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)
