U10's do well against Limerick opposition!

U10 Games Versus Monaleen of Limerick, 16 March 2012

On the occasion of Limerick's league fixture against Dublin in Croke Park, we hosted a club  from Monaleen in Limerick for a series of 10-a-side matches. In total we managed to fit in one U8 match and three U10 matches in the time available to us (all matches were 18 minutes a half). The following reports are from the three U10 games. After the matches we hosted the visitors to tea and sandwiches in the function room at the club house where the catering was very capably led by Jo-Ann Durnin (Crowley) along with her team of helpers. Just before they departed, the visitors presented us with a lovely Monaleen club plaque as a memento of the day's events. We sent them on their way towards a happy result for them in Croke Park.

Game 1

H/T KC 4-1 Monaleen 1-1

F/T KC 5-2 Monaleen 3-2

Very good game. Monaleen had two strong players who were probably the best on the pitch but had a number of slightly weaker players and some difficulties in defending their goal line. Overall KC were the  stronger team in the 1st half. Many changes at half time impacted balance with Monaleen taking control for 3rd qtr. A few switches helped KC get back in game and end up deserving winners.

Game 2

H/T KC 0-2 Monaleen 0-1

F/T KC 2-5 Monaleen 0-1

Another very good game. KC dominated 1st half but struggled to turn possession into scores. Monaleen did have a mobile and dominant midfield player. In the 2nd half some switches to key positions allowed KC to work effectively as team counteracting the midfield threat and KC became more dominant as the game went on.In the latter stages of the match we saw better use of ground strokes also. 

Game 3

H/T KC 1-2 Monaleen 0-0

F/T KC 4-4 Monaleen 0-0

A good game for our lads but the score line doesn't do justice to a Monaleen team that put up a good fight in pretty much every part of the pitch. Two of our four points were from "65's" cleanly struck over the bar. Most impressive from this team was the use of pitch width and team play with a number of scores coming from running into the corners with subsequently crossed balls being well fielded and finished into or over the goal. To be fair to the Monaleen visitors, a significant number of them were U9 players and the higher average age on our all-U10 teams shouldn't be under-estimated for its impact on the days scorelines.

Match Reports: Brian Harrison & John Maguire