Castlegregory close in on Premier B final spot

CHARLEVILLE CHEESE PREMIER B

Castlegregory Celtic 3 Ballyhar Dynamos 0

CASTLEGREGORY have been very impressive this season and now they are closing in on a possible place in the league final after a comfortable win over Ballyhar Dynamos at Mounthawk Park on Saturday evening.

They captured the three points against a young Ballyhar side who showed a lot of energy and flair against a strong and experienced home side who are getting good results every weekend since the start of the season.

The West Kerry side were relegated last season and it is great achievement this season to be fighting for a chance to get promoted again.

The home side dominated the game for a long period but Ballyhar defended very well and done their best to try and hit on the counter attack.

Their keeper Trevor O’Shea was called into action early on and made a great save to deny Alain Beaujoan,

The Castlegregory keeper Chris Smith also had to earn his crust making a decent save from a Dan O’Shea header.

After a period of sustained pressure Castlegregory went ahead in the 38th minute when Cian O’Grady got on to the end of a great cross from Conor Shannon and he applied a great finish.

They could have doubled their lead after this with a great run from midfield by Eoghan Lynne opening the Ballyhar defence and as he cut in from the wing he laid the ball off to Maurice O’Connell but he could not finish off the move.

However they extended their lead just before the break with Steven Speirs finding Eoghan Lyne in space and he made another great run and found the net with a cracking shot from just outside the box.

Both sides were showing plenty of creativity in the second half and both goalies had to earn they keep making a few good saves.

Castlegregory continued to press for a third goal to wrap up the game and it came in the concluding stages with Micheal O Dowd finding the net with a fine strike from 20 yards.

It was a good win for Castlegregory but Ballyhar played their part and with a bit of luck they could have grabbed a goal or two.

Now Castlegregory have just two games left to play so they are in the thick of the action in their bid for promotion.

Their two remaining fixtures are against fellow title challengers The Park and Killarney Celtic B.

So exciting times ahead in the concluding stages of division and it will be nail-biting stuff for the four sides involved and it is likely to go right down to the wire with a strong possibility of a play-off. CASTLEGREGORY CELTIC: Chris Smith, Conor Shannon, Steve Spiers, Jack O’Neill, Ross Spillane, Eoghan Lyne, Jack Shannon, Maurice O’Connell, Eoghan Lyne, Cian O’Grady, Tomas O’Donnell, Alain Beaujoan, Damien Finn, David McMahon, Dominic Spillane, Cian Kennedy.

BALLYHAR DYNAMOS: Trevor O’Shea, Michael Fitzgerald, Dan O’Shea, Danny Cronin, Ger Fitzgerald, Patrick O’Connor, Alan Moriarty, Michael O’Sullivan, Declan

O’Connor, Míke Daly, Robert Kelly, John O’Connor, Rian Brosnan

PREMIER B STANDINGS

Killarney Celtic B Ballyheigue Ath The Park Castlegregory

Pld Pts 11 24 11 22 10 19 10 19

THERE is an intriguing conclusion to this division with four sides fighting it out for the two slots in the league final.

It will be a tight finish between, Castlegregory, The Park, Ballyheigue Athletic and Killarney Celtic B.

Castlegregory and The Park have two games left to play while Ballyheigue and Killarney Celtic B have just one game to play.

Two games will be crucial to the outcome for the title chasing quartet - the ties between Castlegregory v The Park and Killarney Celtic B v Castlegregory.

Meanwhile, Ballyheigue play QPR in their last game of the season and looking at the league form of both sides the seasiders know this is a game they can win.

A win by the seasiders would probably be enough to secure a place in the final.

If Killarney Celtic win their final game v Castlegregory they will qualify for the final. The Park v Castlegregory game will probably be played first and then the big conundrum as to what happens after this is in the lap of the Gods with a number of scenarios being possible.

If Killarney Celtic clinch a place in the final they can’t be promoted due to a KDL rule that says that no club can have two teams in the same division

Consequently it could result in Castlegregory, Ballyheigue or Ballyheigue Athletic being promoted and Killarney Celtic remaining in Premier B.

So some real crunch games lie ahead for the four sides in contention and no doubt there will probably be a few twists and turns before the finalists will emerge.

There is a big prize at stake at the end of the day which is a place in the top-flight of Kerry soccer.