Junior B

Jason Lynch (Capt. right) before match V Round Towers

In their final home match of their Senior league division 4 south campaign Kilcullen juniors went down to a classy Round Towers team 1-18 to 2-06. In a similar pattern to previous matches the Kilcullen lads got off to a slow start allowing the Kildare men race into a 0-10 to 0-00 score line before the rags registered their opening score thanks to the evergreen Sheas Lambe. Kilcullen’s top scorer Alan Kenny chipped in with 1-01 almost immediately after to leave the half time score 0-12 to 1-02.

The second half proved to be much more fruitful from a Kilcullen point of view with the full back line of Robert Byrne, Niall Folan and Tom Dixon coming into their own. Sheas Lamb got the first score of the second half for Kilcullen before an excellent point from centre back Ben Phelan swung some momentum the way of the rags.

Some tactical substitutions as the half wore on also proved successful and Paddy Dunne came into full forward and made an instant impact on his introduction with a superbly taken goal. Alan Kenny slotted home a further two points to leave the final score Round Towers 1-18 Kilcullen 2-06 in a match that saw the rags improve as the match went on.

The Juniors final match will be away to Allenwood next Monday evening with the championship to follow hot on the heels of the league campaign where a very young Kilcullen team can put to good use the experience of playing at such a high division during their league campaign.

Kilcullen Juniors V Round Towers. 1. Paddy Maher, 2. Robert Byrne(Fergus Aspell), 3. Niall Folan, 4. Tom Dixon, 5. Jack Dooley, 6. Ben Phelan, 7. Stephen Willis (Murty Scully), 8. Dwayne O Connor, 9. Jason Lynch(Capt), 10. Joe Carey (Sean Fitzgerald), 11. Wayne Condron (Paddy Dunne), 12. Luke Dowling (Niall McCormack), 13. Alan Kenny, 14. Sheas lambe, 14. Tim Carey.

KIlcullen Juniors 2015

It has been a turbulent few weeks for Kilcullen juniors in a very competitive senior league div 4. A few defeats and a heavy loss of personnel would have been enough to break most teams but Kilcullen Juniors are made of stern stuff as they proved tonight in a difficult away match against Ellistown.

Ellistown got off to a great start racing into a 1-09 to 0-03 lead but that proved to be as good as it got for the home team. Points from Jack Dooley, Ben Phelan and an Alan Kenny free and a Colm Sheehan goal before half time gave the Kilcullen lads plenty of belief and even a last minute first half controversial goal for Ellistown didn’t do anything to demoralise the Kilcullen lads as they trailed 2-10 to 1-03 at half time.

The second half was all about Kilcullen as they started the comeback with early an point from man of the match Colm Byrne. Attack after attack yielded free after free and mister reliable Alan Kenny was on hand to slot 5 unanswered frees over the bar without reply from the home side. Kilcullen even had a cast iron penalty ignored by the referee who claimed to ‘not see a thing’ as Colm Sheehan was cynically fouled one on one with the keeper. A crucial decision at a critical time proved to have a huge bearing on the outcome of the game.

Kilcullen continued to dominate the second half with a point from Martin Murphy and another free from Alan Kenny getting the Kilcullen lads to within touching distance of Ellistown. Unfortunately the clock ran down and Ellistown managed to get home by a score line of 2-14 to 1-10 in what was a hugely spirited performance by the Kilcullen juniors.

Plenty to build on for the juniors as they prepare for the championship where Ellistown will be one of their major rivals and with a good balance of youth and experience and a plentiful supply of determination and desire to win the Juniors will continue to go from strength to strength.

Team: 1. Paddy Maher 2. Stephen Willis 3. Jason Lynch 4. Johnny Caples 5. Luke Dowling 6. Ben Phelan 7. Jack Dooley 8. Dwayne O Connor 9. Colm Byrne (MOM) 10. Joe Carey 11. Martin Murphy 12 Niall McCormack 13. Tim Carey 14 Colm Sheehan 15 Alan Kenny. Sub Used: Tom Dixon, Robert Byrne & Sean Fitzgerald.

Mentors: Mark Phelan, Kevin O Brien & Eddie O Loughlin.

Juniors presentation to Kieran Domican

It was a case of goals win games in round 5 of the Junior league as our Junior B’s went down 3-11 to 0-10 at home to Rathangan. In what was an end to end game the 10 point margin of victory probably flattered the visitors slightly in a match that a young Kilcullen side can hold their heads high after yet another strong team performance. After the game the sense of comradery and togetherness that the juniors are known for came to the fore as the team presented Kieran Domican (pictured)with a training top and his membership in recognition of his contribution to Kilcullen GAA over the years. Kieran has been suffering with Illness this year but once a Rag always a Rag!