See match reports below
U10 Division 1: Rockville 1- 0 Quay Athletic
Rockville U10’s were unlucky a few weeks back when they narrowly lost to Ardee Celtic, however this week they came out on top in a very closely fought match against Quay Athletic. Rock’s Barra Duffy scored the only goal of the game, a cracker of a shot just before half time, which was the difference between the two teams. Jay Akhan put in a man of the match performance for the seasiders at the heart of the defence alongside Jack Daly, Conor Lynch and Tom Howard while James Connolly and Adam Daly in goals made some fine saves. Up front Eddie Terrant and Luke Johnston both had a fine game.
Team: Conor Lynch, Barra Duffy, Jay Akhan, Eddie Terrant, Jack Daly, James Connolly, James Lawrence, Jamie Dowdall, Adam Daly, Tom Howard, Sean Cassidy, Luke Johnston, James Woods, Ben Wogan and Zac Allerdyce.
U10 Premier: Woodview 2-2 Rock Celtic
The Rock U10 fought hard in a very tight encounter in Woodview this morning.
A goal from Evan McEntaggart in the first half left it 2-1 to Woodview at half time. The Rock were very unlucky hitting the post and the bar twice before Even Durnin eventually brought the rock level. The Rock fought hard but just couldn’t get the ball over the line. Woodview defended well and held on for a 2-2 draw.
U11 Premier: Muirhevnamor 0-0 Rock Celtic
Despite best efforts the U11’s had to settle for a scoreless draw against a strong Muirhevnamore side at the weekend. Both sides has opportunities to score but the defences came out on top. Rock’s best chances in the first half came when Sennan Carroll’s left foot strike came off the woodwork while a fine effort from Steve Kamtchou forced a great save from the Muirhevnamor keeper. In the second half Rock’s best chance came in the last 10 minutes when some great skill by Josh Hanna opened up the Muirhevnamore defence and a great pass put striker Mark Leavy through 1 on 1 with the keeper. A cruching tackle sent him flying and the case for a penalty seemed clear cut. Unfortunately the referee thought differently and so the sides had to settle for a share of the spoils on the day – which was probably a fair result. Layo Adebanjo, Alex Gough, Fiachra O’Hanlon, Mark Leavy and Dara Quinn all put in strong performances for Rock.
U12 Danone Cup: Rock Celtic 4-2 Kingscourt Harps (AET)
On a wild blustery Sunday morning, both under 12 teams took to the big pitch at Sandy Lane in the first round of the SFAI Danone Cup. The visitors, Kingscourt Harps opened strong and dominated the early exchanges – Rock found it hard to find their feet. The elements played their part in this game when, after 15 minutes, the big number 7 for Harps unleashed a shot from outside the box which appeared to be going straight into the arms of the well positioned Rock keeper Neil McQuillian – suddenly a gust of wind changed direction and the ball found its way to the back of the net. Despite efforts from Conal McCaul and Donal Leavy to take control of the game, it was Kingscourt who went in at half time with a worthy one goal lead.
Rock made changes at half time Charlie Murdock making way for James McNamara up front and Patrick Mullen moving into midfield. Harps started where they left off and continued to dominate proceeding the second half – pushing every move down their left wing. Rocks right full Adam Gartlan stud firm and made a number of decisive tackles and good passes. Within 10 minutes of the restart, the visitors extended their lead with a long ball through to the unmarked forward who slotted the ball to the back of the net.
Rock did not panic and while there was some early season rustiness in their play, they began to play the ball on the deck and make better use of Declan Curtin on the left wing and Robbie Ryan on the right. Ten minutes from time, Conal McCaul found Josh Hanna in midfield who picked out a superb pass to put striker James McNamara through on goals – the big striker made no mistake and fired the ball to the back of the net. Rock showed real character and began to take control, playing some great football and using the width of the big Sandy Lane pitch. Five minutes to go and the Seasiders had the Kingcourt goals under siege – Declan Curtin was very unlucky not to score while Josh Hanna also came close. Adam Gartlan won a ball on the right wing and picked out a pass to put Conor Casey through – Casey pulled the ball wide, round the keeper and brought a huge roar from the large home crowd with a wonderful equaliser. This game was destined for extra time – no more than Rock deserved.
The Rock boys were up for this and immediately put pressure on the Kingscourt defence – Edward Otesanya combined well with Josh Hanna in midfield who beat two players and chipped a ball into James McNamara again. McNamara used his strength to beat the Kingscourt defender and buried the ball to the top corner of the net – it was Rock 3 – Kingscourt 2. With Rock well on top going into the second half of extra time, they pushed the ball down the left wing where Declan Curtin worked really hard to continue the pressure on the visitors. With four minutes to go, Curtin’s efforts were finally rewarded to make it 4 – 2 for the home team and put them into a comfortable lead. Under the leadership of Conal McCourt at the back, Rocks defence absorbed any last efforts from the Cavan team. Rock’s impressive comeback was a real team effort and they were proven worthy winners of this thrilling cup tie. Best for Rock were Conal McCourt, Conor McVerry, Adam Gartlan, James McNamara and Josh Hanna
U13 SFAI Cup: Rock Celtic 3-1 Ballbrigan Utd
From the kick off it was obvious that Rock were up for the game. Some great passing from Conor Soraghan and Luke Hoban out of defence set up numerous attacking opportunities in the first half. Ciaran Johnston made some great run from midfield with 2 or 3 shots on goal saved superbly by the big Balbriggan goalie. Oran O’Hanlon and Jack Barron were dominant down the wings whipping several balls into Josh Connolly only to be denied again by good goalkeeping. The back 4 had very little to do but anything that did come their way was clearing leaving Josh Mackin in goals very much a spectator in the first half. With the score 0-0 at the interval there was always the worry that Balbriggan would break in the 2nd half and score but Rock started the 2nd half with the same positive attitude and were rewarded early on when Aaron McQuillan pulled the ball back from the edge of the oppositions penalty box to Kevin Campbell to strike from 20 yards into the top corner. Rock deservedly went 2-0 up a few minutes later but in unexpected circumstances when a back pass rolled under their goalies feet and into the net. Although Rock Celtic were totally in control of the game Balbriggan were awarded a harsh penalty which was superbly taken and gave Josh Mackin no chance. Excitement then turned to anxiety for a while as Balbriggan pushed forward but with Donal Leavy covering Conor Soraghan in defence it allowed Conor to break forward and a great pass to Jack Barron who in turn laid on Josh Connolly who cooly slotted it past their goalie. Rock Celtic played the rest of the game out with some lovely passing and were well deserving winners. Roll on round 2!
U14 SFAI Cup: Rock Celtic 4-1 Navan Celtic
The U14’s recorded a fairly comfortable win against Navan Celtic in the first round of the national cup competition. Kizito added two more goals to his tally for the season while Daniel Corcoran and Oisin Geogaghan
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