Match Report - U16 Boys Connacht Cup Third Round
Kinvara United 5-0 Newtown FC (Longford)
A crisp and sunny Killina saw the meeting of Newtown and Kinvara United U16s in the 3rd round of the Connacht Cup. The prize was a place in the last 16 of the competition.
Kinvara showed no lack of sharpness after the Winter break, putting together slick passages of play from early on. Kinvara had much of the possession in the 1st half but Newtown defended very well to keep the scoresheet clean.
Newtown grew into the game and came close to scoring with a goalmouth scramble that Kinvara were relieved to clear. At the other end Donnacha came close, bursting through from halfway and showing great strength and control to hold his opponent off. His shot beat the keeper but went just over the bar.
A free kick from Róan was met well by Isaac who directed his header expertly past the keeper. A tight call saw the goal disallowed for offside.
Isaac and Eli adapted well to their new partnership pairing in midfield, giving no way through for Newtown and creating many goal scoring opportunities. Both teams went into the halftime break, however, deadlocked at 0-0.
In the 2nd half Kinvara’s quality and persistence paid off with a brace of goals from Donnacha in the opening 6 mins. The 1st started with a great run by Adam who beat at least 3 players and squared the ball to Donn who side footed past the keeper, 1-0.
A left footed shot from the edge of the box by Róan was too hot for the keeper to hold. Donn powered on to the rebound and drove the ball to the roof of the net, 2-0.
Eli continued his powerful and assured play in midfield alongside Isaac and, later on, Shane T. It was a feature of the game where players stepped up to play in new positions and it further underlines the strength and depth of this squad.
Half an hour in to the 2nd half Kinvara scored their 3rd. Conor, fresh onto the pitch, pounced on a breaking ball in the box and coolly finished past the keeper. 3-0
Conor scored again 2 mins. later, showing good composure and skill to skip past the defender, round the keeper and finish to an empty net. Charlie played a large part in this goal with his driving run and accurate pass to Conor which was typical of the team’s performance today. 4-0
3 mins. later Kinvara scored their 5th and final goal. Charlie was fouled 3 yards in from the corner flag. Róan scored the resulting free kick, swinging the ball into the far top corner. 5-0
This victory was harder won than the scoreline might suggest. Our back 4 of Shane Shaughnessy, Jake, Shane Talty and JJ, plus replacements Samuel and Keelin all put in great performances and fought bravely for every ball. Otis had another assured performance between the sticks with good communication, delivery of the ball and great command of the box, this on top of 2 fine saves from well struck free kicks. Lorcan came on and showed determination to win the ball and used his strong right foot to beat the press and set up good attacks.
This was a very good performance from 1 to 15. Thanks to the supporters for cheering us on and to Newtown for providing an excellent match. Thanks also to match referee Joseph Masciarelli who refereed the match very well.
Bring on the round of 16, KUFC abú!
Back Row (L-R): Adam Hammer, Eli Huban, Donnacha Mullane, Shane Shaughnessy, Jake McMahon, Lorcan Ward, Samuel O’ Donoghue, Keelin Morud, Charlie Forde
Front Row (L-R): Evan Canning, JJ O’Connor, Isaac Warrick, Otis Warrick, Róan Cassidy Ó Máirtín (c), Conor O’Donnell, Shane Talty
Management: Pádraig Ó Máirtín, Damien Forde, Nóra Cassidy and Paul Canning.
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