Numbers don’t add up for clubs
AFTER they both conceded their County Junior Football Championship preliminary round games at the weekend, Asdee and Knocknagoshel cited playing numbers and concerns over a lack of competitiveness as the reasons why they conceded walkovers to Kilgarvan and Moyvane respectively.
Speaking to The Kerryman on Tuesday, former Kerry Minor and U-21 manager and current Asdee boss John Kennedy said that the club is prioritising the County League and the Novice Championship this year.
“We pulled out due to numbers which are very tight for us at present, and if we were to win then the possibility of another three games soon after would have a big impact on our squad, especially if we picked up injuries.
“The bringing forward of the game wasn’t really the issue for us but we are working off the fixtures that are set for the League in terms of preparing the players,” Kennedy said of Asdee’s decision.
Knocknagoshel chairman Dan Roche did cite the bringing forward of the preliminary stage by two weeks in the aftermath of Kerry not reaching the Allianz League Final as being a factor in their own decision to concede to fellow North Kerry side Moyvane.
“We had gone on the assumption there would be no game St Patrick’s weekend and the players made plans for themselves based on that, but we would have been able to field if the game had stayed on the Easter weekend.
“We’re realistic however to realise in our present situation that we are unlikely to go far in the competition with our numbers, and if we were to qualify for the Group stage and take a heavy beating from one of the other sides it could have a negative effect on us for the rest of the year.”
Ironically Kilgarvan found themselves in a similar position two years ago when they similarly withdrew in advance of a preliminary round fixture to concentrate on the Novice, but the Kenmare District side now join Novice champions of the last two years, Cromane and Lispole, along with Cordal in the Group phase.
Moyvane will face fellow North Kerry side Ballyduff along with Renard and Valentia in Group 4 of the Junior Championship.