Winner!

The current competition has come to an end.

Both remaining contestants both picked Everton for the weekend and as such have decided to split the prize

Congratulations to both Denis O Neill and Stephen Downey

Kilcornan AFC would also like to thank all those who have entered the competition throughout the season and your continued support is highly valued by the club

I would also like to thank all the club members who have worked hard during the year to get people entered into the competition and without this effort the competition would not be the success it is.

We have finished for another season but will be back again in late August for the start of the new Premier League and we hope to have as successful a year once again.

A's Let Chance Slip

Kilcornan A 2 Breska Rovers 3

The eagerly awaited top of the table clash between the A's and Breska Rovers took place last Sunday in Kilcornan. The pitch was in good condition on the day despite the earlier game that morning going to extra time were the B team were very unlucky not to force penalties against Division One high flyers Rockhill Rovers. Kilcornan were missing a few regulars for a number of reasons and to some this fact was somewhat disappointing for what was a very important game in the season. Three players who took part in the earlier B game had to stay togged out to make sure the A team had eleven players and also to provide subs on the day. For a game of such importance this statistic was somewhat disappointing.

Kilcornan started the brighter and were rewarded for there encouraging start when they took the lead with about 15 minutes gone, a long free from Paudie Ivess the Kilcornan keeper caused havoc in the Breska box and the ball found its way directly to the net to give Paudie his 2nd goal in Two seasons from the goalkeeping position. Five minutes later and Danny Neville raced clear and he tried to lob the advancing Breska keeper who handled the ball outside the box and being last man back the referee had to apply the letter of the law and he produced the red card to reduce the visitors to 10 men. But alas the extra man advantage does not always mean the team with 11 will win and so this proved on the day as Kilcornan who had been dominant up to this stage seemed to stop what they were doing well and Breska's increased work rate and effort saw them turning the 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 advantage in the Second half. Some sloppy defending and a soft penalty contributed to this with Paudie Ivess saving the penalty but the Breska forward tapped home the rebound.

Kilcornan did manage to pull a goal back before the end with Blaine Collins scoring from the penalty spot following a foul on Danny Neville but it was the 10 men of Breska who made the short journey home with the Three points and possibly the 3 points that may decide the destination of the league title.

Kilcornan Team: Paudie Ivess, Kevin O'Keeffe, Darragh Walshe, Anthony Cregan, Dave Dolan, Shane Costello, Niall Smith, Mike McCarthy, Ken O'Donoughue, Blaine Collins, Danny Neville. Subs: Ross Mann, Keel Moloney, John O'Gorman.

Last kick loss leaves Bee's stung

Sunday 18th March so Kilcornan B's play host to high flying Rockhill Rovers in the Desmond Cup 2nd round. The B's convincing 1st round victory over Shountrade had given them the chance of a major upset against a team that are on the fast track for Premier Soccer next season and the events that transpired in Kilcornan left nobody in attendance down in any shape or form.Kilcornan had almost a full hand to pick from for the game, the Mann's enjoying the bank holiday, Rockhill also seemed to be strong and from the first whistle the game was full of incident and drama. Kilcornan probably started slightly better getting on the ball and trying to probe for an opening with Ian O Gorman and a resurgent Paul McElligett trying to dictate things from the middle. Rockhill though are not atop of the 1st division without scoring a few goals this season and were dangerous whenever getting forward.

The closest either team came to making a breakthrough was when Rockhill's scorer in chief "Redser" got a ball down the right wing and with no support in the box fired at goal from a tight angle only for Keel to make the save in goal. Kilcornan created a few half chances in the first half as well, Eoin Cuddihy getting onto a nice cross field ball but he was unable to get any venom into the shot.With half time fast approaching it looked like being a draw until disaster struck for the home side. A ball bobbled around in the defence before being passed out right to John O Gorman who was unfortunate to be on the wrong end of a bad bounce and the Rockhill number 9 pounced on the ball and drilled to the corner of the net beyond the despairing Keel Moloney in goal. It was a dagger blow to the effort the Bee's had put in during the first half but as this season has been anything but straight forward they were no strangers to being a goal down.

The 2nd half started with Kilcornan trying to push on for an equaliser and the first 5 mins of the half gave an indication that things were not going to be easy for Rockhill epitomized by a tackle made by Niall Maher out on the left where he won a fine tackle and released Micheal Keating on the break. Although the ball flashed across the Rockhill area it was unable to be turned into the net but this was a sign of things to come! Rockhill knew they were in a game at this stage and were trying hard to get the 2nd goal that would put the Bee's to the sword and end the tie but some great defensive work by the Kilcornan backline kept them in check with Keel Moloney called upon once to go down at the feet of the onrushing Rockhill winger to keep the Bee's firmly in the game.Kilcornan were certainly having the better of it in the 2nd half and Darren Walsh on more than one occasion danced his way into good positions but his best chance saw a tame effort roll into the keeper after he didn't quite catch the shot right.

Manager Noel Mulcair gambled with 20 mins to go and brought the returning Davy Dolan on at right back for John O Gorman and gave him a licence to go forward and to the excitement of the supporters at the field it proved a fruitful decision. After good work down the right better Davy and Eoin Cuddihy a ball was drilled across the Rockhill box from the end line and although it was hard to tell who got the final touch the reaction of the Rockhill center half seemed to suggest it was an own goal but nothing more than the Bee's deserved for their endeavour throughout the game. Although Rockhill pushed on to try and restore their lead at the whistle it was 1-1 and extra time beckoned.In extra time both side were beginning to tire but the intensity of the game didn't with both sides going to win the game rather than play for penalties. In fact it was Kilcornan who had the best chance in the 1st half of extra time when some nice interplay down the left wing saw a superb cross put into Darren Walsh who seemed caught in two minds as whether to head it or go with the boot, in the end he went with the boot and unfortunately missed the target.

Rockhill tried to wrest back some momentum by taking their goalie out and putting him in midfield and pushing on their center half in search of a winner but it would be 1-1 at half time.Kilcornan began the 2nd half knowing one chance would probably be enough to win the game however once again their resilience would be tested when the Rockhill goalie launched a kick forward, it carried well over both Kilcornan center halves who tried to clear the ball only for the ever dangerous "Redser" to get in between and lift the ball over the onrushing Keel Moloney who got a finger to the ball but couldn't turn it over the bar. Once again it was a hammer blow to the home side who had little over 5 mins to resurrect their challenge again. It had been a beautiful day for football in Kilcornan with the sun out for the duration and after 100 plus mins this was going to take its toll on the players who to a man valiantly battled to the end, and within 2 minutes of the restart they were rewarded for this effort. Dave Dolan again involved down the wing and his lovely low drilled cross being turned in at the near post by Eoin Cuddihy who was superb all day.

All in attendance were delighted with how the game had panned out and with the prospect of 5 penalties apiece to decide the tie in the offing there were murmured whispers of an upset around the ground, alas for all associated with Kilcornan Soccer Club this was not to be the day for it. The Kilcornan back line which had been good all day struggled to deal with one last ball into the box, the ball dropped and was lobbed towards the top corner only for Keel Moloney to make one last athletic save flicking the ball over the bar for a corner. Some thought the game was up however the ref said there was time for the corner and as the ball was swung in from the left Kilcornan supporters hearts started to break one by one as the ball flicked off the top of Ian O Gorman's head at the front and just happened to drop in front of the deadly "Redser" who lifted the ball to the roof of the net in a flash.Rockhill players converged on "Redser" to celebrate as he wheeled away in delight, Kilcornan lads, all out on their feet had heads in hands and the ref had his whistle in his mouth to call a halt to a pulsating encounter which showed why both teams this season are pushing for honours in their respective divisions and also that maybe league standings don't always show you a true picture of how things stand............

Team: Keel Moloney, John O Gorman, Hugh Sheehy, James O Shaughnessy, Micheal Keating, Eoin Cuddihy, Ian O Gorman, Paul McElligett, Niall Maher, Tim Mulvihill, Darren Walsh

Subs: Dave Dolan, Ronan Hanley, Paul Larkin.

Weekend Fixture

B team away to Athea Utd B at 11.30am.

A team no game at time of going to press.

News and NEW Match reports are posted in the Soccer section or click on this link: NEWS