KDUL U14 Umbro Shield Semi-Final 16 April 2024
One of those rare and special cup fixtures between same club teams. The Ms not long after their win against Naas, and the M1s, the only remaining team from their division, seeing off Prosperous (M) in the quarter finals. Clane Major 1 started excellently and had great intensity to dominate the early exchanges and deservedly took the lead. Clane Major team settled gradually into their normal style of play and got three quick goals from before half time to take an advantage into the break after having played with the wind. Both teams fought and battled throughout the second half in a physical but fairly played contest. Clane United Major got the goals to secure the contest towards the end but Clane United Major 1 deservedly got the final say with an excellent team goal before the final whistle. Major 1 Goal Scorers: Quin Connolly (1), Cody Blake (1) Major Goal Scorers: Andrew McCormack (3), Tadgh O’Leidhin (1), Sean Og Finn (1), Oscar Heffernan (1), Seanie Reilly (1) The match finished with the great sportsmanship that persisted throughout this keenly contested fixture between good friends with both groups of players congratulating each other on a great contest and joining together for a collective team photo. Looking forward to the final now, with the Majors through to face either Kill Celtic (M)/Kilcock Celtic (M)/Sallins Celtic (M). Special player mentions to Charlie Dunne (M1), Sean Jamieson (M), Tadgh O’Leidhin (M) and David O’Dea (M1) – excellent perfomance from start to finish, well done lads! Major Team: Jack Christie, Aaron Reardon, Art Ormsby (c), William McNamee, Harry O’Reilly, Sean Jamieson, Mark Mullahy, Patrick Doherty, Sean Byrne, Andrew McCormack, Tadgh O’Leidhin, Conor Brennan, Sean Og Finn, Oscar Heffernan, Seanie Reilly, Stephen Marron. Major 1 Team: Adam Bermingham, Adam Kearney, Charlie Dunne, Charlie Dunne Cash, Charlie O’Brien, Cody Blake, David O’Dea, Finn Murphy, Harry Heffernan, Luke O’Keeffe, Matthew McDonald, Matthew Breen, Quin Connolly, Rian Connolly (c), William O’Connell
Clane United (M) 6-4 Naas United (M) KDUL U14 Umbro Shield Quarter Final 13 April 2024
This match was a real end-to-end encounter as both teams met to decide who would advance to the KDUL Shield Semi Final. With the aid of a significant breeze and lead by captain Jack Christie, Clane started strongly and eventually broke through the very strong Naas defence with Sean Byrne sharp off the mark to finish to put Clane in front. Before half time, Clane added some much needed further breathing space with excellent goals from Stephen Marron and Oscar Heffernan. With the start of the second half, Clane produced an excellent period of passing and movement into a stiff breeze and added further goals with Stephen Marron and Oscar Heffernan again. A physically strong Naas side started to impose themselves more in the match and got a goal back midway through the second half. Clane quickly responded again with excellent interplay working Mark Mullahy into space on the left and he finished expertly to make it 6-1. This resilient Naas side didn’t surrender however and, with the aid of a strong breeze, they made it very challenging for Clane to work the ball out of their own half. Naas continued to attack and got 3 goals back to make it 6-4 with 5 minutes remains. Naas had significant momentum but credit to the Clane players for staying calm in the face of the pressure coming from Naas and they confidently controlled the remaining minutes to put the match to bed. Jack Christie was outstanding in goals in terms of his shot-stopping and control of his area in relation to through balls from Naas. Jack was also very influential in helping his teammates remain calm when under pressure in the last 15 minutes and is deservedly Clane Man of the Match. Clane U14 Major now progress to set up a big KDUL Shield semi-final against their close friends in the Clane U14 Major 1 team who beat Prosperous United in their Quarter Final. Semi Final match to be played on Tuesday 16 April 2024. Team: Jack Christie (Captain; Man of the Match), Conor Brennan, Aaron Reardon, Harry O’Reilly, Art Ormsby, William McNamee, Sean Óg Finn, Jack Kinsella, Sean Jamieson, Mark Mullahy (1), Patrick Doherty, Oscar Heffernan (2), Seanie Reilly, Andrew McCormack, Sean Byrne (1), Stephen Marron (2).
Clane U14 P v Moone-Midlands Shield
The 1st of a two legged Midlands Shield tie saw Clane Premier play Moone at home. The game started at a high tempo with alot of play going thru central midfield .6 min in saw some lax marking from Clane and Moone sharp shooting midfielder taking a return pass in the box shot to score.Clane defence tightened up to close down any further attacks and some great expolsive runs from Eoin to open up the Moone midfidfield allowing Clane create some excellent one/two linking play between Ben and Cameron.Possible goals with runs from Ryan and Faruk were cut out extremely well by a sharp Moone keeper. A change at the 25min saw Oisin the Clane centre back move to midfield and 2min later found himself making a darting run into the Moone box and connecting a brilliant header with a wonderful cross from Ben,beating the keeper easily for Clanes first goal. The second half started with Clane having alot of the possession and some questionable offside decisions against Faruk and Ryan denying Clane their second.The 14min saw Ryan make an excellent run at the Moone defence ,just as it looked like the opportunity to score was gone he battled on and created another, finishing brilliantly.Even though Moone weren’t creating many chances Clane defence slacked off momentarly and Moone linked up with 15min to go creating a pass to level the game.Both sides played defensively for the remaining time and saw the game end 2/2 . All to do in the Moone 2nd leg.
KDUL U14 Umbro Cup Quarter Final Clane United (M) 1-2 Sallins Celtic (M)
Date/Time: 23 March 2024, 11:00 KO This was certainly a game of two halves due to the Galeforce conditions. Clane United struggled in the first half due to the very tough conditions with heavy rain and strong winds to contend with. The early stages of the first half was a tight contest and on 13 minutes Oscar Heffernan’s through ball for Patrick Doherty and Tadhg O Leidhin almost created the first goal of the game. Aaron Reardon , Harry O’Reilly , Art Ormsby and Connor Brennan who were all strong in defense managed to deal with the difficult conditions until the 25th minute when the Sallins striker took advantage of the conditions and scored the games opener. With the seasons changing by the minute the games second goal was 4 minutes later when after a valiant save from Clane goalkeeper Jack Christie fell for the Sallins striker to net Sallins their second goal of the game. Sean Byrne and Stephen Marron made great strides on each wing to give Sallins defenders some problems. Great work in the middle of the field from Sean Jamison kept Clane in the match. The second half certainly benefited Clane as they had the very strong winds behind them. Fresh legs of Andrew McCormack , Sean Og Finn, William McNamee, Mark Mullahy and Jack Kinsella added new energy into the team. A fingertip save from the Sallins goalkeeper kept out a great long range shot by Oscar Heffernan on 50 mins. Clane peppered the Sallins goal with shots from Sean Byrne and Andrew McCormack and momentum was building for Clane. The strike and goal of the game was a 30 yard strike by Sean Og Finn which finished in the Sallins net with only 5 mins remaining. Clane were the stronger side in the final minutes however the clock ran out to give Sallins a 1-2 victory. Hard luck to all the lads and enjoy the Easter break. Team Jack Christie, Conor Brennan, Art Ormsby, Aaron Reardon, Harry O’Reilly, William McNamee, Sean Óg Finn (1), Jack Kinsella, Sean Jamieson,(Man of the Match) Mark Mullahy , Patrick Doherty, Oscar Heffernan , Sean Byrne , Stephen Marron , Tadgh O’Leidhin , Andrew McCormack
KDUL U14 Shield Quarter Final Clane United (M1) 3-1 Prosperous United (M) 23 March 2024
Venue: Doctors Road, Clane Date/Time: 23 March 2024, 12:30 KO From warmup and pre-match talks, we could tell the lads were switched on for this match from the get-go. No messing and focused on job at hand. Captain Matthew McDonald won the coin flip and wisely opted with-the-wind on a very blustery day. It was a high tempo start, with both teams looking to control. The Prosperous strategy appeared to be long-ball play, so our back line needed to be on-point. Unfortunately, a lapse in concentration in our defence played attacker onside and resulted in a conceding goal ~15mins into the first half. This was actually a good thing, as it spurred Clane on even more and we started to dominate. After a spell of high press, Rian Connolly crossed to Luke O’Keeffe, who blasted the ball on the volley into the Prosperous net. Our tails were up now, and Clane’s tenacity continued. Shortly before the first half whistle, after a mis-cleared corner, Rian got himself on the scoresheet with a cracking strike just outside the box to make it 2-1. The windy conditions worsened in the second half, with several throw-ins resulting in throw-outs. Harry, Finn, Kacper and Adam K were brought on and maintained the intensity. Our defence was now much improved, working in unison, and resulted in several offside rulings against Proposerous. With ~10mins before the final whistle captain Matthew Mc spotted the Prosperous keeper off his line, and struck a beautiful high ball into the top corner making it 3-1 to Clane. A superb team performance moves the M1’s into the semi-finals. MOTM awarded to Rian Connolly, with a special mention the Adam Bermingham. Two work horses from start to finish. Well done lads! Goal tally to date (all comps) – Luke O’Keeffe 30!, Quin Connolly 9, Rian Connolly 7, Charlie O’Brien 4, Cody Blake 3, Matthew McDonald 3, Harry Heffernan 2, David O’Dea 2. Team Adam Bermingham, Adam Kearney, Charlie Dunne, Charlie Dunne Cash, Charlie O’Brien, Cody Blake, David O’Dea, Finn Murphy, Harry Heffernan, Kacper Lisowski, Luke O’Keeffe, Matthew McDonald (c), Matthew Breen, Quin Connolly, Rian Connolly (MOTM), William O’Connell Clane U14M1 Team 2023/24 Coach Shane Dunne with MOTM Rian Connolly (L) and Adam Bermingham (R)
KDUL U14 Umbro Shield Round of Last 16 – Suncroft M1 Red 0-11 Clane United U14M
The scoreline in this match didn’t tell the story of the early battle and resistance that Suncroft Red presented in this KDUL Shield Round of 16 tie. With the scores tied at 0-0 after 20 minutes, the Suncroft goalkeeper was finally beaten with Seanie Reilly finishing well. Lead by their captain, Conor Brennan, Clane United’s confidence grew after breaking the deadlock and their attacking patterns started to stretch the Suncroft defence with Clane United quickly following up the opener with four more goals coming before halftime from Oscar Heffernan and a quick-fire hat-trick from Sean Byrne. After the break, Clane United’s pressure continued as they controlled the match from midfield with Patrick Doherty, Clane United’s Man of the Match, key to Clane United’s varied attacking patterns across the whole pitch. Further goals followed from Mark Mullahy, Oscar Heffernan, Seanie Reilly, Tadgh O’Leidhin, Patrick Doherty and Stephen Marron. Clane now progress to the Quarter Finals of the KDUL Shield where they will play the winner of Naas M vs Naas M1. Team: Jack Christie, Conor Brennan (C), Aaron Reardon, Harry O’Reilly, William McNamee, Sean Óg Finn, Jack Kinsella, Sean Jamieson, Mark Mullahy (1), Patrick Doherty(1; Man of the Match), Oscar Heffernan (2), Seanie Reilly (2), Sean Byrne (3), Stephen Marron (1), Tadgh O’Leidhin (1).
KDUL U14 Umbro Cup Round of Last 16 – Clane United U14M 5-1 Prosperous United U14M
Date/Time: 2nd March 2024, 14:00 With heavy rain resulting in most of the matches across the county being cancelled, this match was moved from Prosperous United’s home ground to Clane United’s astro pitch. With this being a rerun of a recent league match between both sides, Prosperous United were no doubt looking to reverse the score in this local derby. Windy conditions made the opening exchanges tight, as both sides settled into the match with Clane’s midfield to the fore in establishing control of the game. As the half went on Clane got their deserved lead with Stephen Marron finishing well after persistent work from Sean Byrne. First half finishing Clane 1 – 0 Prosperous. Sean Byrne got on the scoresheet himself early in the second half, with an excellent finish to the top corner. Shortly after, Tadhg O’Leidhin was sharp footed and alert to score our third goal when the Prosperous goalkeeper couldn’t hold onto a shot on goal. Prosperous got a goal back with a good finish from inside the box, but Clane quickly re-established their 3-goal advantage with a powerful strike from the edge of the box by Oscar Heffernan. Seanie Reilly got a thoroughly deserved goal at the near post at the end of the match and was our player of the day being a consistent threat down the right wing. Final score Clane 5 – 1 Prosperous. The scoreline didn’t reflect the engaging contest between both sides with Properous battling until the very end. Clane now progress to the Quarter Finals of the Umbro Cup where they will play Athy Town or Sallins Celtic. Team (goals): Jack Christie, Conor Brennan, Aaron Reardon, Harry O’Reilly, William McNamee, Sean Óg Finn, Jack Kinsella, Sean Jamieson, Mark Mullahy, Patrick Doherty, Oscar Heffernan (x1), MOTM – Seanie Reilly (x1), Sean Byrne (x1), Stephen Marron (x1), Tadgh O’Leidhin (x1)
