Fermoy - U15 Football Tournament Easter 2013 Match reports

Fermoy u15a football tournament Match Reports
by Joe O'Brien

Saturday 30th march 2013.
Early starts were the order of the day over the Easter weekend as our under 15s took to the pitch in Parc Mac Gearailt to compete in the Pa O'Brien memorial tournament.
Our first match threw in at 10.30 and our opponents were Gaultier.Despite netting in the first minute a few wides in succession suggested that our work would be cut out prising a result from a stubborn and tenacious Gaultier outfit.
However our superiority eventually became apparent as the first half progressed.Scores from among others,Paddy Flaherty,Dan O'Brien,Ryan Donnelly,and the tireless Jack Keating saw us take the half time break with a comfortable 3-3 to no score lead.
If the first half prompted us to think we'd have it all our own way,we were soon to realise that Gaultier had other ideas.They netted early in the second period, and from that put in a spirited display before Crokes began to re emerge as the controlling force.
Right through the team,competence,technical ability and focus began to shine through.More and more frequently Flaherty began to rise and collect in the middle.Mullin, Leonard and Gibbons exhibited the sharpest of responses around any loose ball while Cian Ryan Fermoy u15a football tournament
Saturday 30th march 2013.
Early starts were the order of the day over the Easter weekend as our under 15s took to the pitch in Parc Mac Gearailt to compete in the Pa O'Brien memorial tournament.
Our first match threw in at 10.30 and our opponents were Gaultier.Despite netting in the first minute a few wides in succession suggested that our work would be cut out prising a result from a stubborn and tenacious Gaultier outfit.
However our superiority eventually became apparent as the first half progressed.Scores from among others,Paddy Flaherty,Dan O'Brien,Ryan Donnelly,and the tireless Jack Keating saw us take the half time break with a comfortable 3-3 to no score lead.
If the first half prompted us to think we'd have it all our own way,we were soon to realise that Gaultier had other ideas.They netted early in the second period, and from that put in a spirited display before Crokes began to re emerge as the controlling force.
and Nathan linked up well turning possession into incisive attack.
Between Ryan Donnelly's sweeping runs accross the front line and Keating's breath-taking work rate and ball carrying, Gaultier were at a loss to know what to do or who to mark.All over the park excellent contributions from Jim Gibbons,Eoin Bleakley,and Michael Roche along with Niall's calm style of goalkeeping and clever distribution,ensured there was no mistake at the final whistle as Crokes emerged convincingly on a scoreline of 6-6 to 1-0.
In the second group match against Bóthar Buí­,Crokes moved from strength to strength.Jack Gallagher and Brian Carr started to move through the gears,dominating in possession and mopping up loose ball hungrily.All around the pitch assured performances flowed.David Dagg and Stephen Horgan eased their way into proceedings and the management were left in no doubt as to the strength in depth that this squad enjoys.
Among the scorers in this game were Flaherty,Keating,David Dagg and Adam kelly.This time the final scoreboard reflected a little more comfort not to mention total supremacy on the part of the impressive Crokes.
For the third match Crokes were afforded no rest period as the busy timetable required an immediate turnaround.Here our opponents were a stubborn Glanmire team and our slight leg-weariness was reflected in the time it took us to break the deadlock. The full of eight minutes had elapsed before scores from the rangy Matt Barry pulled us into an uneasy lead.Jack Keating added another point,well deserved for his insatiable work rate and desire for possession and to put the contest beyond question Leonard latched onto an excellent offload from Eoin Bleakely to set the net dancing and dislodge a few icicles from the crossbar.(Did I mention that it was BALTIC?!!!)
Assured displays in every position cemented our berth in the semi final,and if a weakness exists among this squad of twenty it wasn't apparent on these showings.
3.15 saw the ref toss in the ball to start our semi final against Sam Maguires.Early forays into our goal mouth saw Murray called into action more than once as this Maguires team sought to ruffle the feathers of this calm Crokes outfit.Mullin again lead by example with stout and selfless effort.Much the same offering from Leonard,Gibbons and Ryan as a trio excellently feeding Dagg,Stephen Horgan and Jack Gallagher,who in turn wasted very little in assissting scores from Donnelly,Keating,Matt Barry and indeed David Dagg himself.Around the pitch,other notable contributions came from Sean Conroy,Dan O'Brien,Flaherty,Kelly,Nolan and Jack Gallagher.Half time arrived showing Crokes with a lead of 1-5 to 0-2.The second half saw much huffing and puffing from a spirited Sam Maguires,but the assured calm of Sean Dunbar now firing on all cylinders in defence along with Murray and Mullin saw Crokes breast the tape comfortably on a 2-9 to 0-3 scoreline.
Only 30 minutes rest and Crokes were back on in search of a glorious victory.The early pattern of the game very much favored the able Kerins O Rahilly's team.In the opening half they enjoyed the lion's share of possession which saw our defence put in a mammoth shift with very little of the ball.They pointed after four minutes and again soon after from a free to go to the interval 0-2 to no score in the lead.That said,Crokes played into a considerable breeze and still held them to two scores,one from a free.The second period didn't start well for Crokes when only three minutes in the ref spotted an infringement in our goalmouth and flapped like an albatross to signify a penalty.Breaths were held as their impressive no. 14 stepped up.He struck cleanly low to Murrays left but Murray with cobra-like reflexes lowered himself rapidly to smother the attempt.Again soon after Murray was called on to block with his legs an attempt that would surely have wrapped things up in their favour.Our mid field sprung to life with Flaherty and Dagg beginning to find the forwards ,O Brien fed wide to Barry who found Kelly to record our first score with seven minutes left.More than once crokes looked to Nathan Nolan's steel resolve to snuff out any danger.Two minutes left,and Ryan Donnellyand Matt Barry post sublime scores to give us a one point lead with a minute to go.Tension reigned as the ball loosened in mid field.Flaherty pounced and fed Dan. O' Brien with laser precision dropped the ball into Barry wide on the right.From his angle the posts could have seemed no more than millimetres apart.John West wouldn't have squeezed a sardine in there.Barry had no such difficulty with a size five as he sent it soaring towards the grey skies.The ball dropped,the white flag rose,so did the arms of the Crokes supporters,and Pa O'Brien came up the M8 to Stillorgan.