Under 21s Get Underway:
Kilcullen Under 21 training got underway last weekend, and they have a challenge match tomorrow. Two Mile House provide the opposition and the game takes place at home at 4pm. Hopes are high for a good season with most of the team having played either Senior or Junior in the past year, including the likes of Brian Bell, Darren Barker, the McMahon brothers, Wayne Hegarty, Aidan Carroll, Barry Comerford and Ger Kelly. The team will be managed by Dan Bell and John O'Brien.

Ladies Exit Championship:
Kilcullen ladies made their exit from the championship at the hands of Carbury on Tuesday evening to make it a miserable few days for the club. After ten minutes into the game, the Carbury centre-back made a storming run up the field to stick the ball in the net. However the remainder of the first half was most notable for an excellent performance from the Kilcullen full-back line who really held their own to give us a three point lead at half time. The home side started stronger in the second half with the aid of a strong breeze. The girls never gave up though battling hard for their scores. With a scoreline of 0-12 to 1-7 in the last 5 minutes a penalty was given to Carbury and was well taken putting the home side ahead by the bare minimum. Kilcullen tried everything in the dying moments but sadly just couldn't manage to get the score they needed.

Final Score: Carbury 2-7 Kilcullen 0-12

Kilcullen Relegated To Intermediate:
Kilcullen lost out by 1-12 to 0-12 to Naas last night in a hard fought relagation battle under lights in Moorefield. In a close game, the teams went in level at half time at seven points each. However, in the second half Naas got a killer goal that the Rags never recovered from. There was no lack of effort on the Kilcullen side, with everyone standing up to be counted. But we just couldnt get that bit of luck, with a very definite penalty turned down, a player harshly sent-off, and a number of missed chances. However, Naas were the better side on the night, and could have been more in front at half time had they converted all their chances. Best for Kilcullen on the night was Cormac Aspell who put in a faultless display of free taking, while Darren Barker and Brian Bell also stood out for the Rags. Mick Williams also gave a strong contribution as a substitite.

Kilcullen Line-Up: Paddy Maher; Paul Maher, R.Aspell, M.Dooley; J.Burke, G.Shanahan(captain), D.Barker; F.Aspell, W.Kinsella(0-1); J.Lambe, B.Bell, J.Whyte; P.Jones(0-3), S.Lambe, C.Aspell(0-8).
Subs Used: M.Williams, T.Davis.

Underage News:
Hard luck to the Under 12 Boys team who lost out to Two Mile House in the Final last Saturday.
The Under 13 Girls have a home match in Division 4 against Sarsfields tonight at 7pm.

Relegation Play-Off:
Kilcullen Seniors have a must-win Relegation Play-Off Final tomorrow night. They play against Naas, and whoever loses will play Intermediate Football next season. This would be a huge setback to the team and club, were this to happen. However, The Rags have a good record in these games, having been here a few times before. The second half display against Confey was very encouraging, and hopefully a similar show of heart and passion would be enough to see us safe. The game takes place at 7.30pm in Moorefield. It would be great to have a big group of supporters from Kilcullen over to cheer on The Rags in this crucial game.

Ladies News:
The Ladies team lost by 5-6 to 3-9 in their final group game last week against Eadestown. However, they had still done enough to qualify for the Quarter Finals next Tuesday, where their opposition is undecided yet.
The Under 15 girls got their Division 2 campaign off to a flying start with a 6-10 to 0-3 win over Clane.

Narrow Defeat For Rags:
Kilcullen lost by 1-10 to 0-12 to Confey tonight in the relegation play-off and must now play Naas for the right to stay Senior. However, if they play with the courage and fight they showed in the last period of tonight's game, hopefully The Rags will have enough to survive. A very even first half finished with Confey up by 6 points to 5. Confey got off to a flyer in the second half and lead by 6 points at one stage. However, Kilcullen showed great spirit and determination to get back into the game. Also, The Rags were very unlucky not to have got at least one penalty. Best for the Rags in a good team performance were Ronan Aspell and Fergus Aspell, while the whole full forward line caused Confey plenty of problems.

Kilcullen Line-Up: Paddy Maher; M.Dooley, R.Aspell, I.Barker; Paul Maher, G.Shanahan(capt), D.Barker; F.Aspell, W.Kinsella; J.Lambe, B.Bell, J.Whyte; P.Jones(0-4), S.Lambe(0-2), C.Aspell(0-5).
Subs Used: J.Burke, K.O'Brien.

(ps Welcome Back to both Kevin O'Brien and James Burke from their travels abroad. It was great to see both of them back in the Black and White tonight)

Championship Heartbreak For Young Rags:
The Under 16's were defeated by Rathangan tonight by a single point. However Kilcullen aquitted themselves very well in an entertaining game.

Senior Relegation Play-Off:
The Seniors face a tough task this weekend when they face current Leinster Intermediate Champions Confey in the Championship relegation semi-final. Confey beat The Rags twice in the league this season, and will be eager not to drop straight back down out of the Senior ranks. However, Kilcullen have a good record in these play-offs and hopefully The Rags will pull out all the stops to ensure Senior survival. The game takes place on Sunday evening at 6pm in Celbridge.

Ladies Championship:
The ladies team will hope to continue their good run when they play away to Eadestown in Group B of the Junior Championship. The game takes place at 6.45pm on Saturday.

Under 16 Quarter Final:
The Under 16's play Rathangan in the B Championship Quarter Final this Friday evening at 6.45pm. The game takes place at home in Kilcullen.

Minor Championship:
The Minor Championship Quarter Final between Naas and Sarsfields takes place this evening in Kilcullen at 6.45pm, and will be refereed by Mick Spencer.

Ladies Register Impressive Win:
The ladies section gave the club a cause for local pride with an impressive 6-11 to 0-1 win over neighbours Ballymore. After receiving a walkover in their other game hopes will now be high among the girls that all the honours this section of the club have achieved at underage level over the past few seasons can now be carried through to senior level.

Coments Format Changed:
After numerous requests for users leaving comments to clearly identify themselves repeatedly being ignored I have now enabled a log-in only system when leaving comments.

Conor (gleesonconor@hotmail.com)