Greyhound Bar KO Cup Final

Tralee Dynamos v Killarney Celtic

Sunday at 3pm

Mounthawk Park (Tralee)

Two of the county’s traditional powerhouses will meet on Sunday in the Greyhound Bar KO Cup final when Killarney Celtic face old rivals Tralee Dynamos in Mounthawk Park, Tralee.

With a league final against Castleisland also on the horizon, the Killarney outfit are on the hunt for a second consecutive double but for now all eyes will be firmly set on this weekend’s cup decider at KDL headquarters.

Premier A table-toppers Celtic will naturally be favourites to prevail but as we’ve seen many times down through the years, anything can happen in a one-off game.

You’d have to say that it has been a fairly unexpected run to the final for Dynamos, who were relegated from the top flight last season before later being reinstated when Mastergeeha were voluntarily demoted. The Tralee club are the most successful team in the history of the league but their efforts in recent times have been hampered somewhat by the absence of a number of key players, some of whom have transferred to rival clubs.

For instance, pacey forward Danny Roche moved to Sunday’s opponents, Killarney Celtic, in 2017 and has since proved his worth by netting several crucial goals for the club. Roche is currently the league’s leading scorer with 19 goals and eight of those strikes have come in cup competitions.

Dynamos have reached the final of the Greyhound on the back of victories over Atletico Ardfert, Fenit Samphires, QPR and Park with that Round 2 win over Fenit arguably the pick of the bunch. Fenit will finish fourth in the Premier A this season – two places and 10 points ahead of Dynamos - but the Tralee club just about squeezed past them in the cup, eventually progressing after a nervy penalty shootout.

In contrast, Celtic’s path to the final has been far less dramatic. After receiving a bye in Round 1, they made light work of Kilmoyley in Round 2 before defeating Castleisland 3-0 in the quarters. They secured their passage to the finale with another comprehensive win against Premier A opposition when they beat Listowel Celtic 4-0 the weekend before last.

All things being equal on the day, Celtic appear to be too strong for Dynamos at present and they should have enough about them to retain the Greyhound Bar KO Cup on Sunday.

Verdict: Killarney Celtic 3-1 Tralee Dynamos

Pic: Konrad Paprocki.