27 May 2007
Result: 2-12 to 1-10

A visit to Tir na nOg on Saturday mornings in CCC is required for all Castleknock spectators as this match put years on the faithful as Castleknock just about managed to stretch away in the final stages to seal a hard earned victory. Paris Hilton, currently trying to reduce her jail sentence in the US, may be ringing her former love Gerry Kelly to find out how this Castleknock team managed to get their hands on a “Get out of Jail” card. It could come in handy for the hotel heiress.

Civil Service stung by a recent heavy league defeat against the Castleknock men came out all guns blazing and tore into the away side. They registered three scores in quick succession which left Castleknock reeling. Despite urgings from Paul Mulvhill, Castleknock couldn’t get settled and moves that were working earlier in the year were being snuffed out by Service. Ger O’Brien then suffered a nasty injury and had to be replaced with Conor Deasy who provided some much needed impetus with his tough tackling and good ball carrying. Lynchy popped up for an important point and Hughesy then plugged the gap after doing all his own work to score a neat point.

In the second half Castleknock played with the breeze and although they managed a few points, Civil Service kept them at arm’s length with scores of their own. The introduction of Tommy Corcoran into the forward line provided a much needed fillip and his fortuitous goal lifted Castleknock spirits and put the bare minimum between the sides. Castleknock smelled blood and they put up some brilliant points through long range efforts from Corcoran again and Damien O’Grady who showed great resilience in battling back from recent injuries. Molloy then fielded a ball from midfield, shimmied his marker and slid it under the keeper to put daylight between the teams. Points from Hughesy and Molloy closed out the game and Castleknock breathed a collective sigh of relief as the referee blew the final whistle.

So a shaky start for Castleknock but no championship medals were never handed out in May or for silky football. The result is king but more work is required if this team has serious ambitions. However they have proved in the past that they will rise to any challenge put in front of them and this scribe is confident they will do so again.

Team: Eoin O’Baoill, Steve McCabe, John McMennamin, Peter Mulcrone, Brian Kelly, Paul Mulvhill, Ger O’Brien, Donal Brady, Stephen Lynch (0-1), Dec Reilly, Eoghan O’Callaghan (0-1), Damien O’Grady (0-1), Paddy Molloy (1-5), Brian Grant, Paul Hughes (0-2)
Subs used: Tommy Corcoran (1-2), Conor Deasy.