St Joseph’s Futsal
The inaugural St.Joseph’s Futsal tournament took place last week in Drum Community Centre and proved to be a huge success with players and supporters enjoying nearly 3 hours of non-stop excitement. Team captains, Peter Foley, Mark Moloney, Patrick O’Brien, Cian Mulvey and Ciaran Tumulty led their sides through a league format of ten matches which were tightly contested by the well-matched teams followed by a grand final for the top two teams. At the end of a thrilling competition, the Lions claimed the overall honours and Peter Foley gratefully accepted the new trophy on behalf of his team. Winners and runners-up received individual trophies and medals were awarded to all others. The Player of the Tournament award went to Denji Adeleye on the winning team, while Kealan Kilroy took the commitment award. Anne Callinan of event sponsor Callinan Family Butchers and ADSL chairman Padraig Quinn shared the presentations and were thanked for their generous support by club chairman Tony Flannery. Padraig Quinn remarked on the fantastic skill and commitment displayed by all the young players and complimented St.Joseph’s on their staging of the event.
U11 Div1: St Joseph’s Bears 2 Connaught Celtic 2
This was a well contested game where St Joseph’s gave the league leaders a real fright and were unlucky not to come away with all 3 points in the end. The game started at a very fast pace and St Joseph’s had two great early chances which they failed to convert. A quick break by Connaught Celtic then almost lead to the opening goal but the final shot was deflected onto the crossbar. St Joseph’s showed great commitment throughout the first half with every player doing their bit for the team. Patrick O’Brien covered every inch of the pitch and was an inspiration to the rest of the team, however despite plenty of goal mouth action the score remained at 0-0 until half time. Early in the second half St Joseph’s broke the deadlock through Ruairi Lenehan who finished well after breaking through the Celtic defense. Alex Francis then put St Joseph’s 2-0 up with an excellent free kick. To their credit, Connaught Celtic never gave up and with 5 minutes to go the deficit was reduced one goal. St Joseph’s looked like holding out for the win but a last minute goal from Connaught Celtic ensured that the spoils were shared. Despite the last minute disappointment this young side can hold their heads high after a super all round team performance.
U13 Div1 : St Francis 3 St Joseph’s 3
St Joseph’s failed to convert their early first half dominance into goals and found themselves 2-0 down after 15 minutes. For the second game in succession an excellent defensive tackle by Gary Manion was harshly penalized with the award of a spot kick and again for the second game in succession St Joseph’s were then caught on the break as St Francis doubled their lead. The St Joseph’s spirit was not broken however, and wave after wave of attack was finally rewarded before half time as the very impressive Damola Akinfaye crossed the ball for Dylan Earle to slot home with a cool finish. After conceding a third goal early in the second half St Joseph’s showed great character and fighting spirit and with 10minutes remaining, Stephen Alayande, who grew in confidence throughout the game, pulled one back with a fine finish after a neat passing move down the left side. A draw was the least that St Joseph’s deserved from this game and their persistence paid off as Keelan Quinn grabbed the equalizer with 2 minutes to go. Relief in the end for St Joseph’s but in truth had it not been for taking that extra touch or trying to beat that extra man on too many occasions, the visitors should have had the game wrapped up with time to spare. A special mention must also go out to Eoin Hannon who had a great game at left full back. |