U12 Football 2 Wins, 1 draw and one defeat!
Secondly, thanks to all who supported our fundraising quiz either with a team, spot prize or auction bid, we are nearly there but finish with our Disco on Friday 31st.
Despite big soccer matches and family occasions we managed to fulfil our 4 fixtures again this weekend.
The A team didn't call on any of the players who had a big soccer match later that afternoon which gave us an opportunity to bring up 5 lads who had been performing well at B for the local derby with Mearnogs. This is always a tense and tight affair with local pride at stake and this weekend was no different. Mr Versatility, Conor Hoyne, made a safe and secure debut in goals, rumour has it that he is doing a First Aid course as Team Medic is the only position he hasn't filled this year. Jack Boyne continues in strong form at fullback, ably assisted by Andrew Roe, one of our most improved players.
The half back line rarely give much away and with the lionhearted trio of Aaron Coleman, Josh Reid and Euan Farquarson in particularly mean mood the opposition got nothing lightly. Midfield saw the brilliant return of the high fielding, hard running Dylan Andrew who vied with Josh Reid for the Man of the Match title. Daragh McLoughney scored a great goal after a powerful run (for the second game in a row) and puts in miles up and down the pitch.
Thomas Lynch returned to put in his best performance in some time and his hard, fast running got him a great opening point which settled us down. Shane O'Neill has been in a rich vein of form for the last couple of days, really putting himself about while being a menace to his marker. Eoghan Buckley always works so hard on and off the ball and he created massive space for his inside forwards to capitalise on. Senior coach Paul Clarke was spotted on the sidelines watching his nephew Callum make his A debut and he will have been suitably impressed as Callum showed time and time again for the ball and looks like developing in to a serious corner forward. Denis Smyth as always led the line well, constantly dragging his marker hither and thither and his two-footedness allied to his pace and commitment marks his as a real handful. One forceful drive for a penalty which nearly burst the net was only part of his big scoring contribution. Ciaran O'Connor is a lad of huge potential and never looked out of place in his step up to Division 1, he is a player of vision and bravery whom we have great hopes for as he develops.
We were put to the pin of our collar, especially against the wind in the second half but ran out winners by 5-03 to 3-05 against a very good Mearnogs team.
The B's travelled down to Ellenfield to take on Whitehall. Unbeaten so far this year in Division 3, this team have been playing great football. Killian Bousfield between the sticks fetched some great balls from the clouds. Pierce Clyne is the corner back every corner forward hates to play against -sticky, physical and never backing down and he made one certain goal saving tackle. Tom Bennett was always on top of his man while Ronan Furlong made a number of strong runs forward. Simon Murphy was our star, a big physical presence, all action all over the pitch. Ollie Twomey is a very clever footballer, two footed and brilliant at exploiting space, with David Lynch winning a lot of hard ball and then running fast and direct we created a lot of scores. Tom Hogan provides a great presence at full forward and combined well with David Deneher who, on another day, could have poached a hat trick. We kicked an awful lot of wides (12) much to do with the pressure we were put under in the tackle by a physical Whitehall side but a late Simon Murphy point got us a draw we more than deserved.
The C team travelled North to Skerries. This U12 team had a solid win over Skerries on Saturday last , we started slowly and were 2 - 2 to 0-1 down due primarily to poor marking and lads not following their opponents back , however once we settled down we totally dominated the balance of the match . We had strong performances up front with Jojo Thabo , Paul Downey , Sam McCormack , Daire de Burca , Conor Mulcahy and Sean Curran helping themselves to some fine scores . Mathew Brenner and Ronan Furlong worked tirelessly in midfield with Ronan scoring a cracking goal . In defense Timmy O'Connor was immense winning ball and distributing excellently , beside him Stephen Brady , Cian Smith , Craig McGrattan and Daniel Stone worked honestly and ensured that after the opening salvo from Skerries the door was closed tight . Final Score St Sylvesters 9-5 Skerries 4-4.
The D's were the only team at home in Bridgefield against a strong Whitehall C team (whom our C team defeated well in a challenge). Despite working hard we were well beaten.
Ernie Brenner