WELCOME TO WEST & MID KERRY LIVE

U17s Result: Killorglin FC U17s 1 - 1 Castlegregory Celtic Fc U17s. This game really highlighted how far our U17s have come in the space of a few months as they went up against a Killorglin side that beat them 7 - 1 in their opening game. On Saturday, our lads came home slightly disappointed not to have taken all 3 points. This game was a real advertisement for the U17 league with both sides playing some excellent soccer. The first half was a really tight and tactical affair with the Castle lads focusing on shape, positioning and keeping possession on the fantastic wide AstroTurf pitch at the Intermediate school in Killorglin. In fact, the work rate was absolutely top notch with players like Nathan Quirke and Dennis O Riordan putting in tireless performances while yet again the back 4 of Conor Shannon, Patrick O Neill, Dylan Hoare and Lee Courtney were flawless throughout, reading danger early, and playing really smart and controlled soccer from the back. In the first half Castle limited Killorglin to a minimum of chances and created one or two openings themselves with Nathan Quirke being denied a tap in by a last ditch tackle after some excellent wing play by Dennis O Riordan. Neither side could find a breakthrough before the break and went in at half time at 0-0. In the second half Castle played on the counter and again played some fantastic controlled soccer, with players working tirelessly to close down the opposition and to provide support to the player with the ball. Castles hard work and creativity finally paid off when they scored a superb team goal to take the lead on 80 mins. The outstanding Dillon Daniels received possession deep in his own half and spread a great ball to his midfield partner Maurice Slattery who had moved out wide to give Dillon the option of a pass. Maurice then drew in the defender and played a sublime pass into the path of the overlapping Dennis O Riordan. Dennis again drew in a defender and played a super reverse pass back to Maurice Slattery who had burst to the edge of the box, and Maurice took one touch and unleashed a ferocious strike that beat the keeper into the far top corner for a deserved 1 nil lead. But as the saying goes, you are at your most vulnerable when you have just scored and not 2 minutes later Killorglin equalised when a long range shot took a wicked deflection to leave David O Dowd stranded in the Castle goals. The Castle lads never say die attitude almost got them the victory at the end when a long throw from Dillon Daniels caused chaos in the Killorglin box and up popped Aaron Deely with a snap shot that was destined for the bottom corner only to be denied by a superb saved at the last. Overall, this game showed how much our U17s have learned over the season, and outlined the potential that exists within the group. Saturday's away draw means they have now picked up 5 points in the last 3 games with a win and 2 draws, only conceding 1 in the last 2. Outstanding were Conor Shannon, Maurice Slattery, Dylan Hoare & Nathan Quirke, but not one player had a below par game. Well done lads.Team: David O Dowd; Conor Shannon; Dylan Hoare; Patrick O Neill; Lee Courtney; Dennis O Riordan; Maurice Slattery; Dillon Daniels; Cormac Cronin; Jason Griffin; Nathan Quirke. Subs: Ryan O Connor; Aaron Deely & Jason O Donnell. The senior match was cancelled as the pitch was flooded after heavy rain Saturday night / Sunday morning. For fixtures see the Kerry district league website www.kerrydistrictleague.ie Darts competition: Our annual darts competition will take place in Boland's Bar on Friday 21st Feb. Last years event was a super night of darts and this year is shaping up to be even better. Entry is only €5 and it is a doubles competition. Teams will be seeded and picked on the night. Raffle and spot prizes galore. The Brandon Bay half marathon & 10k run: We have had an absolutely massive reaction to this event and are delighted to be able to announce that it will take place on Saturday 12th July 2014 as a part of the Castlegregory Community Council's Summer festival 2014. On Friday we announced the winner of the logo design competition which we ran in the Meán Scoil nua an Leith Triuigh, with Aisling O Connor designing the winning logo which is now to be seen on our website, facebook page and twitter account. Aisling is a fantastic artist and her logo really captured what the event is about - a huge well done to her on winning the competition. Thanks also to Aodán MacGearailt for allowing us run the coompetition locally in the Meán Scoil and to Caroline Flynn for the graphic design on the logo. If you are interested in being part of Ireland's only running event entirely run on a beach please log onto our website www.brandonbayhalfmarathon.weebly.com and fill in the pre-registration form.