U12 Premier: Rock Celtic 1 – 0 New Generation
After a 3 -1 reverse earlier in the season revenge was the order of the day for the Rock boys. It was their first competitive outing in nearly 8 weeks & there were signs of rustiness in the first 10 minutes. However, once they settled down & found their rhythm it was all one way traffic with the seasiders totally outplaying their visitors.
Chances aplenty were created by some wonderful wing play from Jack and Ciaran. Kevin, Josh, Oran and Steve being the main beneficiaries, but a combination of lucky & good defending and some great keeping kept the Rock score at zero. One wondered if this was to be a sign of things to come. Another sweeping move from defence ended with the ball being laid of to Conor at the edge of the box. He made a sweet connection and drilled the ball to the bottom corner leaving the keeper grasping at fresh air. One – nil to the seasiders. Further chances were created but went abegging and in the end the one goal was enough to take the 3 points.
Tayo was a spectator for most of the game and on the couple of occasions he was called into action, he comfortably dealt with what New Generation could muster. The defence marshalled by Donal & Luke, and assisted by Paul, Finn and Richie completely dominated the opposition forward line & nullified any threat they offered up. In midfield, Conor produced another dominant display and with the assistance of Jack, Ciaran, Edward & Kevin they dictated the pace of the game. Up front Josh was as ever the hard working target man who created space aplenty for his fellow front men Oran and Aaron to exploit.
Overall, despite the score it was a comfortable victory for the home team with revenge being dished out. Onwards and upwards for the remainder of the season!
Under 10 Premier: Redeemer 0 – 4 Rock Celtic
It was a case of business as usual when the Rock Celtic under 10’s season resumed with their first competitive game of 2013. Right from the whistle the seasiders tore into the home side. Wave after wave of attack, it was only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken. A sweeping four man move led to a tap in for Mark Leavy after he sprung the offside trap with a perfectly timed run. Further efforts from Josh, Dara, Steve and Mark Gallagher were repelled by some great goalkeeping and last gasp defending. At times it seemed as if Mark G was having his own personal duel with the Redeemer keeper. Mark Leavy produced a masterful display on the right wing. From one of his mazy runs he turned two defenders inside out and deftly floated the ball over the keeper’s head and into the far corner for his and Rock’s second goal. The onslaught continued and as the first half was coming to an end Cillian won the ball on the edge of his own box and set off on one of his now customary high speed runs down the right wing. This time, after ghosting past a number of Redeemer defenders he coolly slotted home for goal number 3.
The second half began as the first ended with the Rock lads on the attack. Mark G set off on a solo run and after gliding by four defenders he let fly. However, as in the first half the keeper was equal to his effort. Adam was next to sting the keeper’s hands when he let fly with a beautifully struck half volley from 25 yards out. Late in the second half Rock were awarded yet another free kick when Mark G was fouled while in full flight towards the goal. Josh’s right footed strike into the top corner was unstoppable and finished off the game.
A great performance considering it was the team’s first competitive game in nearly two months. Jack Donohue was steady in goal on the couple of occasions he was called into action, the highlight being a full length dive to prevent the home team scoring a consolation goal. The defence marshalled by Adam and ably assisted by Jamie, Cillian and Eoin in the second half, easily dealt with anything Redeemer could put up to them. A totally dominant display by Josh and Mark G covering defensive and attacking midfield duties respectively, meant the seasiders were always on the front foot and with the added assistance from Steve and Layo were well on top throughout. Up front Dara and Sennan kept the opposition defence busy during the second half while Mark L looked a natural out wide. Next up is a must win game against league leaders Ardee Celtic at Sandy Lane.
Under 10 Div 1: Rockville 3 – 0 Bellurgan Celtic
After a cautious start for the Rock lads, they began to dominate against Bellurgan but could not get the ball into the net. Frank Rogers was very unlucky not to score when his excellant shot skimmed just wide of the goal. Then entered “Seb” astian McGeogh who gave a great performance. After good work by Evan Durnin he slid the ball across the penalty box for Seb to neatly tuck it away. This sparked the Rock lads into life and the continued to pile on the pressure. A great ball from Frank McGrory fell nicely for Seb and he buried the ball in the net for his second goal of the game. Evan Durnin the got a well deserved third goal for Rock after some great Tevez style dribbling.
Although it was a good all round performance by the team Dara O’Gradaig and Alex McGough stood out in defence. Man of the match was Sebastian McGeogh.
Under 11 Premier: Rock Celtic 1 – 1 Quay Celtic
The sun came out after a long winter to signal the start of spring on Saturday morning as the teams gathered on sandy lane. The game was slow to get started but this was to be in sharp contrast to the match itself as both teams were eager to get going. The last time these two met a tough match ensued with Rock taking an early lead only to throw it away with a few unforced errors.
Led out by captain, Alex Kieran, this improving Rock team were really up for this game. Straight from the off Rock attacked with Cillian Duffy getting the first shot on goal within the first minute. Quay found themselves pinned back for much of the first half with Rock applying much of the pressure. When Quay did attack though, they always looked dangerous. Rocks back line of Adam Gartlan, Connor Casey and Patrick Mullen were kept busy but stood firm and worked well together. Keeper, Jack Donoghue gave another solid performance between the posts. In mid field, Declan Curtin, Donal Leavy and Josh Hanna were involved in much of the action in the first half. Quay did put the ball in the Rock net but it was ruled offside. Quay put pressure on the Rock defence in the final minutes of the first half and were denied the lead by Connor Casey – in spectacular style, Casey cleared the ball off the line with a superb overhead kick.
The fast pace continued in the second half with Rock applying all the early pressure. This pressure paid off and Rock capitalised on a mistake by Quay at the back to go one ahead, ten minutes into the second half . Quay responded by lifting the pace again and Rock found themselves under pressure for the remaining 15 minutes. With 10 minutes to go, Quay equalised – a long ball from midfield found an unmarked Quay forward who calmly slotted the ball to the back of the net. A one all draw was the final score and probably a fair result. Neither of these teams lack pace, the game was played at 100 miles per hour – it was frantic stuff. This Rock team have really progressed over the past few months and it won’t be long before they come away with all the points from future encounters with this strong Quay Celtic side.
U14 Premier: Rock Celtic 1 – 5 Bellurgan United
The Rock U14s had a disappointing day at the office today going down to a heavy defeat of 5-1. In the 1st half this was fairly even stevens from both sides with a lot of the play around the middle of the park and the pitch conditions affecting how the match was played. Each team seem to cancel each one out with some great tackling and hard work to win the ball for each other. The Rock started to get a few passing moves going and started to create some chances. But it was Bellurgan who struck first when the Rock failed to clear the ball to let the Bellurgan no.9 in to slot the ball pass Shane Barron in goals. However the Rock got back into the match when they got a free on the edge of the box which was taken by Alex Hanneffey. Alex hit the ball to the side of the goals only for the Bellurgan keeper to knock the ball into his own net. Just before half time the Rock had another great chance and really should have gone into the lead when Ciaran Fee race down the wing and cross the ball over but James Cushnahan could not convert this. H.T. score 1-1. After the break the Rock took a while to get going and made matters worst for themselves when they conceded a soft goal when they did not deal with the simple ball. It got worst again for the Rock not dealing with a simple clearance and before they knew it they were another goal down. The Rock did try hard to get back into the match and spurned some good chances through Fiedhelm Joyce, Gerard Rice, Ross Kelly and Ciaran Fee. But at this stage the Rock seem to tired and the Bellurgan physicality was getting the better off them. Rock conceded another 2 goals and could not wait quick enough for the Referee to blow the final whistle. While going down to this heavy defeat the Rock know they are a lot better than this. Team: Shane Barron, 2. David Murphy, 3. Aidan Curtin, 4. Ben Mooney, 5. Jack Reid, 6. Alex Hanneffey, 7. Ross Kelly, 8. Fiedhelm Joyce, 9. James Cusnahan, 10. Liam O’Callaghan, 11. Ciaran Fee. 12. Gerard Rice, 13. Daniel Corcoran, 14. Matthew Fee
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