowed the deficit to two points by half time. In the second period the deelsiders were first on the scoreboard with a point. Veteran Pat Connaughton then scored two points either side of a Raharney score. Play was then held up as a melee broke out between players and mentors from both sides before calm was soon restored. The sides were level with normal time elapsed with Clarke's free edging them in front but Raharney had the chance to level but the resultant free was wide of the upright and CTG held on for the win. A two-point win over Clonkill secured the Division One league title for Castletown while the under 12 and under 16 leagues were also bound for the club. The Black and Ambers will now look to 2004 and they will once again be aiming to reach their holy grail of landing the SHC for the first time in 14 years. For the record the Castletown/Geoghegan Under 12 premier winning team was: Dean McDermott, Ciaran McDonnell, Eoin Whelan, Jonathan Cuskelly, Niall O'Brien, John Heslin, Darren Ruane, Colin O'Brien, Mark Lynch (1-0), Finn O'Donoghue, David Garvan, Conor Keegan (0-2), Aonghus Clarke (0-4), Catherine Lynam (0-1), Neil Kirby. Tweet

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