B team’s importance can’t be underestimated

THE PRO of the club Neil O’Sullivan says that it is very important for the club to have a B team.

“For a long time now, the B team has been a very important part of the club with the majority of the senior A team coming through the B ranks in recent years. Over the last decade, it has become a stepping stone for youth players who are moving into the realm of senior soccer, players returning from injury and a place for some of the more senior players such as Tim O’Donoghue, Pa O’Rourke and Niall Barrett who are in the twilight of their careers to continue playing soccer at a high level. The most successful period for the B team was under the management of the great Dan Maunsell who took over from John Coffey back in 2011.

“Dan guided the Bs to the Division 1B title in 2012 and the following year forced a replay against a star studded Tralee Dynamos side in the Reserve Cup Final after the Tralee side had just returned to Kerry League after their short stint in the League of Ireland.

“Success continued for Maunsell’s side in the following years, winning promotion from Division 1A in 2015.”

The following year the team went on one of the greatest Greyhound Bar Cup runs for a team outside of the top division, making the final and defeating Premier A teams Camp United and Tralee Dynamos in the quarter and semi-finals.

“They went on to meet the all conquering Killarney Celtic in the final and after a solid defensive display they held out for a 0-0 draw taking the Killarney side to a replay where they eventually lost out 3-0 after having a man sent off early in the game,” O’Sullivan explained.

“In 2017 the B team had their greatest success to date, winning the Premier B title after defeating Mastergeeha 2-0 in the final. As the Senior A team were already contesting Premier A it meant that the Bs could not move up to the top division, but a number of the title winning side along with Maunsell did move to the A team the following year.

“Now under the guidance of the evergreen Michael Cahill, the

B team still contest Premier B. Before the soccer season was suspended, they were in a great position to push for a place in yet another league final. Having a B team in place has been very important for the club as there are over 30 senior players currently in training between both senior sides,” he added.

The club’s first B team was formed in 1979 with Georgie O’Callaghan as manager. They won the Division 3 League title in 1981. They were unable to be promoted as the A team was in Diivision 2 at the time.

No more success came over the next few seasons but they were harvesting good players who came up to join the A team. They team kept playing in the season that followed Through the great work of Templeman, Connell, Tague O’Donoghue, Crowley and Reidy.

Unfortunately the B team had to pull out of the league in 1994and they had to wait until 2005 before another B team was formed. John Coffey was the manager and the following year they won the Tommy Healy Cup Final and in 2008 under the same manager they won the Division 2A League title.

In 2010 Dan Maunsell became manager and in 2012 they won the Division I B League title defeating Tralee Dynamos who had just come back to the KDL. Under Maunsell they won the Premier B title in 2017 but again they could not be promoted as the A team was in Premier A.

They also contested a number of league and cup finals in Maunsells care most notably getting to the Greyhound Bar Cup Final in 2016before losing out to Killarney Celtic in a replay. When Maunsell stepped down in the 2016/17 season Martin Moriarty and Neil O’Sullivan took over as joint managers. They reached the Reserve Cup Final, but after a replay lost to Killorglin.

With Mike Cahill now at the helm they currently sit in 4th place in the league table with a good chance of making it to the Premier B League Final. The B team has greatly contributed to the A teams success along the way along with their own success and are a vital cog in the club going forward

CASTLEISLAND entered their first team in the KDL in 1971 under the efforts of Tom Templeman, Denis Crowley, Des Fitzgerald, John Lyons and Eamon Kirwan and Jim McCarthy, but it was in January of 1973 that Castleisland AFC was founded by the sadly deceased Georgie O’Callaghan and Michael Taddy Conway.

The club played their home games in the Canon’s Field until 1993 when the field was sold. The club played in a few different venues since then including Limerick Road, the field where St John’s Park now stands in 1981 while the Canons Field was being reseeded.

In 1994 An Riocht became their home pitch. Then they played at the Rugby Pitch and Browne’s field on the Tralee Road. Eventually they ended up at the pitch on the Limerick Road in 1994 opposite the GAA pitch and it served them well in the years that followed. Their new state of the art pitch at the Community College opened in 2019.

Success at senior level eluded the club until 76/77 when they won the Kerry Final of the Munster Junior Cup. The following year Tady Conway brought them a lot of success and they won the Division 1 League and the Greyhound Bar Cup to record a famous double.

The following season wasn’t as successful and they relinquished the two titles they won the previous season and lost the Anchor Shield Final to Tralee Dynamos. They next few seasons brought no joy and they were relegated to Division 2 in 1983.

The team had broken up by then due to immigration, players going to other clubs while others just stopped playing the game. In 1985 they regained their position in the top division of the KDL, but in 1998 they were relegated again and it wasn’t until 1992/93 season that they moved up again under manager Phil O’Connell.

They faced an up and coming Inter Kenmare side in the final game of the season and a win