Down Ladies round-up

The Senior, Intermediate and Junior leagues swing back into action this weekend. The first round of fixtures were knocked off track by the weather but a full round is scheduled for this Saturday night. Of those games that were played, Carryduff pulled off the shock of the night by defeating close neighbours Bredagh at Cherryvale. This was a big win and the reality is that it could have been even bigger except for some wayward shooting. Bredagh were missing a few of last year’s regulars but this shouldn’t deflect from a very competent opening day for the duff girls. Rostrevor nearly pulled off another shock when Clonduff visited Petit Pairc but the yellows put in a fantastic 2nd half display to run out one point winners. In the other match Saval defeated Downpatrick by a goal in a very keenly contested match. Turning to this week, the County minors are in action on Saturday afternoon and this may affect some games. Please check with your club if you are intending to travel.

In the Senior league Castlewellan get their campaign off the ground when they entertain Saval. The Town girls will be one of the favourites for success this term but they should be wary of the Newry girls who will be travelling with their tails high after a successful opening day win over Downpatrick. Carryduff will welcome Rostrevor in this their first ever senior home fixture. The duff girls will be keen to build on their big win over Bredagh and they will be hopping at the chance to show their home support just how far they have come. Rostrevor had a perfect first 30 minutes’ against Clonduff before falling away in the 2nd period. They will need to improve their consistency if they are to survive the wide open expanse of Carryduff Pairc. Clonduff have the visit of Bredagh to look forward to and it’s hard to tell just what way this game will go. Both teams were missing quite a few regulars last time out but the rivalry might be just the tonic to get a full squad out and if that turns out to be the case then the Belles will be expected to come away the happiest. Bryansford travel to Downpatrick in a fixture that always seems to cause them problems, on paper Bryansford look the stronger but Downpatrick seem to have the measure of them and games are always close with the hoops probably slightly ahead on the win, lose statistic.
In the Intermediate league Burren travel to Shamrocks and this is likely to be a close game with home advantage possibly swinging it in favour of the Newry girls. Bredagh entertain Bright. The Belles had difficulty fielding last time out but assuming things are back on track they could prove to be a stubborn obstacle but Bright should advance. Ballymartin travel to Mayobridge and this is likely to be a tough competitive game. The sky-blues picked up two handy points last time out without kicking a ball. The Lilywhites will be keen to get their campaign off to a good start and a victory over last years junior champions would be a nice way of doing it. I expect this one to go to the wire. Annaclone welcome Kilcoo and both supporters are likely to be in for a cracker. Both sides are capable of playing open attractive football and I expect this game to be no different. Kilcoo will have their mettle tested on Saturday evening but it may still be Annaclone who take the points.
In the Junior league, St. Johns are likely to find the Fin tough opponents and an way win looks likely. Teconnaught make the journey to St. Michaels and they are likely to have too much firepower for the Magheralin girls. Drumgath will oversee the visit of Bryansfords 2nd string and it’s hard at this stage to gauge just how strong the Ford are likely to be. Drumgath are very capable opponents and home advantage may be enough to see them through. Tullylish meet Saul and the South Down outfit will be one of the leagues likely pacesetters and they should get their campaign up and running with a win.
In the U-14 league Burren meet Saul with the South Down side marginal favourites. Loughinisland should have too much firepower for Bredagh while Annaclone and Ballymartin should be close with a draw a possibility. Saval and Kilcoo could go either way with Kilcoo possibly the slight favourites. Tullylish and Bryansford is the match of the day with two very evenly matched sides, I expect this once to be close throughout with home advantage swaying the result in Tullylish’s favour.

Fixtures

Saturday 17th April @ 7:00pm, Senior League, Castlewellan v Saval (R. Barry), Carryduff v Rostrevor (G. Tumelty), Clonduff v Bredagh (G. Corrigan) Downpatrick v Bryansford (E. O’Hare), Intermediate League Shamrocks v Burren (M. Devlin), Bredagh v Bright (J. McMullan), Mayobridge v Ballymartin (B. Rice), Kilcoo v Annaclone (G. Brannigan), Junior League St. Johns v Aughlisnafin (M. Rawlinson), St. Michaels v Teconnaught (Helen Rice), Drumgath v Bryansford (C. Reynolds), Tullylish v Saul (S. O’Hanlon)
Sunday 18th April @ 12:30pm
U-14 League, Burren v Saul (P. Cairns), Bredagh v Loughinisland (A. Grant), Carryduff v Castlewellan (O. Burke), Ballymartin v Annaclone (R. McDowell), Kilcoo v Saval (C. McAlinden), Tullylish v Bryansford (D. Kearns)
Results

Sun 11/4
Carryduff 5-15 Annaclone 2-08
Bosco 7-12 Clonduff 0-01
Burren 2-03 Bredagh 2-03
Castlewellan 4-13 Ballymartin 5-13
Saul 14-19 Ardglass 0-00
Rostrevor 2-08 Teconnaught 10-08
Loughinisland v Downpatrick Not Played
Kilcoo v Bryansford Not Played
Sat 3/4
Senior
Rostrevor 2-03 Clonduff 0-10
Bredagh 1-05 Carryduff 2-09
Saval 3-08 Downpatrick 2-08
Bryansford v Castlewellan Not played
Intermediate
Bright v Ballymartin Not played
Burren v Kilcoo Not played
Annaclone v Shamrocks Not played
Mayobridge W/O Bredagh D/F
Junior
St. Johns 3-06 St. Michaels 1-02
Teconnaught v Aughlisnafin Not played
Saul v Drumgath Not played
Tullylish v Loughinisland Not played