Fáilte roimh an leathanach foirne do na buachaillí U9 (BORN 2010)
We are training Monday's in the club house AstroTurf at 5.50 to 6.40 and Thursday in the AstroTurf on the Alfie Byrne Road from 6 to 7pm. Appreciate it will be difficult with other commitments to attend all session so please car pool and organise lifts with other parents if possible
We have a total of 50 boys registered with the group, if you know anyone that is interested in joining please contact Paul on 086 3613595 or Geoff on 087 8227150, they will have a ball and make some friends
Matches are usually on at 11 each Saturday morning, we have entered 5 teams in the North side league. There's a 3 team and a 2 team league for North side clubs so each Saturday the boys will be playing a match, hurling and football in alternative weeks.
We have split the boys into 5 groups, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Pluto and Venus. Your boy has been put into one of these groups and you will have that team name on Teamer.
Notes
Upcoming matches
A friendly v Raheny on Saturday the 23rd November
Matches:
Hurling v St Vincent's, October 12th away
2 teams made their way to Marino to play St Vincent's, despite the long grass the lads coped well with some good striking out of the hand leading to early pressure on the Vincent's goal. Danny and Joe at the back did well in a few big clearances. Clontarf took the lead through a 65 from Seánie but Vincent's hit back with 4 points. The second half Clontarf got 1-1 but it was hard against a Vincent's team who could score from distance. A massive performance from Jack Moyles in the second half who was the leading light from Clontarf, assisted by Braxton as the lads kept battling to the end. The final score was 1-7 to 1-2 to Vincent's
A good battling performance by the Bulls, led by Sam Power who played brilliantly. Difficult pitch conditions due to the long grass made it hard to get the ball in hand. When we did we often struggled to get the space required to make a clean strike with Syl's being very good at blocking. However, great to see the lads battle hard and eventually win out the game due to some excellent points
Football v Fingal Ravens, October 5th away
We got our first taste of North County Dublin football away to Fingal Ravens on Saturday morning. We started well and moved the ball well with some fine passing from the hand and the foot. Some great catches in midfield by James Morrissey and Christian Hawe gave us the platform for some early scores from Conor and Cian.
Ravens came into more as the game progressed as they brought more physicality to the game than we had previously been used to. We gave them a bit too much space and they punished us with some good score taking. In the second half we got in some great blocks from Christian and Max and some nice hand passing allowed us build further nice passages of play. Plenty of good stuff to build on this early in the season.
Hurling v Na Fianna, September 28th away
The Bulls
The Bulls played a very competitive game versus Na Fianna on Saturday which ended in a draw at 1-2 a piece. Clontarf were the dominant team but our radar was off on our shooting and in fairness to the boys the goals are narrow but still it was encouraging to see the many attempts on goal.
In goals Joe M and in the second half Adam did well with strong puck outs, Eddie got on a world of ball and caught 2 balls from the sky, Jack and Sam did well at the back in the first and in midfield in the second half, Seánie got a wonder point in the first half, Max with a ground stroke almost broke the net with his goal. All in all it was a good performance, we matched Na Fianna on the ground hurling and were better in the air, just need to start shooting straighter.
#hurling365
Hurling blitz v Sylvester's and O'Toole's, September 14th
On a historic day, when the Dubs completed the 5 in a row, our lads made the trip to Ayrfield Road to take on O'Toole's and Sylvester's in a 3 team blitz.
The Bulls found it tough against 2 very good teams, O'Toole's being by far the best we have played, and this is now something we have to work on in future, as their ground hurling, catching and striking was far better than ourselves and anyone we have played.
The performance improved considerably v Sylvester's in the second game
The Bears and the Tigers both did very well and beat both O'Toole's and Sylvester's in their games. Good performances all round and medals for the kids after
Football v St Maur's in Rush, September 6th
The Bulls had a resounding victory against Rush on Saturday albeit playing against a team with an extra man. Intentions were clear from the throw in when Sean Tobin scored a sublime goal. Overall there were some tremendous scores with all Clontarf players on the score sheet the pick of them coming from Fionn MC Andrew but hotly contested by Cian Foley’s efforts. The scoring was backed up with a dogged defensive display keeping to home side to a single point in the first half. We were helped by a great display in goal by Oscar also. We had asked the boys to focus on the skills and they duly delivered with a great display of soloing, kicking, catching, passing and tackling. Not too many hand passes gives us something more to work on next day. Hard to pick a MOTM with some superb midfield displays by Christain and James but Fionn marginally shades it over the 40 minutes.
Football v Howth in St Anne's, September 6th
Clontarf and Howth played out a very high scoring game and came away with a 3-10 to 1-9 win
All the boys contributed to this, from in goals Adam in the first and Cillian in the second half made some great saves and got their kick outs away, in defence Domnik, Daniel and Danny kept up the pressure on some very skillful Howth forwards. In midfield Seanie and Cillian did well with Seánie kicking his points well. Up front Clontarf held the upper hand with Thomas scoring points at will and Tim scoring 2 good goals and a point. Well done to the lads and great to get the first game done
The first game we played was a hurling match with St Plunkett's visting St Anne's Park August 31st
Bulls
It was great to start off the season in the same manner as we finished with the boys displaying some great touches and a huge effort was put in by the team. Overall Clontarf scored 2-9 to Plunkett's 1-2. Some of the point scoring was tremendous and you could see the boys kept their promise in practicing over the summer.
Thomas got two scores that stood out, one a first time pull which almost broke the net and a point from near the sideline which Joe Canning would be proud of. In the backs Cian, Christian and Fionn mopped everything up, in midfield Eddie and Seanie dominated with Seanie scoring 4 from placed balls and 1-1 from play, up front as well as Thomas's scoring, both Max, Cathal and Jack played very well. Overall an excellent start
Bears
Clontarf were well on top in this game which some excellent hurling by the team. All played very well with Henry who scored 1-7 from midfield and Braxton who scored 2 goals standing out
After a numbers of weeks inactivity due to bank holidays we played Raheny on a beautiful June morning in St Anne's
As a coach this was my favourite game this year, two highly competitive teams producing a wonderful 40 mins of hurling, going from end to end with long distance points, good takling, striking, pick up and skills all evident. Clontarf won out 2-4 to 0-4 in the end
In goals Robbie did well in keeping a clean sheet and his pucks outs gave Clontarf a platform to get up the pitch, at the back Fionn and Xavier did very well on their opponents, while Christian was the star man back there with long clearances and 2 major block downs preventing points
In midfield Seánie and Eddie kept the ball moving from back to front, helped out at both ends, Seánie scored 0-2, one of them from his own half while Eddie let nothing past him. Two lads with very promising futures.
Up from Jack K in a centre forward position scored 1-1, his striking was excellent throughout the game, always got the ball into his hand, Thomás also scored 1-1, the point a sharp turn in a tight space and shot and Max worked hard and was always showing for the ball
All in all a very encouraging end to this part of the season for the Bulls, and keep practicing
Football May 25th
This weekend it was football matches all round with 3 teams taking on O'Dwyers of Balbriggan and 2 teams making their way to Ballygall Road to play Ballymun Kickhams.
v Ballymun, away
The Bears played well and were stronger than a very competitive Kickhams team. All 8 boys played in all positions to ensure everyone got a try out in defence and forwards. Seánie, Sam P and Cathal M scored the bulk of the scores, Eli with a sweet leg peg did well especially in defence, Conor covered a lot of ground, Sean R played well in goals and Frankie got the end of a few balls and scored a good goal
A very enjoyable game against a team who play only football so it was good to see the Clontarf boys show as much, if not better skills
v O'Dywers in St Anne's
Tigers
Massive performances from Harry M, Danny K and Seán Tobin, we won the majority of our kick outs and moved the ball up the pitch. Rory W had a stong 4th Quater and got a lovely 3 pointer from play, we were strongest in the 4th Quarter and score 3 points in a row to stage an excellent comeback
We felt this was their best performance all year with some lovely passages of play capped off by some super scores. Adam T had a very good game in goals and his distribution is improving with each game, Fionn and Jack K formed a strong defensive parttnership. Eddie and Jack M bossed the midfield and in the forwards some good scores from Sam McK, Johnny C and Max B meant Clontarf had a good win
The Bears played an exciting high scoring game, Tim made some great saves in goals, Cian was strong in bringing the ball up to the forwards, Henry scored some fine points which was the difference in the end. We need to work on man marking and lads taking steps.
Hurling
Na Fianna, DCC astro, May18th, 3 teams
St Brendans, away, May 18th, 1 team
After a slow start where we went 5 goals to 0 down, the Bulls performed very well to come back and win 5-5 to 6-1 which was some turnaround. Seánie got the ball rolling with 1-2 in the first half to take us in 5-0 to 1-2 at half time.
Henry F in goal long puck puts put Na Fianna under pressure in the second half and resulting from that Fionn McA scored 2 goals and Johnny C got 1 to which Seánie added a further 1-3 with the 3 points coming from long distance, many in his own half. A good all round performance with Eddie R, Sam McK and Dominkic M doing well in defence.
They all promised extra practice in the coming weeks so looking forward to the next day
The Tigers
Great match, really strong defence from larry, Ultan and Joe in the first half. We were down 1 goal at half time, we scored 2 goals early in the second half to go ahead but some sloppy defending let Na Fianna in for a few goals to win 5 goals to 8.
Finn broke his stick which the lads loved, there was plenty of fight and guts, Art took a belt to the stomach but played on, great to see the team coming together and playinog for each other.
The Bears
the Bears did much better in the 2nd half after a tough opening period. Clontarf got god scores from David K and Adam T and had a number of efforts cleared off the line. Overall worked very hard but were over powered by a physically stronger Na Fianna team
V St Brendan's
They played like a real team which was most pleasing. the pick-ups were much better today and striking on the ground, out of the hands needs to work. There was some good defensive display from Tadgh, Mark and Oscar and good goalkeeping from Robbie. Some great grafting and scores coming from Luke, Eli , Cian with Max and Sam doing well in Midfield.
Fingallians, Balheary, 6th April, Hurling
On a beautiful April morning 28 Clontarf kids made their way to play Fingallians in Swords, it certainly was a welcome change to the torrential rain we've had recently with the pitches in good shape. Very encoraging to see the improvement from the previous game and certainly more effort by the boys in these games, much less 'standing statues' this time.
More practice was encouraged, now especially with the longer evenings and less homework, plenty time for a puck around...#hurling365
From the off The Bulls tore into Fingallians which resulted from 2 pointed frees from Clontarf through good strikes from Seánie and Henry. Clontarf added two more goals in the first half by Cathal Markey who from midfield seemed to be everywhere in this game to ensure Clontarf took a healthy lead at half time. The second half was just as good when Cathal completed his hat-trick and Sam added another goal to end up winners on the day. More importantly it was great to see improved pick up with Seánie, Cathal, Fionn, Max and Christian all completing at least 5 pick ups and strikes out of the hand. All coaches were pleased to see the efforts put in by the lads
This was a tough game from the Bears who came up against a strongers Fingallians team, it took a while to get into it but super defensive work from Sam and Eli kept Fingallians out, at the other end Clontarf scored the point of the game when Thomás ran half the length of the pitch and struck a super point, you'd know he had Cork hurling blood in him
All in all very a very enjoyable morning, back to football next week
CASTLEKNOCK, St Anne's Park, 30th March Football
On a beautiful Spring morning at pitch 23 the Clontarf Bulls took on Castleknock watched by a big crowd. Man for man there wasn’t much in it between the sides but Castleknock worked far better as a team. They were first to most balls and had a little more composure on the ball. Domnik Markowicz was very strong in defense repelling most of what Castleknock threw his way while Adam Thompson had another strong game between the sticks. A couple of positional switches in the second half and more focus from the Bulls led to some wonderful passages of play combining several passes moving the ball from back to front and adding some great scores. Jack Kavanagh drove them forward from the back with a fine display while Marc Woods put in a big shift working tirelessly for the Reds. The second half showed us what this team is capable of with a bit more work on a few areas there is great potential.
A great performance by the bears. The best football this team has played to date. The first half was like watching the Dubs at times. The lads showed all the work in training is paying off. There were no issues with pick-ups. The handing passing was great. There was a super passage of play between Robbie and Fionn that had 5 passes and ended with a shot. Tom cleaned up everything in defense by meeting every ball. Castleknock couldn't get near us. Tim's kick outs were super accurate. Everyone tried hard and played well. The only problem was we scored too many goals. We can learn from Castleknock taking the points. All the mentors were delighted with the lad’s performances.
O'TOOLE'S St Anne's Park, 23rd March Hurling
On a beautiful March morning we welcomed O'Toole's for 3 very competitive games. A common theme is that all 3 teams struggled in the first half but all improved in the second half, so more practice needed. A special call out to the Tigers who came back from 3 goals down to win by 3.
A challenging outing for the Bulls on Saturday against a particularly strong O’Tooles team . The long grass did not help matters and this favored an O Tooles team which had more match experience and greater efficiency in getting the ball in hand .
It took some time for the Bulls to adjust to the intensity of the game but the boys stuck to the task and showed great heart .
Although behind at halftime the boys refocused and displayed much greater strength and determination in the second half exchanges . The Bulls brought greater physicality to all aspects of their play after the break .As a result the second half was much more even and the Bulls displayed some great blocking as well as better fight in rucking for loose ball.
The Bulls got better as the game went on and can certainly hold their heads high after pushing O Tooles close in the second half.
The Tigers started off slowly and were 3 goals down after 10 minutes, the change in rules where we could lift the ball helped Clontarf and we came charging back by scoring 3 goals to come in level at half time, this was driven by some great play by Sean, Luke and Conor. The second half we didn't let O'Toole's out of their half and we scored 3-1 without reply. Some fabulous shooting by David Kavanagh who scored a point and Tommy Mealy who scored a couple of goals. All in all a great performance
SKERRIES HARPS Newbridge House 9th March Hurling
ST SYLVESTERS St Anne's 2nd March Football
Lots of positives to take from the Bears match against Syls especially in a much improved second half performance .It took the boys a while to get to the pace of the game and they tended to be second to the ball in the early exchanges . After conceding some early scores the boys found their feet and with improved tackling and some excellent passing moves they gave Syls a competitive battle . The boys worked tirelessly throughout and came away happy with their efforts . Things to work on include the pickup and not getting blocked but they scored a number of skill points themselves for blocking especially in defence .
CASTLEKNOCK St Anne's Park 23rd February 2018 Hurling
We welcomed Castleknock to St Anne's for the team's first Hurling match. Despite being short many due to mid-term we were able to put out 3 competitive teams who all put on a great display of ground hurling and when the time came to show some excellent striking from the hand. The work the boys have been doing in training is beginning to show but as with everything practice makes perfect and we will need the boys to practice the skills they learn in training. The teams were mentored by Paul, Kevin and Damian.
#hurling 365
A cold start by Clontarf saw them go behind early. Braxton Usher was like an octopus in goals saving multiple shots. Soon enough Maxwell and David got stuck in and the defense led the challenge. A good move up from Maxwell to Dan to Tom saw a shot stopped by the castlenock goalie. Another shot from Cian was deflected wide. Cian expertley slotted over the 65 for clontarf. The second half was much brighter from clontarf. Passion was evident throughout. Tadhg was a physical force in the middle. Daniel was excellent in goals picking out the midfielders at ease. Mark and Xavier put in a good shift up front with more saves from castlenock. Although we couldn't close the gap there was lots of positives.!
With some heroic defending from Sean Ryan, Art McNamara and Finn Mularkey the teams were scoreless at half time. Castleknock got a run on us and score a couple of goals to take the lead but in attack Oisin Gough got a lovely goal from an excellent strike from the hand after a powerful run. All played well and enjoyed their first game
Another competitive game between 2 evenly matched teams. Clontarf were able to launch attacks from the long puck outs of Johnny Cryan to the foward line of Robbie Porter and Sam McKeown. The change to full hurling suited the team which resulted in an excellent goal from Eddie Ross. The defence of Cathal Markey and Joe Morrisey held firm and limited Castleknow to only a couple of shots on goal.
A special thanks to Dominic and Sam who played with Castleknock in either half to ensure everyone got a game
ST BRIDGID's Russell Park 16th February 2019 Football
Sherry Fitzgerald