Published: Wednesday, 23rd September, 2009 4:56pm

Tradition for Kells Celtic but no points

Kells Celtic 0, Kells/Blackwater 3

At the interval when the teams were scoreless few would have bet on this Meath & District League Div 2 derby encounter yielding three goals in the second-half.

Yet that's what transpired with Kells / Blackwater displaying too much craft and firepower for their near neighbours with Barry Farrelly grabbing two well-taken goals. John Kelly also found the net with a sharp finish.

And that wasn't all that happened in an eventful second-half as Kells Celtic's day of misery was completed in the closing stages when Paul Tormay was sent off.

Kells/Blackwater were left to savour a fine victory and so far this season they have yet to experience defeat in the five competitive games played in league and shield.

But this wasn't just another team winning another MDL game. This was also another step in the right direction for a club that looked to be in disarray at the end of last season.

Kells / Blackwater were relegated from Div 1 and not only that, they were unable to play the last few games of the season as the club struggled at adult level at least.

Over the summer they have regrouped and under manager James Quail they have built a new team full of zest and vigour and now they can look forward to the future with confidence. "We have reformed and brought u-16s through to reserve and senior squads," said manager Quail before the kick-off.

At the end of the 90 minutes Quail was a happy man as he had watched his side win the game with some neat, approach play married to clinical finishing.

"We knew we had the potential to win, we just have to organise and keep working at it, there's plenty of talent in the club with up to 300 young players," he added.

If Kells / Blackwater are the new kids on the block, Kells Celtic are a club with a fine tradition and this year they celebrate 80 years in existence.

They can go back to 1929 and the club has gone through numerous ups and downs, hills and valleys. Sunday wasn't one of their better days and they were watched on the sideline by some of the club's great stalwarts including Catherine Rourke who has been secretary since the late 1970s and her brother Patrick Rourke who has been involved with club for 37 years. Also there was another great clubman Oliver 'Figgy' Curran.

The manager for the past few seasons has been Paul Smith and he patrolled the sideline along with assistant and trainer Paul Clarke.

They can't have been happy with what they witnessed for much of this encounter. From very early on Kells / Blackwater showed their teeth with Kelly almost finding the net. The same player had a 'goal' ruled out for offside.

Chances were few in the opening half and the teams remained scoreless until 14 minutes after the break when substitute John Rennicks, who had just come on, slipped a pass to John D Smith whose shot was saved, the ball broke to Farrelly and he slotted home.

With 72 minutes on the clock the visitors made it 2-0 when they showed pace and skill to get behind the Kells Celtic defence and slip the ball into the far corner. It was a fine opportunistic strike.

Victory was sealed with a third when Smith's shot was blocked by Anthony Burke and the ball broke to Wayne Russell who chipped to the far post. There was Farrelly to neatly guide the ball home. Rennicks made a big impression when he came on while Eugene Beggy, Kelly and Farrelly also did well.

Kells Celtic worked hard without making much of an impression on the opposition defence. Gary Wright showed some neat touches and he fired a half-chance over the bar while Stevie McManus and Seamie Deignan and Shane McGeough threatened. Aidan Byrne and McManus worked hard in midfield without much reward.

However, the day and the points belonged to Kells / Blackwater who will be looking to push on from here as they continue their comeback.

Kells Celtic - A Burke; S Flood, R McManus, S Deignan, E McNamara, A Byrne, S McManus, S Curran, G Wright, S McGeough, P Tormay. Subs - M Butler for Wright, N Smith for Flood.

Kells/Blackwater - L Quail; D O'Rourke, W Feehan, C Mooney, E Beggy, W Russell, D Tormay, N Kelly, J Kelly, B Farrelly, John D Smith. Subs - J Rennicks for N Kelly, P Reilly for J Kelly, S Bennett for Tormey.

Referee - Michael Bryan (Meath Branch).

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