Senior Hurling Championship
St OPHC 2.21 - Ringtown 0.09. On Saturday evening last on a fine evening for hurling, our senior hurlers defeated a gallant Ringtown team in the first round of the losers section of this year's championship. The game was slow to get going as both teams took some time to settle into any sort of hurling rhythm. First point of the afternoon went to Plunketts after some 8 minutes and they quickly added two further points before Ringtown opened their account after 12 minutes. Johnny Dooley tapped over another free to leave the score at 0.4 to 0.2 with 15 minutes gone. Despite all their possession Plunketts were finding it difficult to break the packed Ringtown defence and indeed but for an outstanding save by Conor Lynch, Plunketts would have been in arrears heading into the second quarter. Finally our hurlers found some space which was expertly exploited and Sean Maguire found the net for the opening goal of the game. Plunketts hit over some good scores from this point onwards and the first half finished on the score line 1.09 to 0.03. Robert Ryland replaced Clive Kenny after the half time interval. Following a missed free by Johnny Dooley, Plunketts tapped over the first score of the second half but following this, Ringtown hit over 3 unanswered points to narrow the gap. This was a wake up call for the Mullingar men and following some great defensive work by the half back line, Plunketts took control of the Ringtown end and notched over some great points; Davy Gavin, Connaire Flanagan, Ciaran Curley and Govinda Geoghegan raising the white flag with some great scores. James Duggan replaced Stephen McManus at this point. Sean Maguire then fired home his second goal to leave Plunketts leading by 14 points with 10 minutes to go; Cian O'Leary, Mick McKnight and Shane Donoher were brought into the action and all acquitted themselves very well. Ringtown to their credit never gave up and they pointed the final score of the game just as John Weir blew the full time whistle to leave the final score at 2.21 to 0.09. Our next fixture in this group will be versus Castletown Geo and all players know that a lot of work has yet to be done in order to qualify for the knock out stages of the Championship. Well done to all concerned. Team and subs: Conor Lynch, Clive Kenny, Oisin Clinton, Steve McManus, Damien Kiernan, Noel Gavin, Greg Gavin, Ciaran Curley, Mick Harris, Connaire Flanagan, Paddy Laide, Davy Gavin, Govinda Geoghegan, Johnny Dooley, Sean Maguire, Robert Ryland, James Duggan, Cian O'Leary, Mick McKnight and Shane Donoher.

U8s in the Park

Our Under 8 squad participated in the Play & Stay Go games blitz in Cusack Park last Thursday. The weather was perfect for hurling and it was great to see such support from all the parents. Afterwards, there was time for a team photo and a chance to lift the cup and meet Kilkenny All Star Goalkeeper PJ Ryan. Many thanks to James Heffernan and the crew in Westmeath coaching & games for helping organise this successful event. Our boys got to play two matches - The "Olivers" that played Castletown Geogheghan were - Michael Granahan, Carson Hanlon, Kelton Hanlon, Daniel Shaw, Darragh Hughes, Donnacha Maguire, Shane Quinn, Michael Flanagan, Kyron Reilly-Skey, Conor Fagan, Daniel White, Eoin Petticrew and Niall Doonan while the "Plunketts" played Raharney - Oisín Sheridan, Tadhg Sheridan, Daire Keane, Daithí Ó Máirtín, Ronan Casey, Eoin Charles, Caoimhín Duncan, Andrew Cunningham, Tomas Meehan, Matthew Clinton, Cristopher Lynn and Darragh Luby,

Poc Fada Win

Conor O'Brien brought home the gold medal for Plunketts last week when he won the U16 Poc Fada competition at Belvedere House. The competition was run in conjunction with the "Destination Sport Mullingar" festival. This is a fantastic achievement for the young Lynn man and we look forward to seeing more long range points and relieving clearances from Conor on the pitch in years to come.

St Oliver Plunketts County Hurlers

Ciaran Curley & Aaron Craig proudly represented Oliver Plunketts for the Westmeath senior hurlers against Carlow, Galway and Antrim in this years championship, while Conor Lynch was unlucky not to be heading to a Leinster minor final after minding the net for the county in their defeat to the Dubs. Well done lads.

Well done Raharney

St Oliver Plunketts Bord na nÓg send our congratulations to Raharney U14s who had another great All Ireland victory by winning the Féile na nGael Division 2 title for the second year in a row in Galway last week. The Deelsiders overcame Portlaoise in the final in Pearse Stadium. Well done to all the players and mentors involved on this great achievement and flying the flag for Westmeath hurling.

Fixtures

Check out the County Board web site for the full list of fixtures or check County Board notes within this paper - www.westmeathgaa.ie

Members Monthly Draw

All draw winners are noted on our Club web site and you can also find details of the draw and entry form on club web site. If you would like to be included in the draw please down load the entry form and return it to any of the committee members or contact Conleth McCormack on 087 2269359. Once again thanks for your continued support.

Hurling Helmet Appeal

We're looking for hurling helmets for the club. Anyone who used to play hurling or who may even have a second helmet at home that they are not using may wish to donate it to our club. It doesn't matter how old it is, so long as it's in reasonably good condition and it can be used. It's a small gesture that would go a long way to helping our club. If you have one, please contact Mark on (086) 8197607.

Condolence

St Oliver Plunketts wish to express deepest sympathy to John Curley and family on the passing of Johns mother Elizabeth Curley of Castleplunket, Co Roscommon, may she rest in peace.

Club Notes

Anyone wishing to have notes included in our weekly column should contact myself at 086 8062103 before 9pm on Sunday evenings or send an e-mail to [email protected] Tweet

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