Castleisland 2-0 Killarney Athletic A.F.C.
The Castleisland A.F.C. A team had a fantastic win on Sunday morning against last year’s Kerry League and Cup champions, Killarney Athletic A.F.C.
By: Neil O’Sullivan
The game was played under good conditions, surprisingly given the recent spell of bad weather.
From the kick off Castleisland took the initiative and after two minutes Tommy Feehan gave us the perfect start when he got on the end of a ball from Padraig McCarthy and slotted past the Killarney goal keeper.
Downey Adds to Feehan’s Strike
Ten minutes later it was 2-0 when Ray Huggard worked hard to win the ball back in midfield and picked out Jonathan Downey who beat two defenders before slotting home on his weaker right foot. Aidan O Callaghan started the game up front and won the majority of balls that came his way.
On the 23rd minute O’Callaghan’s flick on found Padraig McCarthy who saw his shot saved by the keeper.
Approaching half time Athletic applied pressure and bombarded the island defence with a series of corners but the two Mikes, Daniel Downey and Paul Carmody were defending well with Steven Bartlett claiming a number of high balls from the air. Half time 2-0.
Bartlett Penalty Save
In the second half Castleisland set out with a more defensive mind set and dropped a bit deeper. They looked comfortable during play but Athletic were starting cause problems through set pieces. Bartlett punched clear a number of high balls and Athletic were pressing hard to get back into the game.
On the 63rd minute Athletic were awarded a penalty after Ray Huggard tripped up Shane Lynch. Lynch stepped up to take the penalty but Bartlett produced a magnificent save, diving to his right hand side and getting two strong hands to parry the ball away from danger.
Controlling Midfield
This seemed to take the wind out of Athletic’s sails because for the remainder of the game Castleisland enjoyed a more prolonged spell of possession with new signing Padraig McCarthy controlling midfield.
Pierce Brosnan was replaced by Michael Walsh after tweaking his back, Colin McCarthy, Stephen McCarthy, Danny Feehan and Matthew Browne were all introduced in the second half by manager Dan Maunsell.
Clipped the Post
With 15 minutes remaining, Athletic had another great chance to pull one back but Bartlett was not to be beaten and produced a double save to deny the strikers.
In the final five minutes it was almost 3-0 as Padraig McCarthy led a break away and played in Stephen McCarthy whose shot clipped the outside of the post. Full time: 2-0.
A great team performance with all 16 players playing their part on the day.
Man-of-the-Match, McCarthy
Stand out performances from Padraig McCarthy, Steven Bartlett and the back four. Man of the match on the day was Padraig McCarthy who looked comfortable in possession throughout the game.
Well done to Maunsell and the team. We can now all look forward to the draw for the fourth round. The boys will fear no one after defeating the champions of Kerry.
You can contact The Maine Valley Post on… Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467. Please Note: A click on any of our adverts will reveal all you need to know about what our advertisers need to tell you.
© Copyright Notice: All materials and artwork contained on this website are copyrighted by the creators under the protection of Irish and International Copyright Laws.
Material may not be downloaded, copied or used without written permission.
