Kerry District League

Killarney Celtic , Munster Youth Cup Kerry Area Winners 2014/15

Munster Youth Cup Kerry Area Final
Friday 19th December 2014
St Brendans Park 3-4 Killarney Celtic .

Report by Padraig Hartnett , Pictures by Tommy Naughton

Killarney Celtic just get home in cracker:

It might be one of the last games of the 2014 but this game between Killarney Celtic and St Brendan’s Park was one of the best of the year.

Killarney Celtic scored early and late to take the win but to do so had to come from two goals down with less than half an hour to go.

The Killarney side started the brightest and were ahead after 4 minutes. Fergal O’Donoghue got a shot off and Conor Hurley in the Park goal was only able to parry. Cathal O’Shea was on hand to knock the ball home.

Celtic threatened the Park goal for the next twenty minutes when Cathal O’Shea, playing up front on his own, was running the show ahead of a 5 man midfield that the Park were struggling to deal with.

However Killarney Celtic were not able to get the second goal despite going close, especially Conor McCarthy and Conor Randall. Conor Hurley in the Park goal also made some good saves and gradually his sides played their way back into the game.

Their first real effort was in the 17th minute when Ryan Dolan and Paddy Collins combined but Collin’s effort was saved. Celtic broke and Cathal O’Shea went close to doubling their lead.

But in the 28th minute it was the Park who scored to level matters. Ryan Dolan found Paddy Collins at the edge of the Celtic box and he drilled the ball low into the corner past David Spillane’s despairing dive.

This began a period of Park dominance and by half time they were ahead. Fergal Ryan had gone close from an Aaron O’Keeffe through ball and in the 43rd minute Ryan chipped the Celtic keeper for a cracking second.

Into the second half and the Park continued to dominate and by the 51st minute it was 3-1 when Sean Dukes took advantage of hesitant Celtic defending.

Any thoughts that the Park were home and dry were dispelled in the 58th minute. Fergal o Donoghue got on the end of a Conor Randall cross to make it 3-2.

Celtic were forcing a succession of corners, they had 6 in the first 20 minutes, and from one of these the ball broke to Conor McCarthy who long range shot deflected to Eoin Kennedy who had stayed forward and the game was level.

Both sides were playing wonderful free flowing football and either side could have won it. In the end it was Celtic that got the winner. The Park defence will be asking themselves questions as to how the ball found Cathal O’Shea unmarked in the 6 yard box and he was never going to miss from there.

KDL Secretary was loud in his praise of both sides as he presented the Munster Youths Area Final trophy to Killarney Celtic.

Killarney Celtic: David Spillane, Oscar O’Connor (David O’Connell), Eoin Kennedy, Connell Murphy, Chris Keane, Conor McCarthy, Conor Randall, Cathal O’Shea, Lee O’Callaghan (Pierce Lyons), Fergal O’Donoghue, William Courtney.

Killarney Celtic , Munster Youth Cup Kerry Area Final 2014/15

St Brendan’s Park: Conor Hurley, Aaron O’Keeffe, Tommy Lynch (Gareth Hickey Brosnan), Ferdia O’Brien, Jamie Clifford, Gearoid Savage, Ryan Dolan, Emmanuel Abubakar, Fergal Ryan, Paddy Collins, Sean Dukes. Sub Dwyer Tobin.

St Brendans Park Fc, Munster Youth Cup Kerry Area Final 2014/15