Match Report – Under 14 Roinn 6 Round 1

Clonard 7-10 St. Colmcilles 0-8

On a very dull and overcast April evening Clonard’s under 14 squad made the long trip to Piltown for this round 1 fixture against the Meath seasiders, St. Colmcilles.

Many would say that all fixtures are significant, but this fixture had some extra significance. For the first time in 10 years Clonard were fielding independently at this level after many years of successful amalgamation with neighbours Longwood. The growing numbers joining ‘Clonard Óg’ over the past five years may not yet have reached this age group but the general feeling of positivity and pride in the club certainly has. It was also the first fixture for this group who will have the huge honour of competing in this year’s National Féile Peile na nÓg competition on the weekend of 29th June. Their group opposition will be previous partners Longwood, along with a Tyrone club, and French champions Brittany.  No less than 176 boys teams and 112 girls teams from all over the world will take part in the famous tournament, being hosted in Meath, Louth and Down this year.

There were also new under-age coaches in place as club stalwart Niall Walsh answered the juvenile committee’s call for coaching assistance in the growing under-age ranks of the club and took up the ‘bainisteoir’ role with this Féile team. Alongside him is current adult player Jason Dowdall and together they bring plenty of football experience and knowledge to the coaching of this young team, not to mention three All-Ireland medals between them. They are also joined by Ken Darby who was on holidays for their maiden fixture. Walsh’s pre-match dressing room talk spoke about discipline and enjoyment, certainly two key factors for any successful GAA team.

The Duleek-Bellewstown referee, Liam O’Brien, threw in the ball in this 13-a-side match and the young Clonard team impressed immediately. James Connolly won possession from the throw and surged forward to deliver a dangerous ball in to his forwards on the edge of the square, only for them to be denied by tenacious home team defending and two consecutive blocks on the goal-line. It would have been the perfect start.

But they were not deterred and within a minute centre forward Ciaran Murray found possession and duly kicked over the black spot. Things were to get even better for Murray and Clonard as he found the back of the net in the fourth minute, quickly followed by a goal from corner forward Shane Kelly. Only four minutes had elapsed and Clonard led 3-1 to 0-1. It was the perfect start after all.

St. Colmcilles battled hard to their credit and were denied certain goals of their own by Clonard goalkeeper Niall McHugh, who made several point-blank saves when goals seemed certain. The 11-year old’s distribution from kickouts were also exceptional as he consistently found a team mate to setup multiple Clonard attacks. These Clonard attacks were reaping rewards as Ciaran Murray added his second goal with a fine finish low to the net, and further scores followed with points from James Connolly (2) and Dylan Duignan. Full forward Keelan Scott wasn’t to be outdone by his fellow forwards as he also found the net with a powerful finish. The physical Scott was proving a handful for the young St. Colmcilles defenders.

Clonard’s midfield pairing of Aaron McElhinney and James Connolly were dominating matters around the middle. The hard-working McElhinney was turning over possession with some tough tackling and Connolly was displaying all the attributes of a complete footballer, scoring comfortably with both feet and fetching fine high balls on numerous occasions. In defence the Clonard backs also displayed all the required qualities, as Conor McRedmond, Andrew Hannon, Kai Moloney, Daragh Weldon and John Doyle marshalled their opposition superbly. As the half time whistle sounded Clonard led, 4-6 to 0-2. Albeit a fine first half, it was a little harsh on the young ‘Cilles’ side who could have four goals of their own, only for some fine goalkeeping by McHugh.

There was no let-up from Clonard as the second half commenced and in almost identical fashion to the first they found the net three times inside the first five minutes.  It all but ended the opposition challenge as Dylan Duignan scored his first goal at this level followed by two quickfire finishes to the net by midfielder James Connolly.

The score of the match was yet to come as another quick kick-out from McHugh found Aaron McElhinney on the right-hand side-line. He surged forward to deliver a fine long pass to Dylan Duignan in the corner. Duignan collected a difficult high-ball, turned and duly slotted over from a tight angle. A great team score.

St. Colmcilles may now have known that the win was beyond them, but they kept working hard and were rewarded with some fine points from distance at the other end. But the game was to finish as it had started, with consecutive Clonard scores, as Connolly and Murray kicked two points to leave the final score-line, Clonard 7-10 St. Colmcilles 0-8.

As the boys made their way off the pitch they were proudly met by their travelling parents, who could not contain their smiles, and why would they as they were given plenty of reasons to be happy and proud. They know it won’t always be a performance and result like this one, but one they should certainly savour and remember. As for team management, they know the same, but what a debut.

TEAM: Niall McHugh,  Daragh Weldon,  John Doyle,  Conor McRedmond,  Andrew Hannon,  Kai Moloney,  James Connolly (2-6),  Aaron McElhinney,  Gavin Quirke,  Ciaran Murray (2-3 0-1f),  Dylan Duignan (1-1),  Shane Kelly (1-0),  Keelan Scott (1-0).

SUBS: Rourk Shaw for Shane Kelly