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Under 14 Presentation Day

On Saturday 4th April the U14 team held their presentation ceremony in the Market Inn. There was a good turnout for the event with approximately 50 players and parents attending.

After a buffet lunch kindly provided by The Market Inn, the Chairman of DCFC Michael Kelly gave a short speech. In his speech Michael commended the players on their first season in the newly formed North West and Coleraine District Youth League Michael stated that the club were impressed with the improvement shown by the team throughout the season and that he looked forward to seeing some of the players playing for the First and Reserve teams in the coming years. Michael, on behalf of the club and committee, thanked the team sponsors for their help and support throughout the season – Laurence O’Kane of O’Kane Chemists for sponsoring the kit;  Sean Mc Callion of SMC Builders for the tracksuits, Declan Mc Bride of Chambers Coaches for the transport and Maurice Regan of The Market Inn for all his support to the club throughout the years. He went on to thank the parents and players for their dedication throughout the season and looked forward to their continued support throughout the coming seasons

Michael then presented medals to all players present. After the medals were presented there were 4 special awards. These were

Rising Star Award (presented by Sean Mc Callion): JACK ENGLISH
Leading Scorer (presented by Maurice Regan): RYAN MC GUIGAN
Players Player of the Year (presented by Laurence O’ Kane): MARK MC AULEY
Managers Player of the Year (presented by Paul Mc Callion): MARK MC AULEY

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their help throughout the year:

Thanks to Michael and all the committee, to Assistant Manager Stevie McKee for all his help, to our sponsors (Sean, Laurence and Declan), to the parents (especially Gemma, Martin and Rosaleen who travelled to the away games and gave lifts to the players), to referee Abi Mohammed who refereed all our home games, to Paul Gormley for the website, to Mrs Lena McKee for looking after the kit and especially to the players.
Also thank you to everybody who contributed to a very successful presentation event – to Maurice and his staff for the venue and food and to Lyn Kelly, Celeste Mc Callion, Michelle Mc Bride and Mary Bradley for the additional food and sandwiches.

Your support is very much appreciated.

Mountjoy Utd 2–3 Draperstown Celtic

A goal six minutes from time by Ally McLean was enough to tip the balance in favour of Draperstown in this excellent cup tie played in near perfect conditions at the impressive grounds of Mountjoy. Celtic had raced into a two goal lead by the 24th minute with goals from Crossett and Murray but were pegged back by strikes from McGrew and McCain and it looked certain that it would be the home side which would prevail as Draperstown began to tire badly in the warm conditions. However they battled on and secured a semi final berth thanks to McLean’s goal and some resolute defending by the Celtic rearguard.

The opening exchanges were even with both sides playing some good passing football on the excellent surface. Mountjoy were looking dangerous on their right flank while Sean Young was seeing plenty of the ball in attacking positions for Draperstown. The first good chance fell to Adams of Mountjoy but his header flew over the Draperstown goal. The first goal of the tie came in the 15th minute when Joe Crossett latched onto Young’s cross and fired home first time from the edge of the box past Gilfellan. Farniourk saved smartly from McGrew before a terrible backpass by Marshall saw the ever alert Murray round Gilfellan and score from a very acute angle to double the advantage.

Celtic were now in the driving seat but took their foot off the peddle and began to let Mounjoy gain a lot of possession. Derek Matthews had a good opportunity in front of goal but mis-controlled the ball and the chance was gone. On the half hour McDonald’s free was headed wide by Adams when he was well placed. A goal for the home side looked likely at this stage and it came on 37 minutes when Celtic’s John Higgins was caught in possession in midfield, the ball finding Matthews who crossed for McGrew to score from close range. A Crossett flick at the near post and a long range effort from Higgins almost restored the two goal lead for Draperstown but half time saw them keep their slender advantage.

The second half was nearly all home pressure with Draperstown relying on quick breaks from their own half. Farniourk saved well from David Matthews on 50 minutes before the same player picked up a yellow card for a foul on Seamus Quinn. Opportunities for Draperstown were now rare but they should have capitalised in the 55th minute when a throw from Declan Graffin caused a great deal of panic in the home defence but there was no Draperstown player there to add the vital touch. Mountjoy substitute Fullton headed over as the home pressure mounted and their equaliser came on 69 minutes when McCain latched onto a loose ball on the edge of the Celtic box and fired home giving Farniourk little chance.

The tie was now up for grabs and with Draperstown visibly tiring, the home side launched attack after attack. However Quinn and McKillion were as solid as ever in the heart of the defence and as a result Mountjoy, despite all their pressure did not force a genuine save from Farniourk. McDonald’s throws were a constant source of pressure with Celtic glad to clear the ball downfield at any opportunity in the hope of relieving the pressure. They were able to do more than this in the 84th minute when Graffin’s free was headed on by Gavin Bradley and McLean reacted the quickest to the dropping ball and forced it past Gilfellan. Mountjoy spent the last minutes encamped in the Celtic half and had claims for a penalty turned down in injury time but it was Draperstown who claimed the win and a semi final spot.

DC 0–0 Newbuildings Utd

Draperstown’s recent revival which had seen five consecutive wins was slowed down on Saturday when a determined Newbuildings side fought out a scoreless draw. For the most part it was a dour midfield battle, with defences on top and neither keeper overworked.

The result probably had more to do with the very poor state of the pitch as neither side was able to produce the type of football they normally can. This is particularly true for the home side who so often have looked upon the Cahore Road pitch as one which does them no favours, especially when it has deteriorated so badly. Following last week’s good win over Kesh, Draperstown were again forced to make late changes to the starting line up and this inconsistency in personnel, while nothing new to the club over the years, again had a part to play.

Newbuildings did open the brighter with Gregory McIvor just off target after 8 minutes while at the other end Wesley Ferguson did well to prevent Celtic’s Murray a goal chance four minutes later. Curry fired a shot just past Farniourk’s post while the home keeper did well to block Robinson’s effort on 24 minutes. John Higgins attempted a long range effort as Celtic upped their momentum but half time saw no goals and a quickly deteriorating pitch.

This was not helped in the second half as heavy rain reduced the playing surface to little more than a quagmire and as a result good football was out of the question. Higgins again came close on a couple of occasions while Ferguson’s free kick narrowly went past the far up right. The last ten minutes saw the visitors reduced to ten men when Crawford picked up a second yellow for a rash challenge on McLean following an earlier hand ball card. As a result it was Celtic who had most of the possession in the final stages without making it count. Watson in the Newbuilding’s goal pulled off a smart save from Joe Crossett’s snap shot while right at the end Drapersown appeared to be denied a clear penalty when Higgins was bundled over in the box but referee Dick Tucker waved play on and soon after blew for the end of the game.

Still, the result means Celtic have suffered defeat only once in 2009 and will look forward to the remaining games with a great deal of optimism, especially if they are able to call upon their regular starting players on a consistent basis.

Next First Team Fixture

NI Intermediate League | 13th March 2010
V
Draperstown Celtic v Mountjoy FC