NDSL Academy starting in the new year

NDSL will be establishing a special coaching academy for 10, 11 and 12 year old girls. Basically this will involve weekly additional coaching sessions for girls in this age group who are interested in getting to the next level. This group might also be used to form a representative team to play against other leagues.

The cost of these coaching sessions is €80 for 6 months which includes a free tracksuit. If you are interested in taking part you should contact Dan in the NDSL office at 086-8452208 or just come along to the first session which is taking place in the NDSL grounds on Oscar Traynor Road from 7-8pm on Thursday 15th of January 2009.

A Great Christmas party

We had a great day at our Christmas party in Porterstown. After several days of rain, the weather decided to favor us for a change. We didn't have sunshine, but at least the rain held of for the festivities.

In the first match of the tournament the red devils team took an early lead and were 2-1 at half time. However, the yellow bellies equalised in the second half to leave the final score at 2-2

In the next game, the red devils really got into their stride for the next game against the colours and the final score was 5-0.

The colours were not willing to take this lying down and scored first in their match against the yellow belies. At half time it was 2-1 to the colours. They extended their lead in the second half and at the full time whistle the score was 4-2.

In the last match everyone joined in on one side or the other. Even Peter and Brian did duty in goals. After an exciting match both teams were level and everyone enjoyed a well deserved selction pack of goodies.

All in all it was an enjoyable end to and exciting first year for the Castleknock Celtic girls

Christmas Party and Bag Packing

Our Christmas Party will take place in Porterstown from 10:30-12:30 on Saturday 13th of December. This is likely to great fun with a small soccer competition among ourselves followed by lots of goodies.

We are also down to help out with the bag packing in Tesco, Roselawn to raise funds for the club. The under 14s are scheduled to pack from 7-8:30pm on Tuesday 23rd while the under 12s are scheduled to pack from 4-5:30pm on Friday 19th. We expect a full turn out from the girls so let Peter or Brian know if you can't make it. We also need a few parents to help out supervising, so any offers of help will be much appreciated.

8-0 win over Swords

The under 14 girls stay top of the league with a controlled 8-0 win away to Swords manor despite starting with only 9 players. Aisling Hoey's 2 opening goals followed by hat tricks for Orlaith Higgins and Hanah Hanlon secured the points. Dearbhla Monaghan was named girl of the match.
Attachment includes the note and its objects

Under 12 match off tomorrow

The under 12 match is off tomorrow because the WFTA pitch is unplayable. However the under 14 match is going ahead.

We seem to be in very bad luck with pitches this year, but there is very little we can do.

Brian

Two away matches at the weekend

Both of our teams have away matches this Saturday (6th Dec).

The under 12 team are playing WFTA at Kildonan Rd with a 10 am kick-off. We should all meet up beside the all-weather pitch at 9.15am. The weather forecast is looking good so hopefully we will finally get to play another match before the Christmas break.

The under 14 team will be looking to extend their recent run of good results when they travel to the Brackenstown Road to take on Swords Manor. Kick-off is at 11am so the older girls should meet up at 10am beside the all weather pitch.

Both teams playing at home this weekend

Both of our girls teams have home fixtures this Saturday (29th/Nov).

Our under 12 girls face WFTA with a kick-off at 12:45pm and out under 14 team will kick-off at 1pm against Maynooth Town. Both teams should assemble in Porterstown at 12 noon to give up time to prepare for the matches.

U14 girls continue their winning streak

The under 14 girls kept their winning run going with a disciplined 2-0 win away to St. Ita's Portrane. Thanks to two cracking goals from Megan Naughton in the first half and two crucial saves from Nicole McAuley.

All twelve players gave of their all, none more so than girl-of-the-match Anne-Marie Troy, who was playing only her 2nd match ever.

Under 12 match on Saturday cancelled

The under 12 match tomorrow against Maynooth Town has been canceled because the Porterstown pitch is unplayable.

We will not be playing in Laurel Lodge green either because the goals are the wrong size.

Weekend fixtures

Our under 12 team are playing a home match against Maynooth town. Kick--off is scheduled for 12:30pm so all players should be in Porterstown by 12 noon. Brian will be away this weekend so Tony Hanlon will be taking charge of the team. Please let Tony know if you won't be able to be there.

Our under 14 team are scheduled to play an away match against St Ita's of Portrane. Kick-off is at 11:30 in their Ballymastone pitch. The girls should meet up at 10:15 beside the all-weather pitch. If anyone is unable to make it they should let Peter know in advance so that the team are not delayed waiting for someone who is not coming.

A great night in Croke Park

The atmosphere was great in Croke Park for the match between Ireland and Poland. Unfortunately Poland went into the lead just after the match got underway. When Poland stretched their lead to 2-0 early in the second half it looked like they were going to win easily.

However Ireland scored from the penalty spot in the dying minutes of the game.This led to a very exciting finnish with one more goal for each team to leave the final score at 3-2.

All the girls were very well behaved and were a credit to the club.

Click below to see the pictures.

Arrangements for the Poland Match

The tickets are now all gone for the match between Ireland and Poland.

All the girls who are going should meet up at Coolmine train station at 6:45pm on Wednesday next 19th of November. The girls should bring 10 euro to cover the cost of their match and train tickets. They might want to also bring along some snacks (we won't be stopping in shops so they won't need more money). The girls should dress warmly because it can be cold in the stadium, but it will make it easier to keep the group together if all the girls could wear their Castleknock Celtic jerseys over their jackets.

We should be able to catch the 10pm train home which means we will be back at Coolmine train station by 10:20pm.

The girls who got tickets are:

1. Niamh O'Donovan
2. Ciara Brady
3. Sarah Brady
4. Lucy Hanlon
5. Hannah Hanlon
6. Catherine Leahy
7. Haley Dixon
8. Nicole McCauley
9. Katie Byrne
10. Lauren McEnroe
11. Eadain Feeney
12. Lauren Manning
13. Rachel Manning
14. Kayleigh Manning
15. Fiona Fitzgerald
16. Joy Guinane
17. Orlaith Higgins
18. Katie O'Sullivan

Great win over Swords Manor

Swords manor were unlucky to come up against our under 14 team who are now at the peak of their performance. The girls kept up their winning form with a magnificent 14-0 victory.

Both Megan Naughton and Hanah Hanlon got hat tricks and both Orlaith Higgins and Louise O'Connor managed to find the back of the net twice each. Aishling Hoey, Katie Byrne, Joy Guinane and Edwina Naughton also managed to get their names on the score sheet to complete a decisive victory.

With such a great performance by the team it was hard to pick out who was most deserving of the woman-of-the-match aware. However, we eventually decided that Megan was most deserving of recognition due to her hat trick and overall excellent play.

Trip to see Ireland play Poland in Croke Park

We have a number of tickets available for the world cup qualifying match between Ireland and Poland next Wedndasday 19th of Novembers. If you are interested in going along, contact Brian O'Donovan at 086-22034-7.

We also need a few parents to come along to help suprvise the group.

Under 12 Match off

The under 12 match against WFTA has been called off due to the pitch being unblayable.

Weekend Fixtures

Next Saturday (15/Nov) our under 14s have a home match against Swords Manor at 11am and our under 12 team have an away match against WFTA at 10am in their Kildonan Road ground.

The under 12s should meet up at 9:15am beside the all weather pitch.

The Under 14s should meet up at Porterstown at 10am.

Hopefully we can keep up our great form from last Saturday.

Under 14s score resounding victory over Maynooth

This was an emphatic way to get their league campaign underway in earnest. Ashling Hoey hit a tremendous hat-trick, including Celtic's first historic goal for girls football at the club. It was a great team effort, and their slick passing brought goals for Kayleigh Manning in the 8th min., Orlaith Higgins in the 13th, Ciara Brady in the 21st. 4-0 half time.

Weather conditions were difficult with a strong wind making it a hard to control the ball. Resolute defending by their back-4 of Lauren Manning, Lauren McEnroe, Edwina Naughton and Eadaoin Feeney, was the foundation for this great result. A 2nd goal from Orlaith Higgins, one from Emma Boyle, and 2 more for Ashling Hoey to complete her hat-trick, saw Celtic home comfortably to their first win at this level. Ashling richly deserved the match ball, though we are not sure that she will actually keep it!

The most important moment of the game came when the game was still very much in the balance at 2-0 for Celtic. Nicole McAuley took off a fabulous save to maintain the home side's 2 goal advantage and to ensure that the visitors were prevented from getting a foothold in the game.

This was indeed a great team performance. The energy and running of Celtic's midfield of Louise O'Connor, Sarah Brady, Lucy Hanlon, and Megan Naughton, combined to deliver the result of the day for Celtic. Man of the match was given to Ashling Hoey, though in truth any of Celtic's players could have been given the award. On a day when their fellow Celtic ladies, the Under-12s were not playing, the Under-14s gave us a performance to remember. 8-0.

Under 12 match on Saturday called off

The under 12 match against Ratoath on Saturday has been called off because Ratoath were having problems with getting enough players due to a clash with a local GAA game. Maybe the under 12 girls might like to come along and cheer for the under 14s.

Since the league is now down to 4 teams, NDSL are investigating the possiblity of merging with the Drogheda area league to give us a wider range of fixtures.

Two home games this Saturday

Both our under 12 and under 14 teams are playing in Porterstown on Saturday. Our under 12 team are playing Ratoath Harps, while our under 14 team are playing Phoenix FC. Kick-off in both matches is at 1pm, so we should try to be there by 12:40pm at the latest (don't forget to wear shin guards).

Technically our match against Ratoath is an away match. We already played Ratoath at home, so the next match should be in Ratoath. However, the Ratoath pitches are overbooked this weekend so they agreed to come to Porterstown but still count it as a home game for them.

Weekend Matches off due to pitches being unplayable

Both of our matches scheduled for Saturday 1st of November have been cancelled because the Porterstown picthes have been declared unplayable.

Since the Laurel Lodge green seems to be in good condition we will hold a training session on Laurel Lodge Green instead on Saturday morning from 11am to 12:30.

Fixtures for 1st of November

Both of our teams are playing home matches this Saturday 1st of November.

Our under 12 team are playing against Maynooth Town. Kick off is at 11.45, so under 12s should meet up in Porterstown at 11:20.

Our under 14 team are playing against Phoenix FC. Kick off is at 12.45, so under 14s should meet up in Porterstown at 12:20.

I hope you all got a chance to read the report of our previous matches on the back page of the Castleknock Gazette.

Training off!

The weather is bad and getting worse so , training has been cancelled.

See you next Wednesday at the usual time and place (8:30pm at the all-weather pitch)

Both matches off so training instead.

We just got word that the under 14 match is also so we will have a training session tomorrow at 10:30 instead. See you all at the Laurel Lodge green 10:30 to 1pm.

Under 12 match against Lucan called off

The under 12 match against Lucan United has been called of because Lucan can't field a team. As far as I know the under 14 match is still going ahead.

Weekend fixtures

Our under 12 team are playing away against Lucan Utd at their Dodsboro pitch. Kick-off is at 11:45am. Our under 14 team are also playing away against WFTA at their Kildonan Rd ground. Kick-off is at 11:30am for this match. Both teams will meet up beside the all-weather pitch at 10:30am.

First league match starts out pink but turns blue

The team were very excited about getting their new jerseys with the very appropriate pink logo from our sponsors Girls Night In. We posed for lots of photographs before the match.

The team started very strongly with captain Ciara Brady playing particularly well. She was aided by a great performance in mid-field by Lucy Hanlon. Castleknock dominated the early exchanges, but it was Ratoath who managed to get a luck break against the run of play and slip a ball past our keeper Áine Waters who was having a great game.

Castleknock continued to have the lions share of the possession and were camped out in the Rataoth penalty box for much of the match. Niamh O'Donovan forced the Ratoath keeper to make a number of dramatic saves, but the ball just did not want to go into the net.

Katie and Rebecca were very solid in defense whenever Ratoath tried to counter attack,


All the girls can be very proud of their performances, but after careful thought we decided that Catherine Leahy was deserving of the woman-of-the-match award.

Well done everyone, if we keep up great performances like this I think we might be in the running to win the league.

First league match of the new season on Saturday

We will have our first matches of the new season on Saturday next 18th of October. Both our under 12 and under 14 teams will have home matches in Porterstown. The under 12s will face Ratoath Harps at 11:45am and the under 14s will face Rush Athletic at 12:30.

All players (both age groups) should be in Porterstown by 11am. We will be distributing the new gear on Saturday morning.

Training on Wednesday evening

We had a great turn out at our registration today. In future we will train each Wednesday at 7:30pm on Laurel Lodge green. If any of your friends are interested in joining the team they are more than welcome to come along.

Team Trial on Saturday 7th of June

Welcome to our blog which will be used for team news. The first announcement is that we will have a trial at 11am on Saturday 7th of June. This trial will be held in Porterstown and all girls interested in playing next season should attend.

If you are interested in playing next season and cannot attend the trial, be sure to send us your contact details.