Well as the headline suggests, this truly was a great weekend for the club with the first major fundraising event, the much awaited race night sponsored by The Village Inn, on Friday night drawing a large crowd. To top this off, the U11's emerged from their league final on Saturday with the coveted league title after a hard fought victory over Valley Rangers.

RACE NIGHT

Well what a night folks. A large crowd attended the first running of this event in The Village Inn on Friday night and what a night of entertainment it was, with fantastic craic and banter on the night. Emerald Race Events presented the show and full credit to Jonathan and his team as they put on an ultra professional night and with the large crowd in attendance, it was certainly a brilliantly entertaining first running of what is hoped to be an annual event. A full run down of the race winners will be available in next week’s notes.

The club would like to thank all the race sponsors and all business holders who took out ads in the race program, as well as a huge thank you to all the supporters who purchased horses in the races and of course to everyone who attended on the night and supported the event.

A big thank you to The Village Inn who were the main sponsors of the event and a huge thank you to Miksey O’Brien who certainly put up a great show when hosting the auction race on the night.

U11 LEAGUE FINAL

It was off to Tallow on Saturday morning where the U11's were bidding to become the first team at underage level to win the A league title for the club. Coaches Emmett Coffey and Kevin Wheeler were busy from the off at the venue with injury doubt Mark Carey undergoing a late fitness test before being passed fit to play.

The pre match team talk was all about giving it nothing less than 100%, with special onus being given to cousins Mark and Luke Carey to help nullify the threat of Valley star player Kevin Barry in midfield. The back three and keeper were asked to keep it tight from the beginning and wingers Leo Coffey and Dean Jordan were asked to stay narrow to help in midfield with Jamie Foley instructed to shoot on site.

The game got off to a rip roaring start with very little between the sides. Valley however were looking the more dangerous and came close to opening the scoring when a corner kick struck the near post, before Conor Coakley cleared the danger. Celtic had their first effort on 11 mins when a long ball from Mark Carey saw Dean Jordan released down the left with the resultant cross scrambled to safety.

Celtic were dealt a significant blow on 14mins when Luke Carey was forced off with a knee injury, with Ricky Carroll entering the fray on the left wing and Dean Jordan taking up a central berth. Celtic came more into the game and forced a number of corners. Valley threatened again when they broke from midfield on 22 mins and Jamie Wheeler was again forced into a save before Ruari Tobin Allen and Patrick Coughlan completed the clearance. It was from this clearance that Jamie Foley forced a corner, with Mark Carey stepping up to replicate what he does in training with a stunning delivery to the back post where Ricky Carroll powered home an unstoppable header to rapturous celebrations. This score came right on half-time.

The second half ensued with Valley piling on the pressure with wave after wave of attack. Celtic however were up the task with Conor Coakley driving on all around him. Celtic were now restricted to counter attacking. Valley were slowly beginning to find gaps in the Celtic rearguard. On 19 mins they breached the Celtic back line with the attacker’s stinging drive parried away by Jamie Wheeler in goal, with Ruari Tobin Allen clearing. Valley came close again on 20 mins this time a superb Kevin Barry header beat Wheeler in goal but a sigh of relief as the offside whistle correctly blew.

Michael Sheehan and Cillian Heggtveit were introduced in an effort to add some fresh legs and Luke Carey re-entered the fray with minutes remaining. Valley were now throwing everything at the lads and Kevin Barry broke free on the right and unleashed a rocket of an effort with Wheeler in goal managing a fingertip save on to the crossbar.

The final whistle sounded to scenes of tears and celebration with players throwing themselves to the turf after using up all their energy reserves. What a win and just reward for the lads in what has been a long hard season. Dean Jordan proudly stepped up to receive the winners plaque, before calling on all his team mates to come forward and receive their medals. Commiserations to Valley, who on the day were well worthy of a draw, but Celtic's commitment was evident throughout.

Conor Coakley was inspiring in his performance with every ball contested and cleared before setting off on a memorable run as the game reached its conclusion, which was indicative of the teams overall performance. A fantastic victory for the lads. Celebrations continued in Supermac’s before a tour of the village ensued with the obligatory beeps rounding off a memorable day.

A big thank you to O’Sullivan's Centra for sponsoring the Lucozade sports and the team over the season and a huge word of thanks to the parents for their commitment throughout the season. Every single player played his part throughout the season and we now look forward to next season. A big thank you to coaches Emmett Coffey and Kevin Wheeler who put in a huge amount of work with the lads over the last 7/8 months. Well done to everyone involved.

Team: J Wheeler, C Coakley, P Coughlan, Ruari Tobin Allen, L Coffey, D Jordan, M Carey, L Carey, J Foley, M Sheehan, R Carroll, R Jordan, D Doherty, D Devine, C Heggtveit.

U12's in cup semi

Celtic U12s play Castlebridge Celtic FC in the cup semi-final. This game is put back until early April, so watch out for some upcoming friendlies against Fermoy. This will be a huge task for the lads as the last encounter with the East Cork side saw them fall to their heaviest defeat of the season when losing 8-2 to an exceptionally strong team.

Note: No training this Thursday evening - Possible friendly next Thursday evening in Fermoy v Fermoy U12s. As usual group text will advise.

Sheila Flynn Park Development

Engineers appear to have completed their preliminary tests on the site with no negative feedback received. Percolation tests etc have been completed with positive results, so the next step will be to re-convene with the local householders and discuss final plans and ensure all concerns and inputs are taken on board.

From here the club will hold an open meeting to let the public and any interested/concerned parties have their input and review on the plans which should hopefully be in the next 4-6 weeks. Anyone interested in lending their support, time, help or anything no matter how small, can do so by contacting Gus on 086 3685033 or Kevin on 086 0836930.

Fun leagues return

The much awaited return of the fun leagues is upon us with Saturday, 6th April pencilled in as the initial start date. This slot will run for 10 weeks with the usual €20 entry fee. Enquiries to Gus on 086 3685033 or Garret – 086 8502225 for more details. More details next week.

Training

Training for the U11 squad is now finished for the season so well done to all U11 and see you again in Aug/Sept .

Training for the U12 squad will continue on Thursday evenings 7-8pm unless otherwise advised. However please note, no U12 training this week.

U17, U18 and junior training continues every week and as usual the group text process will advise all of day and times.

Saturday Fixtures

U12 - No game - Possible friendly v Fermoy next week instead in preparation for the upcoming cup semi-final.

U18 - Game this Thursday evening v Cappoquin - Group text will advise.

Sunday fixtures

Juniors – TBD, watch group text for details.

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