KERRY SCHOOLBOYS TEAM OF THE WEEK ;
Well done to Adam Ward from St Brendans Park Fc U15’s who made the Kerry schoolboys and girls soccer league team of the week .
RESULTS ;
U11 Kerry Cup Semi-Finals
Listowel A 2-2 Park A , Park won 5-4 on Penalties
U11 Kerry Shield Semi-Finals
Park B 1-1 Killarney Athletic , Park won 9-8 on Penalties .
U13 Daly’s Supervalu Premier
Park A 6-1 Ballyhar
U13 Daly’s Supervalu Div.1
Killarney Celtic C 1-3 Park B .
U13 John Joe Naughton Cup Semi-Finals
Park A 2-1 Ballyhar .
U13 Daly’s Supervalu Div.2 Plate
Park C 0-6 Fenit .
U14 Tom Hayes Cup Semi-Final
Park A 7-1 Killorglin A
U15 Killarney Plaza Premier
Park A 2-2 Tralee Dynamos
U15 Kerry Cup Semi-Final
Park A 3-0 Castleisland .
U15 Kerry Cup Shield Semi-Finals
Killarney Athletic 2-3 Park B .
Jimmy Falvey Youth Cup
Park Fc 2-2 Fenit Samphires
Denny Premier A
Dingle Bay Rovers 0-4 Park Fc
ACADEMY SEASON;
Our academy for ages 5 to 10 years continues every Saturday . All our coaches are fully qualified so your child is guaranteed the very best of Coaching .Proof of this is that our academy has been running since 2006 and over 100 kids attend every Saturday. The U6’s , U7’s and U8’s will be from 1.00pm- 2.15pm and this will be followed by the U9’s and U10’s from 2.45pm-4.15pm . Please insure that you bring Shin pads, water, jackets etc. All parents are welcome to watch the whole session or arrive a little early to see how much fun their child is having. If you would like to get involved yourself in any way, just ask one of our coaches for assistance on how to do this. For any questions or comments please email academy@stbrendansparkfc.com .
REPORTS;
(U15) Cup Semi Final ;
Park Fc 3-0 Castleisland Afc
Three quality goals, two from Dan Goggin and one from Michael Slattery helped Park progress to their second Kerry cup final in a row.
Having secured the league a week earlier one could have excused the Park lads for taking the foot off the pedal. But that would be to underestimate the dogged determination in this team. They always seem hungry for more.
Goals will always win games but special mention must go to the outstanding Park defence who were once again magnificent. Their challenge now is to repeat this performance in the final.
Starting well, and despite Castleisland pressing high up the pitch, Park created chance after chance. Michael Slattery hit the post after two minutes and also had two other chances saved well by the Castleisland keeper in the 25th And 27th minutes. The young Castleisland keeper also kept out Kevin Browne and Robin McCarthy in between Slattery’s attempts and looked to be in for one of those nights players only dream of. It wasn’t to be though and it was a superb Park team goal on thirty five minutes that eventually broke the deadlock.
Dylan Casey calmly picked out Sean Carmody in midfield and his perfect through ball to Michael O’Gara put the pacey winger in behind the Castleisland cover. He could have shot himself. Instead O’Gara steadied himself and showing maturity beyond his years unselfishly picked out the unmarked Dan Goggin who slotted his shot to the back of the Castleisland net. It gave the home side a lead they would never relinquish.
Eight minutes into the second half Goggin bagged his second. Again a good move. Kevin Browne’s fine ball to Slattery was followed by an equally fine ball to Dan Goggin who still had plenty to do when he received the ball on the left wing. Ducking and weaving like Katie Taylor in an Olympic final Goggin somehow stuck the ball into the Castleisland net from an awkward angle. His agility was mimicked on the sideline by his dad who was seen doing cartwheels and backflips and claiming all the credit for Dan’s prowess in front of goal.
Fair play to the Castleisland lads who never gave up. Shay Walsh and Ben Cooney in particular ran themselves to a standstill and the Castleisland back four stood strong in the face of constant pressure. They never resorted to foul means but gave their all for the cause. A credit to Georgie and his mentors.
Goggin could have sealed his hat trick but the Castleisland keeper again saved when a save looked unlikely. Kevin Browne then had a goal ruled out before, finally, Slattery stepped up to seal the deal with five minutes left to play. A typical run across the box and a strike worthy of winning the game flew into the top left hand corner of the Castleisland net and at last their resistance was broken.
3-0 was a fair reflection of the game but Park will know a similar performance won’t be enough against Camp or Killarney Celtic in the final. Both teams have caused Park plenty of problems in recent league games and in Genie Farrell, Kevin Boyle and Liam Shine they have experienced heads plotting Park’s downfall. It’s a game to look forward to, whoever we play.
Thank you to the parents, friends and club members who supported us on the night. Thanks also to the ref, Martin Courtney, who was firm and fair with both teams and let the game flow as much as he could.
We play Dynamos at home on Saturday in our final home league of the season at 4.15pm. Your support would be appreciated at that game and in the Cup final.
Panel: Thomas Burke, James Rusk, Matt Lukco, Dylan Casey, Adam Ward, Michael O’Gara, Raul Vnzcel, Sean Carmody, Kevin Browne, Dan Goggin, Ruairi O’Kelly, Niall Sertutxa, Robin McCarthy, Jake Deering & Michael Slattery .
(U15) Premier ;
Park A 2-2 Tralee Dynamos A
With little more than local pride to play for, both teams served up a decent game for spectators at the Park last Saturday. Park were missing quite a few from their squad but it was probably the fact that this was their third game in ten days, along with all their other sporting activities, that lead to a very sluggish opening 20 minutes.
Sean Carmody came very close to opening the scoring in the fifth minute when his free from 30 yards out was just over the top but that was as good as it got for Park in the opening quarter. When Darragh Louth was brought down by Adam Ward ten minutes in, Kevin Williams stepped up to drive his penalty past stand in keeper Michael Slattery.
More pressure from Dynamos, and indifferent play from the Park, saw the Dynamos lads win a series of corners and frees which would eventually yield a dividend. Poor marking and commitment at the back post gave a Dynamos player loads of time to fire in their second and put them 2-0 up.
Were Park about to lose their unbeaten record in Kerry this season? Questions were certainly being asked.
Thomas Burke was beginning to settle down up front for the Park and it was one of his mazy dribbles and crosses which finally got the Park off the mark and back into the game. Eight minutes before the break he went on a run and fired in a cross which was diverted into his own net by the unlucky Williams.
Five minutes later a wonderful run and link up with Jake Deering saw James Rusk find himself with a real scoring opportunity but the Dynamos defence just scrambled the ball away as Rusk was about to pull the trigger.
All the pressure was coming from the Park boys now and eventually they got their reward.
Right on the stroke of half time, Dynamos failed to clear Adam Ward’s corner and after what seemed like an eternity Matt Lukco finally took charge of proceedings to slam home the equaliser.
That was to be the finish of the scoring but only heaven knows how. Chances at both ends that should have been converted, and good saves from both keepers, meant honours would be shared. Indeed the final action of the game saw a ball bobble around the Park area, hit players and the post and somehow stay out. A draw between these two good young sets of players was just reward for an entertaining afternoon’s soccer. One of the highlights of the second half was the performance of young Padraig McCannon who handled himself very well on his first competitive outing for the U-15s.
Afterwards Padraig Hartnett, secretary of the Kerry Schoolboys league was on hand to present a trophy to Kerry Premier League winning captain Michael Slattery.
Training resumes on Tuesday night in preparation for the Kerry Cup Final. Players to be there at 7.40pm
Panel vs Dynamos: Michael Slattery, Matt Lukco, Adam Ward, Sean Carmody, Jake Deering, Kevin Browne, Michael O’Gara, James Rusk, Ruairi O’Kelly, Thomas Burke, Niall Sertutxa and Padraig McCannon. Special thanks to Seb for providing cover in case of injuries.
(U15) ;Kerry Cup Shield Semi-Final ,
Killarney Athletic 2-3 Park B
On an overcast Saturday afternoon the game got under way with the Park making an attack from the start with Aaron running down the wing and takes a shot but the keeper puts it out for a corner which Conor O’Brien takes and Conor Higgins header is saved by the keeper. Dean puts a great cross into the box but Aaron’s shot goes wide once again, Park mount another attack Jack takes the ball forward and passes the ball to Shane who slots it through to Conor whose shot goes wide.
The game is well in the control of Park and they mount attack after attack but sees most of their shots going wide of the target ,Aaron slides in for a tackle and puts the ball out for a throw and is lucky not to be sent off. The Park defence John ,James , Jack and Dean are playing outstanding football clearing everything that is thrown at them and only for lady luck not being on their side they should be at least 3 goals up.James takes a free kick and Nemanja gets the ball but it is kicked out for a throw the ball comes in again but once again the shot goes wide. Killarney mount a rare attack and bring the ball down the field and gain a free kick outside the 18 yard box it goes high over the top of the Park players and bounces high over Park keeper David’s head into the back of the net 1-0 Killarney. Shane takes a shot but once again goes wide this concludes the first half.
Second half gets under way James takes a free kick which Conor puts through to Nemanja but again shot goes wide, Dean takes a throw to Josh who heads the ball on to Conor who shoots wide, another attack Jack brings the ball forward passes to Nemanja to Shane who slots the ball through to Aaron but his shot goes over the top of the crossbar. Dean takes a free kick and John flicks it on to Aaron who hits the crossbar, Dylan heads the ball down to Aaron who passes to John and then back to Aaron but the keeper saves his shot, Dylan gets the ball in midfield passes to John who rounds a player and passes to Aaron in the six yard box but once again the keeper saves ,nothing seems to be going right for Aaron who is getting plenty of ball in the penalty area but just can’t finish it off and leaves the Park trailing. Killarney mount another attack and bring the ball up the field flick the ball over the top of the oncoming keeper and slot it into the back of the net to make it 2-0. All though Park had most of the play they just could not put the ball in the net and now feel the game is slipping away from them but they keep advancing and James takes a free kick just outside the box it rebounds back out to him and he takes a shot and puts it in the back of the net 2-1.
Time is now slipping and Park get a corner and Conor O’Brien takes it and floats a lovely ball into the six yard box and John connects with a flying header into the back of the net to make it 2-2. Park now have their heads up and start to take the upper hand once again but shots from Conor, John and Aaron are all wide , Dylan heads wide from a corner , then John is brought down and a free kick taken sees Conor shoot wide of the target .Despite the amount of chances Park had and failed to connect, they made a brilliant comeback from 2 goals down and it was looking like extra time was on the cards they got a corner in the dying seconds of the game Conor takes it and floats it high into the six yard box and Shane jumps thrusts his head back and with full force heads the ball towards the goal low into the back of the net to make the final score Killarney 2 Park 3. This was a brilliant display and a great achievement by the Park players who despite being 2 goals down never gave up and were rewarded with a place in the final but for the lack of finishing it could have been a much higher score and a more comfortable win so great credit to all the players you deserve your victory.
Team ; David ,John ,Jack ,James ,Dean , Josh , Aaron , Shane ,Conor , Nemanja , Conor , Dylan , Mike , Jamal
M.O.M. Jack O’Donoghue.
(U13) John Joe Naughton Cup Semi- Final:
Park FC 2 – 1 Ballyhar
The Park Lads hosted Ballyhar yesterday in the Kerry Cup Semi-Final, this was the second time the teams met in the past few days with the Park taking the win last Tuesday night in the league with a scoreline of 6-1 with Sean McGrath on fire scoring 5 with a man of the match performance.
With a final place was up for grabs nothing would be taken for granted bt the Park who were hoping to reach there 2nd consecutive Cup final and Ballyhar were looking to avenge their defeat earlier in the week, both ingredients would serve up for a tight affair, with the Park taking the spoils 2-1 in the end.
The park started brightly passing and moving the ball with good composure and dominated the middle third with Junior,Colin and Kevin controlling midfield.
Ballyhar were playing a defensive game with 5 at the back and trying to hit the Park on the break with the ball over the top from the back but to be fair to the Park central defence of Tide & Cian coped well clearing their lines with purpose, both full backs of Rhys and Darragh were covering well and raided down the flanks at every chance.
The first real chance came to Mervin who had switched with colin upfront, a fine ball thru the channels from junior in to Mervin’s feet saw him try to chip the keeper but it was too high and sailed over the bar.The park continued to dominate put failed to breakdown a resilient defence and the half ended up nil all.
With everything to play for and with slight wind at their back the park continued to press forward in the 2nd half and 5 mins in were rewarded with a nice cross from mervin on the right into Sean who jinked in front of goal and managed to squeeze the ball thru the visitors defenders just past the keeper inside the right post 1-0 up and the park were now pushing forward at every occasion looking for a second. 8 mins later and Sean became the provider with mervin taking on a short pass in front of goal and coolly side footed the ball to the right of the keeper, 2-0. Shortly after Nathan came in for Liam on the left to inject a bit of pace into the play as the Park looked to close out the tie and was unlucky not to score after latching onto another fine cross from mervin to see his point blank volley stopped by the keeper, an fine instinctive save.
2 mins later the visitors drew one back from a rare defensive error from the Park with Gavin only managingto parry the ball to the oncoming forward who slotted to the net. A tense final few mins for the park who battled hard as Ballyhar pushed forward for the equaliser.
The final whistle and to the delight of the Home support the Park Lads held on to reach their second successive Cup Final.
Well done lads hopefully we can one step further this season!
The Park management would like to thank the 2 new boys from the U12’s Jamie and Cian who came into the squad at short notice, unfortunately we weren’t able to get them game time due the tight nature of the game
Also many thanks to the home supporters who helped to cheer the lads on to victory and over the winning line.
Players of Note: Sean, Mervin, Kevin, Conor, Junior ,Cian, Rhys, Nathan
Man of the Match: Darragh Moriarty
Squad on the Day: Gavin Doody, Kevin Goulding, Armin Heinrich, Junior Ankomah, Colin Walsh, Mervyn Shalemba, Nathan Gleeson, Liam Tobin, Sean McGrath, , Conor O’ Sullivan, Tide Osinubi, Rhys Keane, Darragh Moriarty, Cian Purcell, Jamie Fitzgerald, Cian Brosnan, Greg Scanlon (Injured).
Reminder: Training times next will be Mon and Fri @ 7-8pm. We have some crucial league games coming up over the next couple of weeks and the Cup Final so if the squad is to have any success this season, all players need to attend all training sessions!!
(U11) Kerry Cup Semi-Final ;
Listowel A 2-2 Park A , Park won 5-4 on penalties .
Everyone that was at this game on Saturday morning saw two very evenly matched teams play for a place in the u11 Kerry Cup final. It was a big occasion for the boys as it was their first semi-final and there was certainly some nerves around. It’s never easy to reach a final and this proved to be the case again.
The first half started with Listowel on top, seeming to be first to each ball and when we did manage to get the ball we were losing possession a little too easily. It was important for the team to weather the early storm. Liam was doing really well in goals to keep the ball out and with Jack, Edward, Josh and Ben in front of him they were managing to keep things level. As the half wore on the Park boys started to get some control in midfield where Darragh, Conor and Cianan were being made to work really hard to try to get some ball into Colin up front. At this stage the game was nip and tuck and looked like it was going to go the distance. Sean came on in defence, Danny and David in midfield and Cillian up front. We still were struggling to get the upper hand and were limited to a couple of long range efforts on goal which their keeper did well to keep out. Listowel continued to be a threat.
Having got through the first half at 0-0 we were confident that the lads were going to be stronger in the 2nd half and so it proved to be. We started much better and started to create some chances. With about 10 minutes gone in the second half Colin cut in from the left and struck a shot into the top right corner of the net. One up and starting to play. A second goal came a few minutes later when the ball broke to Conor at the edge of the box and he hit it first time into the corner. 2-0 and things looking good. At this stage Listowel pushed everything forward trying to get back into the game and for the most part we were defending really well but starting to play deeper and deeper to see out to the final whistle. However, things were going to change and did so really quickly. Listowels first goal came from a breaking ball at the edge of the box which was hit through a sea of legs and into the goal, 2-1 and nerves appearing again. The lads regrouped and were nearly there. The last play of the game was a corner to Listowel which Liam did well to punch out but it fell to a Listowel foot and with the last kick of the game the ball hit the crossbar and bounced agonisingly over the line. 2-2 and we were going to Extra Time.
Injury Time and Penalties
The boys were understandably disappointed and we worried how they might react to what had just happened. We need not have worried. They battled really hard for the 10 minutes each way but no goal came to either side even though both sides went close. And so it was penalties.
The penalties were as nerve wreaking as the rest of the game had been. Having missed our first two penalties things weren’t looking positive but Liam had managed to save their first penalty. We scored our next three and Listowel scored two and missed one…..sudden death. Both teams scored their sixth penalty and when Cillian score the seventh the pressure was on the Listowel player who missed. We were through to the final.
Penalties are a really tough way to lose and while we are delighted to get through we also have a thought for Listowel who played very well in a sporting contest.
P.R.O Contact
If you have any thing you feel is of interest for the St Brendans Park Fc notes please get in touch. You can contact me at Tknocka74@hotmail.com . Our Club website is available on www.stbrendansparkfc.com where you will also find links to our Facebook and Twitter club pages . All coaches are asked to submit match reports and squad photos as soon as they can after matches so that they can be posted on the website .
FIXTURES ;
Tuesday 28th April 2015
U14 Foundation Sports Premier
Park A v Tralee Dynamos A 6.00pm
U14 Foundation Sports Div.2
Park B v Listowel C 7.30pm
U16 Trophy World Div.2
Park B v Castlemaine 7.00pm
Wednesday 29th April 2015
U16 Trophy World Div.1
Ballyhar v Park A 7.00pm
Thursday 30th April 2015
U12 JK Sports Premier
Camp A v Park A 7.00pm
U12 JK Sports Div.2
Park B v Tralee Dynamos B 7.00pm
U15 Killarney Plaza Premier
Listowel A v Park A 7.00pm
Friday 1st May 2015
U13 Daly’s Supervalu Premier
Park A v Listowel A 7.00pm
Saturday 2nd May 2015
U11 Tournament Venue Christy Leahy Park 1.00pm .
Park FC, Listowel Celtic, Asdee
Fenit, Castleisland, Camp Juniors
Tralee Dynamos, LB Rovers
U12 JK Sports Div.2
Tralee Dynamos B v Park C 11.45am
Sunday 3rd May 2015
Greyhound Bar KO Cup 1st Round
Park Fc v Ballymac Galaxy 2.30pm .
Monday 4th May 2015
U15 Killarney Plaza Div.1
Park B v Killarney Athletic 11.45am
Tuesday 5th May 2015
U13 Daly’s Supervalu Premier
Park A v Tralee Dynamos A 7.00pm.
U16 Trophy World Div.2
Park B v Listowel B 7.00pm .
