Our academy has gone from strength to strength in the last while and this was epitomised yesterday in the football standard seen between Kiltulla & Colemanstown in a mini blitz between the 2 sides. Our academy has worked very well due in no small way to the expertise, dedication and hard work of all our academy coaches. Colemanstown fielded 2 teams of players born 2007 & 2008 to take on Kiltulla at home yesterday morning.
Team A: Fionn Flattery, Ronan Screene, Josh Buckley, Darren Moran, Joshua McDonnell, Cillian Roche, Jonah Donnellan, Nathan Mannion, Cathal Keane, Eoghan Ryan, Diarmuid Ryan, Donagh Keogh
In their first game towering midfielder Cillian Roche cut in from the right and finished a classic top corner job. 2mins later Kiltulla levelled matters as the ball took a deflection off our defence following a goalmouth scramble. Josh Buckley made two quick saves in goals, one was as good as the other, while Jonah Donnellan headed the ball off the line. Kiltulla scored 2 late goals to grab the win in game 1, one of which was a well taken penalty although Josh Buckley guessed correctly.
In their 2nd game Colemanstown found themselves 2-0 up after 8mins; Jonah Donnellan with the first from just outside the box and Eoghan Ryan who finished into the bottom corner. Josh McDonnell who played in goal for the 2nd game, made a great save from close range while the follow up play somehow seen the ball swept away from the goalmouth by Kiltulla despite the best efforts of Cathal Keane, Fionn Flattery & Ronan Screene. Nathan Mannion scored No.3 when he slide in to connect to a cross from Darren Moran and timed his finish superbly having listened to a 10second individual coaching session just before that from ref David Gilligan. Jonah Donnellan scored the 4th 12mins in. Kiltulla weren’t finished though and came right back into the game. They were sparked to life when their unmarked striker tapped in from close range. Kiltulla scored 2 more before full time to set up a nervy finish for these young budding Ronaldos as the towering Diarmuid Ryan continued to shine throughout the game.
Team B: Sean Connolly, James Queeney, Shane Quirke, Conor Walsh, Daniel Lydon, Ross Lally, Cian Burke, David Walsh, Cathal Kennedy, Alex Kelly, Tiernan Malone, Aaron Lynsey.
Conor Walsh had the first chance at goal but his effort was saved. Cian Burke then saw his effort deflected out for a corner while David Walsh had a good cross which went across the face of goal but was unlucky that no one connected. David Walsh came close again after a precision pass from Shane Quirke while Conor Walsh was unlucky after superb defending by Cian Burke & James Queeney. Ross Lally got stuck in well but had to retire early due to an injured leg. The sole goal came from a David Walsh effort which originated from James Queeney. Cian Burke was clean through on goal after good individual play but hit straight at the keeper. Ross Lally was re-introduced and tried hard to get on the scoring sheet while Alex Kelly, Tiernan Malone & Aaron Lynsey in goal did well.
Late arrival Donagh Keogh made it on time for part of game 2. David Walsh’s early effort hit the crossbar after good work from Conor Walsh; then Cathal Kennedy came to the rescue as he cleared the ball off the line 3 times. Kiltulla scored to even up things as Aaron Lynsey went off injured and Cathal Kennedy took on the mantle of goalkeeper for the remainder of the game. Kiltulla scored as the ball just about dribbled over the line and soon after they hit the post following some mis-communication at the back from Colemanstown. Our boys deserved parity though and it came in the form of Conor Walsh whose shot across the keeper found the bottom corner. Kiltulla scored again, this time from a Colemanstown kick out which they won at midfield and dribbled all the way beating the Colemanstown defence to finish well. Conor Walsh levelled matters yet again before Cian Burke found, what looked like the winner as he cut inside the defender and made no mistake with his finish. However, Kiltulla had the final say as they levelled up the game to finish 3-3.
Well done to both panels who thoroughly enjoyed their days work and played out of their skins. Thanks to Kiltulla for travelling and needless to say it takes a huge amount of organisation on a voluntary basis to make a mini blitz like this a reality for the kids. Thanks to Jason Finn & Orla McCaffrey for managing both teams. Thanks also to budding reporters Shane Burke & Elaine Walsh for the match notes on the day.