Although it was a damp day yesterday, it didn’t stop the parents and their U8 & 10’s along with their mentors travel to near neighbours Athenry where these youngsters took on the hosts in another mini soccer blitz. No one went to get the shopping done while the youngsters played as is sometimes the case when we all try to be economical with our time, in fact every parent stayed around to see their budding Ronaldos in action. The coaches were aiming to test some of the passing and tackling ideas tried out at training. The photo of Gary Lally below justifies that as his modern method of online coaching and tactics on the sideline paid dividends with his team as he used assistants Lee Murphy & Ronan Carr to good effect as he studied the match tactics on the phone. His team ran out worthy winners in all 3 games but Athenry really put them to the test. Team A: Cian Ruane, Kyle Concannon, Ross Lally, Jamie Lally, Jonah Donnellan, Ryan Concannon, Anthony Feeney, Cian Cleary. It was a good overall team effort with a strong spine right through the middle.
Team B managed by Robbie Parker also saw a solid line up with much of the traffic geared towards the Athenry goal. They distributed the ball neatly and paid great attention to the instruction shouted in from the line. Team: Jason Rabbitte, Josh Buckley, Rachel Greally, Diarmuid Ryan, Eoin Keague, Benjamin Gacquin, Eanna Burke, Rowan Burke, Conor Walsh, Conor Laffey. They won their first 2 games well & lost a more evenly contested third game 5-3 as all players contributed significantly in their performance.
Team C managed by Jayo Finn didn’t make life too easy either for Athenry as they won all 3 games and out muscled the opposition in every 50/50 ball. They defended resolutely and were tireless in their chasing of the ball. Panel: Thomas Mellody, David Walsh, Adam Cleary, Joe Carroll, Eoghan Ryan, Darren Moran, James Queeney & Daniel Lydon. So another good day out and superbly enjoyed by players, parents and mentors alike and a new definition to underage tactics!!
