Twenty-eight club games become 27 as Ballylongford concede JFC game to Beale

WHAT was scheduled to be a bumper weekend of 28 Club Championship matches will now be just the 27 games after Ballylongford conceded their home game to Beale in the Junior Football Championship scheduled for Saturday evening.

Ballylongford PRO told The Kerryman that the club is really struggling for senior players and having picked up two injuries in last weekend’s county league loss to Renard, as well as having two more players with other commitments this weekend, the club simply does not have the players to fulfil the fixture.

“Our panel is very small, we had only two subs against Renard at the weekend, and one of those lads ended up doing umpire for us,” Dineen explained. “Two fellas got injured last weekend and are out, and two others had committed to being away this weekend. We were getting away with 13-a-side in the county league last year in a few games, but we just wouldn’t have 15 players to play that championship game next weekend.”

Dineen mentioned a few players who are working in Dublin and abroad, including recent Kerry senior player David Culhane who recently emigrated to America. The PRO was realistic when asked about the possibility of forming an amalgamation with another club, saying that he “can’t see how we can survive if another few of the young fellas get jobs after college and move away to Dublin or wherever.”

Meanwhile, a busy six-week period of Championship action gets underway this weekend with four Senior, and eight Intermediate, Premier Junior and Junior games taking place this weekend.

Kerry senior panellists will train with their clubs this week, but will thereafter only be available to their clubs for the weekend games and will continue to train as an inter-county squad during the week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.