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Boys Under 14 Managers: Michael Kelsey (086-8193643) John Roche (083-3070957) Training: Every Wednesday evening in Gortnaglough from 5:45 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
MATCH REPORTS SATURDAY 5TH September BALLINHASSIG (3) V CORINTHIANS BOYS B (2) - League Ballinhassig opened their U14 season having been one of three teams promoted to Division 4. A challenging game awaited against Corinthian Boys who had come down from Division 3 the previous season. Ballinhassig started brightly with some smart passing evident and good teamwork throughout. Ballinhassig seemed to be the stronger team but Corinthians were well organised in defense and a vigilant keeper snuffed out many attacks. Gary O'Leary and Dominic O'Shea worked tirelessly up front to try to break through. It took 20 minutes before mid-fielder Darragh Kelsey finally caught a shot from the edge of the box which crept into the left corner. Corinthians were stung by this and piled on the pressure. Adam Palmer, Jack Crowley, Patrick Collins and Cillian Maguire dealt with the attacks admirably until Patrick Collins was deemed to be too strong in a tackle inside the box and a penalty was awarded. Graham Keeffe almost saved, getting a toe to the ball but the result was 1-1 for half time. Ballinhassig were in a good frame of mind for the second half and when Darragh Kelsey nicked the ball from the keeper and put it in the net, followed by an excellent strike from Jack Crowley to the roof of the net, Ballinhassig were comfortable. Corinthians were not to lie down and piled on the pressure which was met by Oisin McHugh and Kevin Veale. In spite of this Corinthians scrambled a goal with 5 minutes remaining. The large number of parents on the sideline were treated to as exciting a finish as can be expected. Ballinhassig held out to win 3-2. All credit to the large panel of 17 who turned up.
SATURDAY 30TH January BALLINHASSIG (1) V CORINTHIANS BOYS A (4) - Cup 1st Round After a long break since their previous game due to weather, and faced with opposition two divisions higher, we entered this game with a degree of trepidation. However our fears proved unfounded, with an excellent display from all players to force Corinthians to work hard to break down a very solid team performance. Ballinhassig opened the game the stronger and much of the first 10 minutes was played in the opposition half. When Corinthians established their structure however they ran at the Ballinhassig defense with determined purpose. The back five of Jack Crowley, Brian O'Mahony, Adam Palmer, Cillian Maguire and Darragh Kelsey dealt admirably with repeated wave of attack, maintaining tight marking. They frustrated their opposition and minimised their ability to get a shot on target. However after 15 minutes a break down the right hand side was crossed to the centre and Corinthians took the lead. Ballinhassig regrouped and pushed forward and was finally rewarded with an excellently taken goal by Kevin Veale from the edge of the penalty box. Oisin McHugh and Dominic O'Shea worked hard to push forward along the flanks but found it very difficult to create scoreable opportunities. Denis Murphy worked tirelessly as striker to put the central defenders under pressure. With 5 minutes remaining Corinthians were awarded a free outside the penalty area and a well taken shot went to the top right corner and despite Graham Keefe getting his fingers to it, the ball found its way to the net. The second half started with Corinthians piling on the pressure looking to extend their lead. They were rewarded with a soft penalty after just 2 minutes which was duely put to the bottom left corner. All credit to Ballinhassig who did not drop their heads. The half-time substitutes of Gary O'Leary and Eoghan O'Driscoll, aided by David Cussen in mid-field ran at Corinthians and made great efforts to create opportunities. Aodhan Lynch was brought in to shore up the defence, and was very successful in frustrating the opposition. After 15 minutes Kevin Veale won a penalty when he was brought down in the box. Unfortunately he pushed the penalty too far to the right and outside the post. Five minutes later Corinthians won a second penalty. It looked like game over, until Graham Keefe made an excellent save and cleared his lines. Cory O'Neill was brought on to try to put renewed pressure up front and never gave up, trying to link up with his teammates. With 5 minutes remaining Corinthians scored a fourth from a corner after confusion whether the ball had gone out of play allowed Corinthians a free shot past the new keeper Darragh Kelsey. Despite a 4-1 loss, the team performance was highly commendable, and a great platform to build from as the league opposition are now eagerly awaited.
SUNDAY 28TH February MALLOW (3) V BALLINHASSIG (4) - League After another 4 week break due to the withdrawal of Temple Utd., the team were pitted against second in the league, Mallow Utd. Knowing that they faced a large team, Ballinhassig adopted a somewhat defensive formation with five at the back. The first ten minutes were quite tentative by both teams with no real chances on goal. Then after 15 minutes Eoin O'Driscoll took control of a loose ball out on the right and cut through the defense to place a low ball across the keeper and into the bottom left corner of the net. Buoyed by this lead, Ballinhassig pushed on and kept the pressure on the Mallow defense. Gary O'Leary was making good use of the balls which came his way and was worrying the defense. Dominic O'Shea was working hard along the left side of mid-field and finally managed to get close to the end-line and put a perfectly weighted ball into the six-yard box where Aodhan Lynch came in from the right to tap it into the net. However with 5 minutes left in the half Mallow managed to take possession of the ball in the Ballinhassig penalty-box and some loose marking allowed them to score. The second half opened with Mallow having greater confidence and running at Ballinhassig from the middle of the field. A well organised central defence of Jack Crowley, Adam Palmer and David Cussen put up a formidable force and Mallow were thwarted time after time. Graham Keefe made some fine saves and never looked like being beaten. Fifteen minutes into the half Ballinhassig won a free-kick 25 metres from goal. Darragh Kelsey volunteered to take the shot and a beautifully weighted shot clipped the underside of the bar and into the back of the net. It looked like a comfortable win was on the cards but Mallow had other ideas. They pushed forward from the mid-field and our two full-backs, Cillian Maguire on the left and Oisin McHugh on the right came under considerable pressure but both put in massive effort to break down attack after attack with the three in the centre helping admirably. Mallow however eventually found an opening to bring the score to 3-2 with 15 minutes remaining. Cory O'Neill was put up front and Denis Murphy on the right side of mid-field were asked to keep pressure on Mallow and both did just that. Cory kept harassing the Mallow defenders and finally was rewarded with winning control of a ball which he threaded behind the Mallow defense into the path of Darragh Kelsey who ran onto it and took it into the box and placed it wide of the keeper. A 4-2 lead looked to be enough with only 7 minutes remaining, but Mallow were not of the same opinion. They took control of the game and some fine ball-control put Ballinhassig under pressure. Despite magnificent commitment from the five at the back and Graham between the posts, Mallow did manage to score again with only 4 minutes to play. A never-say-die attitude of the Ballinhassig team resisted and all were relieved to hear the final whistle. This was a well deserved and hard-won three points which shows the mettle of the team. It was not the result, but the attitude and work rate of all players which was very pleasing to watch. Well done to all. Team; Graham Keeffe, Cillian Maguire, Jack Crowley, Adam Palmer, Oisin McHugh, Dominic O'Shea, Darragh Kelsey, David Cussen, Aodhan Lynch, Eoghan O'Driscoll, Gary O'Leary, Cory O'Neill, Denis Murphy, Kevin Veale (N/A as injured). |
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