CASTLEFIN Celtic have had a long winter break but they’ll be itching to get back to competitive action this weekend as they enter an important phase of the Division One season.
The Park View men will have went six weeks since their last game in a 3-3 draw with Glenea United when they face Cappry Rovers today
and boss Kieran Brennan admits that the long break hasn’t been ideal.
“We’ve been trying to get friendlies organised but every one of them fell through between weather and one thing or another so it’s hard to keep the boys motivated.
“We were going steady training on Tuesdays and Thursdays unless it collided with one of the big days like Boxing Day. But we got out nearly every Sunday on the Astroturf so it’s better than doing nothing.”
Castlefin are the only side in the division to have only played eight games, as every other team reached or passed the midway point of the league campaign over the weekend but the East Donegal men still sit in fourth place on goal difference.
They have just one loss on their record after eight games so far this season, although it was an eye-catching result as they were defeated 6-0 by Milford, but Brennan admits they had the bare bones available that day which has been a rarity.
“Two or three of the boys playing were injured, Ronan Tourish shouldn’t have been playing at all but he played 90 minutes so it was just one of those days where normally you have some of the reserve lads but we didn’t that day.
“They deserved to win 6-0, the scoreline did reflect the game but we picked up after it and drew with Glenea so we have done alright since. We drew down in Cranford in a game we felt we should have won.
“But we’re probably doing a bit better than expected. It’s been a while since we were in Division One and we didn’t know what to expect but it is turning out as tight as any Premier Division season that we’ve been involved in, especially with some big teams in there like Milford, Donegal Town and Glenea so we’re happy with the points we have on the board so far.”
Castlefin endured a tough season last year as Brennan came back in as manager following the departure of Raymond Foy to Strabane Athletic, bringing a number of the teams players with him.
They picked up just one win and six draws in the season but the boss feels they are well settled this year compared to what was a turbulent year.
Brennan had stepped away from the role previously but after the departure of Foy, the vacancy needed filled and he decided to step back into the position as manager with Damien McGlinchey and Dermot McGranaghan helping out.
“We thought Raymond had a three or four year plan to take the club forward but the chance arose for him to go to Strabane, we were still happy to see him and the players he took with him stepping up to Intermediate football, but it left us in a pickle.
“I was part of the committee sent out to try and find a manager but when we came back with nothing, I really didn’t want to see them stuck. “This year I had my own tragedies when my pub (Tinney’s Bar) burned down and the club were very good to me during that so I couldn’t turn them down when they needed help.
“It was a bad year but we weren’t getting slaughtered, we were competitive in every game and it wasn’t all that bad and we tried to build for this year in Division One.
“We’ve just lost Gavin Sweeney there to Bonagee who was one of our main players but when you get that call to step up you can’t stand in his way and Gavin is at that age where he wants to play at as high a level as he can and to try and win the Premier Division with Bonagee.
“That opens up the door for young boys like James Tinney and Daithi Gordon to get a chance to play in the first team and that’ll help us in the next years.”
Castlefin travel to face Cappry Rovers today and they will be on the road for three of the next four league games.
Castlefin Celtic’s Emmet White (left) in action against Convoy Arsenal.
It’ll be an important time of the season over the next four weeks, as they face league leaders Donegal Town two weekends in-a-row, followed by a trip to Dreenan when they face Ballybofey who are just a point behind them.
“We know Cappry will be a tough game, they drew with Milford at home there and we played them in a very tough game at the start of the season when we won 2-1.
“It’s a local derby for us and they’ll be looking to avenge that defeat so we’ll have to be at our best.
“There are a lot of good sides in the league and anybody can still win that league, you have Donegal Town, Glenea, Milford, ourselves, Ballybofey are playing well.
“But the next three or four games could define our season because we have three away games in our next four so we’ll need to score good points in them or else it’ll put us out of the running, especially those two Donegal Town games.
“We wouldn’t have been thinking about promotion at the start of the season, it was about stabilising ourselves around the middle of the table so we’re happy to do that despite the good start. Not getting into the Premier wouldn’t be that big of a deal, we have new players and we’re happy enough just staying competitive in Division One.”
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