The new senior soccer season for 2018/19 kicks off this weekend in the Kerry District League and, again, Castleisland will have two senior teams playing in the top two divisions of Kerry soccer.
Kitted Out By Tom McCarthy’s
The A team will be contesting Denny Premier A and the B team will be in Denny Premier B.
Both teams have been kitted out with two sets of home jerseys and an alternative away strip along with socks and shorts all thanks to our generous senior team sponsor Tom McCarthy’s Bar.
Great credit is due to Tom for his support of the club as he has been sponsoring the seniors for almost 20 years now.
“Both teams will be delighted to carry his logo on their backs as we head into the opening of our new pitch in late 2018,” said club PRO, Neil O’Sullivan.
Edmond in as Dan Goes to Dingle
The A team are under new management this season with club veteran Edmond Hartnett taking over at the helm from Dan Maunsell – who has since become the head man at fellow Premier A side Dingle Bay Rovers.
Edmond is joined by his assistant – former Kerry footballer and leading centre back for Castleisland AFC, Mike McCarthy.
Pre-Season Routine
The new management team has put the squad through an intense pre-season routine which included boxing training with Sliabh Luachra Boxing Club, strength work with Pat Murphy and finished with getting back to basics at the field.
The squad is currently going through a transitional period with Edmond looking to blend in up and coming youth players with some of our more established senior players.
Place in League Final
The team is sure to get stronger as the season goes on and hopefully they will be challenging for a place in the league final come May.
The A’s start the season against the best side in the league as last season’s double winners Killarney Celtic visit Castleisland on this Sunday September 9th for an 11.30 kick off at Limerick Road. There is no doubt that this will be a tough fixture to begin with but in true Castleisland spirit the lads are looking forward to the challenge.
Mazza Taking the Reins
The B team will also be returning to action in the next couple of weeks and this year Martin ‘Mazza’ Moriarty will be taking the reins as manager on his own after his co-manager from last year, Neil O’Sullivan returns to the playing field after injury.
Last season the B’s had a great season finishing fourth in the league and reaching the cup final before losing out to Killorglin in a replay.
Bs Play on September 16th
Because of the late finish last season the Bs have just returned to training in the last two weeks so their first game has been delayed until Sunday September 16th at the earliest.
Mazza will once again be able to call upon experienced players like Shane O’Loughlin, Patrick O’Rourke who are the local Benjamin Buttons of the soccer world, while he’ll be hoping to bring through another batch of young players again this season.
Young Players Making Impact
Last season, players like Matthew Browne, Damian Feehan, Pauric O’Connor, Josh Horan and Ben Cooney all made significant impacts coming from youth level into senior soccer.
“So now we wait in great anticipation for the season opener on Sunday and we look forward to seeing both teams playing on our new All-Weather Pitch in the coming weeks. The registration window is open for another week or two so if any player is thinking of making a comeback to training now is the time.
“Best of luck to both senior teams and their management for the new season,” Neil concluded.
You can contact The Maine Valley Post on… Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com
Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467.
Please Note: A click on any of our adverts will reveal all you need to know about what our advertisers need to tell you.
Copyright Notice: The images and text which appear on The Maine Valley Post site remain the exclusive property of John Reidy, (unless stated otherwise) and are protected under International Copyright laws. Images or text may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written permission of the author, John Reidy, in this instance. Use of any image as the basis for another photographic concept or illustration (digital, artist rendering or alike) is a violation of International Copyright laws. All images are copyrighted © by John Reidy 2018.
