Castlebar Celtic progressed to the semi-final of the Newstalk Cup on Wednesday night thanks to a 2-0 over Galway United in Celtic Park, setting up a last four showdown with Bohemians in Dalymount Park which is provisionally fixed for Wednesday May 19.
Celtic manager Declan Kilkelly, while happy with the win, knows there is still a lot to learn for his side at this level. “It was a good performance especially in the first half when we scored two goals, but we let it drop a bit in the second half and that can cost you as we’ve seen.” In the previous round of the competition last Sunday night Celtic led Sligo Rovers 2-0, but switched off near the end and Sligo scored three late goals to win 3-2 at the death. But getting out on the field quickly helped Celtic according to Kilkelly. “Coming so soon after the Sligo game was good for us, and the lads were obviously a bit nervous after what happened in the second half against Sligo, but we held our nerve and composure and deserved the win.”
Celtic have the weekend off now and Kilkelly will be giving the side a rest till next week. “We played Sunday, trained Tuesday, and played again on Wednesday night so we’ll take a few days off and get back at it on Tuesday evening, we have Carlow away in the FAI Senior Cup the following weekend, and that’s going to be a challenge in itself.” Carlow is one of many challenges that Kilkelly and his side are going to face over the next few weeks. “Carlow will be tough, but we are also going to be missing a few lads from training with exams at this time of year, but I can’t fault the commitment they have shown so far this year, it’s been top class and everyone has put themselves really into it from the get go.” Celtic’s prize for seeing off Galway in the Newstalk Cup is a semi-final against Bohemians, another game that will test their quality at this level, but that’s what they are here for according to the Celtic manager. “It’s why were playing at this level to test ourselves against the best, and Bohemians in Dalymount Park will be another one for the lads, but we are moving the right way and are looking forward to the start of the league in a couple of weeks.”
