On Thursday evening our Division 1 side travelled to Tubberclair for the penultimate game on the league. With the team still in the hunt for a league final spot it was a necessity to pick up some points on the road. In an evenly contested first half, it was a goal from Oisin loughlin who pounced on a shot after a bBilly Moffat shot was saved by the Tubberclair goalkeeper on the 25th minute which had The Downs leading on a scoreline of 1-5 to 0-5 at half-time. 

The second half followed in a similar fashion to the first half with both sides matching each other throughout the half. Tubberclair gradually clawed back The Downs lead and by the 45th minute the home side took the lead. Almost instantly Ben Harte struck with an impressive two pointer to put The Downs back into the lead once again. Tubberclair reacted well to this and nudged themselves back in front again by the 60 minute. When it looked like Tubberclair were going to take the league points on offer, substitute Matthew Cunningham found himself in some space to send over the equalising score to earn The Downs a share of the spoils on this occasion on a score-line of The Downs 1-12 Tubberclair 0-15. Special mention to both Conor Daly and Daniel Kenna who made their Division 1 league debut over the past couple of games. 

 

On Saturday evening, our Divison 3 side welcomed Maryland to Breedon Molloy Park for round 8 of the league. In a cagey opening few minutes both sides hit a couple of wides each before Maryland on a counter attack found the back of The Downs net for the opening score of the match. Both sides added to the scoreboard to leave the score at 1-2 to 0-1 on 15 minutes. The Downs through Sean Colgan with Ben Harte stricking for two two-pointers before Maryland were controversially awarded a penalty after a brilliant block from Daniel Kenna was deemed as a foot block. By half-time the scoreboard read The Downs 0-7 Maryland 2-3

Like the first half scores were hard to come by in the early stages of the second half. Both sides registered 1 point each within a ten minute period before Adam Conneely found the back of the Maryland net to put The Downs into the lead for the first time on the evening on a score-line of 1-8 to 2-4. After the goal, Maryland to their credit for the remainder of the match dominated proceedings with influential midfielder Adam Smyth dominating particularly from placed balls kicking 2 two pointers from frees and added a further from play. Unfortunately for our lads Maryland ran out winners on this occasion on a score-line of 2-12 to 1-9.

As if the weekend wasn’t excitement enough, last week was Cumann na mBunscol

Finals week in TEG Cusack Park. Holy Family kicked off proceedings with the D2

Camogie final v Raharney. It was another nail biter, that took extra time to separate the sides. Hard luck to Holy Family who just lost out with Final Score Raharney 2-06 Holy. Holy Family 2-05. Na Dúnta were represented by Aleisha Nolan, Ava Meehan , Lily Archbold and coach Mr Oisín Murphy.

Congratulations to Ruairi Walters & Cillian Deane who were on the St Colman's hurling team who won the Div 2 Hurling Final and also Leo Flynn who was on St

Kennys winning D4 Hurling Team. Well done lads.

Hard luck to the Loughegar Hurling & Camogie teams who lost out in the Division 1

Finals in tough conditions on Tuesday. Well done to Mel Bohan and Cian McDonald who represented Gainstown in the D3 football final on Wednesday. Unfortunately they came up against a strong Castledaly side and were runners up on the day.

Thursday brought the D2 & D1 football finals. Holy Family faced Coosan in both D1 girls & boys finals. Coosan were strong favourites in both after convincing wins earlier in the competition, however Holy Family didn’t make it easy on the day. The girls were unlucky not to come away with a win in normal time with a few missed chances. They fought their way to a draw at the final whistle. Coosan nabbed a few scores in quick succession to take the win after extra time. Well done to Aleisha, Lily, Ava, Sophie , Chloe &  Isla and coach Ms Murtagh on a fantastic game of football.

The HF lads faced an equally daunting task and matched Coosan score for score in the first half. Coosan’s greater physicality proved too much in the 2 nd half and they eventually ground out the win against a valiant HF side. Well done to Rian Quinn & Jacob Buckley. 

While neither team came out on top, there were two outstanding goalkeeper

performances in Cusack Park on Thursday. Oisin McCormack with Rochfortbridge and Aleisha Nolan with Holy Family made some fantastic saves to keep their teams in the game. Well done to both

Pride of place this week however ,goes to Na Dúnta NS who were convincing winners of the Div 3 Girls Football Final. The Downs NS like the Westmeath men on Sunday bridged their own 18 year gap to claim the Division 3 Cup in Cusack Park on Tuesday. They came up against a very strong Baylin team who can be proud of a fantastic performance themselves. It was Baylin who started the strongest going ahead with 4 unanswered points but the Downs girls soon steadied the ship with goals from Ruby Lenehen and Erin Murtagh. In the second half it was more of the same from the Downs girls and in the end they ran out winners on a score of 5-10 to 1.11. Every single girl played their hearts out and were a credit to their school. Well done to their coaches Mr Rabbitt and Mrs Smyth and all involved.

Congratulations to all who represented their schools this week and to Derek Butler and all the organisers of the Cumann na mBunscol competition. 

We extend our sincere sympathy to Catherine Lagan and family on the recent passing of her mother Elizabeth (Betty) Power late of   Harold’s Cross, Dublin.

 Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.

Plenty of bargains to be got in the club shop over the next few weeks. Please contact Carmel on 0879496347 for any inquiries. 

Bingo

The Bingo Jackpot has reached a whopping 9500. Why not join us on Friday night when you could be in with a chance of the massive prize of 9500 euro!! Please keep an eye on our Social Media platforms for updates to Bingo continues. All new members welcome.

We will continue to live stream our Lotto draw via our Facebook page for the foreseeable future. Tune in at 9-30 on each Monday night to catch the draw.

1.Add a discounted bundle to your Downs GAA club membership by clicking here.
2.Play online at our website www.thedownsgaa.com
3. Play online at Clubzapp http://bit.ly/3ItlksQ
4. Contact your regular draw collector for your area or any Committee member who will enter
your numbers on to our Perma Book which is retained at the club.
5. Send a cheque for €100 to club secretary Tommy Kelly, Coralstown, Mullingar (one year’s
subscription).
6. Or scan here:

Thanks to our supporters for their loyal commitment to our Fundraising Draw and to those new players who have signed up online and in hard copy.

Keep up to date with club activities
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