Credit Union Co League Div 1
Kerins O’Rahillys 3-13 Rathmore 2-15
In a week of surprises across the sporting spectrum, the biggest surprise of this Round 3 Co League game was that the referee deemed the result to be a draw.
O’Rahillys, who welcomed county star David Moran back from injury, made a blistering start and had two points on the scoreboard inside the opening two minutes. Firstly, Gearóid Dillane’s goalbound effort was blocked down but Jack Savage swooped on the rebound to open the scoring.
This was followed by a barnstorming run from Ryan Carroll who blasted the ball over the bar. Undaunted, Rathmore kicked four points without reply over the next seven minutes and almost added a goal but for a fantastic block-down from Dillane.
Spurred on by this reprieve, O’Rahillys worked the ball down the pitch with the final drive coming from Moran who picked out Conor Hayes who was then fouled and Jack Savage converted the free into the wind. Back came Rathmore and they conjured a two v one situation, but David Murphy stood firm when a goal looked on and Strand Road capitalised when Jack Savage and Moran combined to set up Barry John Keane who fisted over the bar to make it O’Rahillys 0-4 Rathmore 0-4.
The East Kerry side then forged two points in front once more, the first from a placed ball and the next rifled over by George O’Keeffe, but Jack Savage cancelled out that advantage when he converted a free after a foul on Hayes and then played a short free to Dillane before taking the return to slot over from play to leave the scoreline at O’Rahillys 0-6 Rathmore 0-6. Rathmore regained the lead with a super point from 45 metres after a good move down the right only for O’Rahillys to reply through Jack Savage after a pass from Moran.
Rathmore next saw a fine effort come back off the butt of the post, but they recycled the rebound and pointed to put the minimum between the sides once more. Rathmore 0-8 O’Rahillys 0-7. Once again, the lead didn’t last long and an intricate Strand Road move down the left involving Moran and Keane at the latter end culminated in Hayes fisting to the net, but Rathmore cut the lead immediately by working the ball down the right before converting with a fine effort to leave it O’Rahillys 1-7 Rathmore 0-9 at half time.
Rathmore started the second half the stronger and opened their account from play after two minutes to level matters. From the kickout, O’Rahillys were turned over in possession and it took a brilliant save at full stretch from Shane Foley to prevent an almost certain goal.
Strand Road refused to heed the lesson however and coughed up possession again in the next play and then conceded a free which was converted to make it Rathmore 0-11 O’Rahillys 1-7. This seemed to spark the Blues into action as Gavin O’Brien gathered from the kickout and went on a scintillating run for half the length of the field before linking with Keane and substitute Tommy Walsh (on for Gearóid Savage), with the final ball going to Conor Hayes who slammed to the net from close range to make it O’Rahillys 2-7 Rathmore 0-11.
The home side then went three points in front after Tommy Walsh collected a long delivery and placed Savage who slotted over. They should have tagged on another point when Barry John Keane found the net when trying to fist over the bar and Rathmore made them pay when they raided down the left and then switched play to the opposite side and their unmarked forward finished to the net, giving Foley no chance. Rathmore 1-11 O’Rahillys 2-8 with nine minutes gone in the second half.
Rathmore threatened another goal shortly after when O’Keeffe played a lovely give and go but was thwarted by a brave block from Ross O’Callaghan and the follow up shot went narrowly wide.
However, they went a point in front when converting a 13 metre free in the 12th minute, only for Tommy Walsh to level matters with a monster point from 40 metres from a Con Barrett pass. O’Rahillys 2-9 Rathmore 1-12. Within a minute, the Reds regained the lead with a point from play after Strand Road failed to clear their lines and in the 18th minute the referee penalised Strand Road for retaliation and from a resulting free, Rathmore worked the ball to the 13 metre line and a brilliant strike gave Foley no chance and it nestled in the top of the net. Rathmore 2-13 O’Rahillys 2-9 after 18 minutes.
Strand Road narrowed the gap to three points within a minute when Savage converted a 13 metre free after a foul on Keane, but the four-point gap was restored in the 22ndminute after a precise passing move. Rathmore 2-14 O’Rahillys 2-10. The East Kerry men then almost wrapped up the game but a tremendous close range block from Foley kept O’Rahillys in it and they took advantage when Gavin O’Brien surged down the left and then cut back inside to swing a right footed effort over the bar. Rathmore 2-14 O’Rahillys 2-11. Then, in a similar move in the 29th minute, Savage cut down the right before cutting inside to swing over a left-footed point to make it Rathmore 2-14 O’Rahillys 2-12.
Strand Road won possession from the kickout and a foul on Barrett resulted in a free from 45 metres which Savage pointed with his right boot this time. Rathmore 2-14 O’Rahillys 2-13. With the game in injury time and the Blues throwing everybody forward, Rathmore managed to turn over possession and a flowing move downfield culminated in what seemed to be the insurance point from play.
Rathmore 2-15 O’Rahillys 2-13. However, from the restart, O’Rahillys worked the ball up the field methodically. Savage was fouled 55 metres out and played a short free to Keane who lobbed a high ball into the square.
Waiting inside was Tommy Walsh and he knocked it down to Hayes who placed Karl Mullins to score what looked like the winning goal.
Kerins O’Rahillys: S Foley; S Collins, R O’Callaghan, D Murphy; D McElligott, K Mullins (1-0), R Carroll (0-1); T Hoare, D Moran; S Brosnan, J Savage (0-9, 0-5f), G Dillane; G Savage, BJ Keane (0-1), C Hayes (2-0). Subs used: C Barrett, P Griffin, G O’Brien (0-1), T Walsh (0-1).
Credit Union Co League Div 5
Kerins O’Rahillys B 3-04 Scartaglin 2-17
In lovely early afternoon sunshine, Kerins O’Rahillys B resumed their Division 5A campaign at home to fellow table-toppers Scartaglin on Saturday last. Scartaglin opened the scoring with a pointed free and added another from play before scoring the first goal of the game on five minutes when a high ball was fisted home.
They added another point from play in the eight minute before O’Rahillys had their first point when a lovely pass from Rory Molloy found Daniel Nix who curled the ball over two minutes later. Scartaglin stayed in the ascendancy over the next seven minutes, adding two more points from play, followed by a goal from the penalty spot.
O’Rahillys responded though when a move involving Brian Scannell, Donagh O’Brien and Jason O’Leary was halted illegally and from the free kick, Johnny Keane picked out Nix who smashed home a beautiful goal in the 18th minute to reduce the gap to seven points.
However Scartaglin added two more points from play, with a Paidi Griffin point for the homesters from a fine O’Brien pass sandwiched in between. Strand Road continued to press though and O’Brien, Griffin, Keane and Kevin Johnson-Horgan were involved in a move which saw Aaron Roche place Nix who made no mistake to make it 2-7 to 2-2.
Scartaglin added another point from play but it took a marvellous double-save from Rob O’Connor to keep O’Rahillys in the game before a well-worked move involving several players ended with a strong run and lay-off from Scannell to Rory Molloy who blasted to the net with the last kick to leave it Scartaglin 2-08 O’Rahillys 3-02 at half time.
The second half saw Scartaglin up the tempo considerably and they kicked six points, five from play, in the first 16 minutes with O’Connor again preventing a goal by coming off his line sharply. O’Rahillys introduced Darragh Fitzgerald and Barry Foley, with Foley adding considerable energy, but Scartaglin added another three points from play before Fitzgerald made his mark on proceedings by swinging over a sweet point from an O’Brien pass.
Scannell, O’Brien and Foley then combined to force a free which Fitzgerald converted, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a deserved win for a very impressive Scartaglin who scored all but two points of their tally from play.
Kerins O’Rahillys: R O’Connor; A Mangan, T McGrath, K Mangan (Capt); B Scannell, J O’Leary, J Foley; G Hartnett, R Molloy (1-0); D O’Brien, A Roche, P Griffin (0-1); J Keane, D Nix (2-1), K Johnson-Horgan. Subs: D Fitzgerald (0-2), B Foley.
CÚINNE NA NÓG
U14 Town League Division 2 Final
Played in Caherslee in bright sunshine, a big crowd gathered to watch some great football as O’Rahillys in blue met John Mitchels in their green & gold.
The boys in blue were well up for this game with silverware on offer, but after going two points down in the opening few minutes they rallied with Tomas Kennedy hitting the back of the net to go into the lead. A further point from Tomas was followed by 1-1 from Cillian Hussey, leaving the half time score of KOR 2-2 John Mitchels 1-3.
The Narries were playing well and moved the ball with accuracy and skill. Although only two points up and playing into the breeze in the 2nd half, the boys in blue knew they would have to fight tooth and nail for every ball if they were to overcome the Mitchels.
The second half was a tight affair with both teams giving their all but it was the boys from Strand Road who came through in the end in this ding-dong battle.
O’Rahilly’s had heroes all over the field starting with goalkeeper and captain Sean Collins who had a string of fine saves.
The full back line of Seamus Cahill and Brendan Meehan excelled and did heroic defending throughout the game. The half back line of Josh Hoare, Jake Foley and Branden Pierce were tremendous with their attitude and commitment. The midfield pairing of Cian Moran and Ryan Houlihan ran their socks off supporting both defence and attack all day.
The half forward line of Cian Lynch, Tomas Kennedy and Conor Cronin were fantastic, playing some lovely football and the full forward line of Cillian Hussey and Nick Lacey caused problems for their markers with clever runs and touches.
The game was also won with the help of all the subs involved – with each and every one of them playing their part. Subs Jamie McCarthy, Ruairi Kennedy, Odhran Kerins, Oisin Cronin and Daniel Aneke. Kerins O Rahillys would also like to thank John Mitchels for a very sporting and competitive game.
Final Score KOR 5-07 John Mitchels 2-11.
U16 Boys
Last Monday night saw our U16 team travel to Gallarus to take on An Gaeltacht in the Semi Final of the Central Region. After a great performance we came away winners on a score line of 3-14 to 2-07. From the first whistle the lads played with great intensity & determination .
We were deservedly ahead at half time by 0-10 to 0-04. Facing into a stiff breeze in the second half, we got off to a flying start, kicking three unanswered points. We maintained this lead to the end with goals from Sam McCarthy, substitute Alan O’Connor and a goalkeeper’s error. Overall the panel played very well and worked extremely hard for each other. All roads lead to Blennerville on Monday next the 13th May at 7pm for the Final versus Anascaul/Lispole.
Training and Go Games
Training as normal for all teams, u12/u14/u16.
The u12’s start Phase 2 of the County League next weekend. Fixtures to be confirmed this week.
Stacks Go Games take place this week with day, date and times TBC
Juvenile Academy
The sun was brightly shining on Sunday morning for the Academy in Ballyrickard at 11am. All the children practiced the skills of the game and are learning new skills each week. As usual, the parents watched on enjoying a warm cuppa and some home baking.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Huge congratulations to:
U6 Boys – Colm Horgan
U6 Girls – Dani Moriarty
U8 Girls – Katelyn O’Brien
U8 Boys – Kyle Caper and Shane O’Keeffe
U10 Boys – Barry O’Sullivan
U10 Girls – Rachael Ahern
LADIES NOTES
U8 AND U10 GIRLS
Congrats to everyone who made their First Holy Communion last Saturday and best wishes to everyone making it over the next few weeks.
Over the next week or two we will be announcing the dates for the U8 and the U10 Girls Go Games which will be commencing in June.
U12 GIRLS
A busy week for the girls who played two matches last week in the county league.
We were away to Milltown/ Listry last Tuesday. We were down 3 points and the match was nearly over when Fiadh Mccarthy scored a goal. The match ended in a draw 1-03 to 1-03.
For our next match we were home to Dingle. There was a strong wind on the juvenile pitch in Ballyrickard last Sunday evening. We won the toss and took advantage of playing with the breeze in the first half which paid off for us as at half time the score was 5-03 to 2-01 .
In the second half the Dingle girls started to catch up with a final score of KOR 5-05 to Dingle 4-06. Well done to everyone!
U14 GIRLS
This Monday evening we are home to Fossa in the non-county player county league. Throw in at 7p.m. in Strand Road pitch. Best of luck to the girls and their coaches.
U16 GIRLS
We played Dr Crokes in Pat Healy Park, Ballyrickard on Monday evening last. This was a game we were looking forward to for a while as they had some very good results before meeting us and the game would be a good indication of how we have been progressing, plus a semi-final place was up for grabs.
We knew they had some excellent players and we came with a very good game plan of targeting both their centre forward and full forward who are really good footballers and both have operated at county level,
All of their team are good on the ball too and demonstrated this very early on by going seven points to one ahead in the first 15 minutes. It took us a bit of time to settle but once we set our game plan in motion by moving the ball quickly into Katie and Liana we rattled off three fast goals to go two points ahead.
This was a lead that we never relinquished to the end of the game. Further points were exchanged in the first half to leave us two ahead at the break and playing into our favourite end of the field where we train most nights.
The strategy for the second half was again to isolate the inside forwards and move the ball quickly from back to front and we really took a foothold in the game which was proving to be very enjoyable for all who attended it.
Our backs were now really coming into their own with our Captain Katie Dwyer, Maedhbh Hananfin, Alex Sheridan, Hollie Leane and Eugenie Kerins sticking to their markers like glue and giving us the platform for many attacks. Kelly Fitz was again super in goals and hits the target with nearly every kick out.
Éabha Murphy ran herself into the ground again along with Aoife O’Connor and they really took over in the second half. In the forwards, Keelan Coffey was excellent again at centre half forward and the pure dogged determination at times of Eadrea Hayes was unbelievable to watch and she’s equally as good as a back as evidenced by the blocks and tackles she got in. Rachael O’ Donnell and Kate Kerins tried hard.
The winning of this game again was down to the scores we got with both Katie Nix and Liana Williams in super form. Katie Nix scored four serious goals – bullets into the roof of the net goals!
Liana Williams played really well again too rattling off another three goals and four points from play. When you see Kerry teams from U14 all the way through to senior all beaten in Munster over the last two weeks, we firmly believe we have footballers who can contribute to those teams.
This is evidenced by the level of scores they are getting in game after game against opposition that have Kerry players in their teams. That’s 15 goals and 7 points between them in the last 2 games!!
In the final minutes of this game the Crokes got a few good scores but the result was sealed well before that. Finishing score was Kerins O’Rahillys 7-05 to Dr Crokes 3-10. We dont know when the semi-final is on or who our opposition is, but the games we are playing are improving us all the time.
Mark Fitzgerald and Barry John Keane took training sessions with us recently, both working on specific areas, with the girls really benefiting from the experience ,knowledge and advice of these club legends.
We can still improve on certain areas but other perspectives on the game which challenge the girls’ skills can only make them better footballers.
To all of the girls heading off to Madrid on your school tour – have a wonderful time 😊.
JUNIOR LADIES
We were due to play Abbeydorney in the county league last weekend but unfortunately they couldn’t play. We are now hoping to play at home on Tuesday, May 21st. More details to follow during the week.
We are away to Mitchels next weekend.
Training continues on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.30p.m. There has been a great turnout at training thanks to our coach who puts so much time and work into each training session. Not only do we have newcomers but the old crew are returning and enjoying training.
REGISTRATION
Girls, this is the last call for registration forms!
Anyone who hasn’t paid registration CANNOT train or play as you’re not insured. Please complete the registration form and return to Shirley. If you have any queries by all means ask. Thanks.
KLGFA NIGHT AT THE DOGS
Thanks to everyone who has already purchased a ticket. We are asking every family to please buy one ticket. They are €10 each. We also will benefit from the sale of these. We want to get gear bags for the teams. From the sale of these tickets we will be able to subsidise the cost of each bag. Everyone who buys a ticket will have their name entered into a draw for a gear bag. The draw will take place on May 24th.
RECRUITMENT
We continue to recruit here in Strand Road. New members welcome, bring a friend. It’s never too late to start. The girls in our club are well looked after and never want for anything. Our fundraisers go back into our girls and so far this year we have purchased kits for 2 of our teams. We have bag packing days coming up soon and the money from these goes towards treating our girls to a day out during the summer holidays.
Come join us and make great friends for life.
AMBER FLAG
We will be celebrating over the next few weeks on our success on being awarded the ‘Amber Flag’. We look forward to flying our flag outside our club.
The ‘Amber Flag’ initiative is to promote positive mental health in our club. Dr. Susan Lawlor will commence her interactive workshops with our girls, boys, their families and coaches over the next few weeks. We need to build confidence in our youth to help them withstand whatever life may bring them in today’s world.
SNIPPETS from “top of the right”
· Well done to Mark Fitzgerald and Barry John Keane who took training sessions with the U16 girls recently.
· The hard work by all involved is paying off – witness the girls’ result v Crokes!
· The Snippets Man notes that both men are described as club legends
· Mark certainly is. He’s very old…
