Castletown live to fight another day in Premier Division

CASTLETOWN CELTIC 3

CLONAKILTY SC 2

GER McCARTHY REPORTS

CASTLETOWN Celtic have temporarily staved off relegation from the PremierHiSpecCars.com West Cork League Premier Division.

Two-nil down early in the second half of their crucial league encounter with Clonakilty Soccer Club, things were looking bleak for Castletown.

A year after gaining promotion to the West Cork League’s top tier, the Castletownkenneigh side staged a gutsy and unlikely comeback to avoid dropping back down to the Championship.

Joe Edmead’s brace had deservedly put the visitors in the driving seat. Then, a Jack O’Callaghan penalty, prior to two goals in as many minutes, handed Celtic a lifeline and 3-2 victory.

Instead of suffering relegation, Castletown now have an opportunity to avoid the drop via a play-off with Lyre Rovers and (possibly) Skibbereen.

‘This year, we have lost too many games by a single goal or drawn games we could have won but we always battle,’ Castletown manager Gary Shannon told The Southern Star.

‘The league table doesn’t lie. We did it the hard way tonight but the lads showed guts to turn it around. They are a good group of lads in fairness to them.’

The hosts began knowing nothing less than a victory would maintain their Premier Division status.

A third win in their final league outing would draw this year’s Beamish Cup semi-finalists level with Lyre Rovers and Skibbereen (one game left), necessitating a relegation play-off.

As for Clonakilty, the outcome of their final league fixture had no bearing on a fourth-placed finish. The visitors were anxious to perform ahead of Gareth O’Driscoll Premier Division Cup and Parkway Hotel-Maybury Coaches Cup final appearances.

It was Clonakilty who struck first, grabbing the lead courtesy of a slick passing move after 3 minutes.

King Iyalla crossed for Joe Edmead, who instantly turned a defender, and found the bottom corner.

A superb Paudie Ahern save prevented Alan Murphy’s free-kick from making it 2-0 and a frantic game had yet to settle at the quarter-hour mark.

Micheal McSweeney and King Iyalla exchanged chances in a half Clonakilty were guilty of over-elaborating in the final third.

Their opponents were more direct, resulting in Cian Buttimer and Jack O’Callaghan each going close. The visitors responded with Edmead denied by another Paudie Ahern stop before a shot was cleared off Celtic’s goal-line.

The score remained unchanged at the interval despite Celtic creating a flurry of late chances.

Unexpectedly, a disjointed first half was followed by a much improved second period.

Thomas Battersby’s accurate cross was tapped in by Joe Edmead to double Clon’s advantage two minutes after the restart.

Admirably, Castletown responded in the best possible fashion. Jack O’Callaghan converted from the penalty spot to halve the deficit.

Building momentum, Celtic took advantage of a deep-lying Clonakilty defence to score twice in as many minutes and turn the fixture on its head.

Padraig Delaney chipped in a beauty from the edge of the penalty area to make it 2-2. Next, Fergal Kelleher rose highest to head home for a corner.

From relegation to possibly staying up in 120 seconds.

The visitors finally roused themselves and an Alan Murphy thunderbolt came within the width of a crossbar from making it 3-3.

A tense final quarter saw Clonakilty Soccer Club press higher up the pitch and their opponents work extra-hard to maintain their slender lead. There were a couple of late scares but Castletown’s determined efforts saw the home side win 3-2.

Relegation remains a possibility but Celtic have every chance of staying up in the Premier Division if they replicate this performance in the play-offs.

‘At 2-0 down we would have gladly taken a relegation play-off,’ Gary Shannon added.

‘Jack (O’Callaghan) has been brilliant all year for us. We also had Paudie Ahern back in goal tonight and he played really well.

‘If we manage to stay up, we must try to push on next year. I think we were too cautious in our first season back in the Premier Division.

‘Maybe we showed teams too much respect. We showed tonight what we can do when we go at teams.’

Castletown Celtic: Paudie Ahern, Cian Buttimer, Jeremiah Hurley (captain), Fergal Kelleher, Gearoid O’Donovan, Rick Bradfield, Micheal McSweeney, Padraig Delaney, Tim Hayes, Matthew Draper, Jack O’Callaghan.

Subs: Aaron Draper, Declan O’Halloran, Eoghain O’Callaghan, Billy O’Brien.

Clonakilty Soccer Club: Seamus O’Brien, James Horan, Paul Daly, Eoin Hartnett, Shane Buttimer (captain), Conor McKahey, Rob Downey, Alan Murphy, Joe Edmead, King Iyalla, Sean Lawless.

Subs: Gearoid Calnan, Ferdia McCarthy, Iain O’Driscoll, Eoin Ryan, Thomas Battersby.

Referee: Niall O’Donovan.