CLERIHAN SCHOOLBOYS FC

 

U13A LEAGUE   CLERIHAN   0  CLONMEL TOWN  2

 

The Clerihan lads produced a fine performance on the last day of 2011 but still went down to an unlucky defeat at the hands of Clonmel Town. A slow start was to cost Clerihan dearly as poor defending allowed a Town attacker a clear run at goal on 10 minutes and , although goalkeeper Eoin Power got a hand to the shot , he could not keep it out of his net. Alan O’Donnell then got a firm grip of the midfield and proceeded to give a master class in how the game should be played. He was ably assisted by both Aidan Phelan and Shane Hickey and Clerihan began to pose more of a threat going forward. However , despite the best efforts of Liam McGrath , the home side could find no way through and the Town goalkeeper was largely untroubled. The second half saw Clerihan on top for long periods. Rian Quigley and Daniel Fitzpatrick snuffed out the attacking threat from Town but Clerihan still failed to create that elusive goalscoring opportunity. A second goal from the visitors on the stroke of full time following a goalmouth scramble really flattered them and was rough justice for a young Clerihan outfit that had impressed greatly.

 

U13B  LEAGUE   CLERIHAN  0  CLONMEL CELTIC  1

 

A last-minute goal saw Clonmel Celtic take all three points after a disappointing game at the community field on the final day of 2011. Clerihan started brightly and had plenty of possession in the Celtic half. However , there is a real lack of firepower in this squad and the only shot of note came from Seamus McMahon who was unlucky to see his well-struck effort come back off the post. Celtic looked far more threatening when they attacked, breaking through the centre of the Clerihan defence at will , only to be let down by some poor finishing and good goalkeeping from Michael Cleary. Considering that they had conceded eight goals to the same opposition a few months ago , Clerihan would have been happy enough to reach half-time on level terms. This seemed to inspire a greater effort from some in the second half with Daragh Bolger particularly outstanding and looking the one most likely to break the deadlock. However , some decent approach play was ruined by speculative shooting from distance which never troubled the Celtic goalkeeper. With the final whistle looming , Celtic capitalised on more weak defending to score the decisive goal and leave the Clerihan lads with nothing to show for their efforts.

 

U14 NSL     CLERIHAN  1  BIRDHILL  4

 

Clerihan suffered their first defeat of the season on the first Monday of  2012  and there was no argument  about it as Birdhill were by far the better team. Quicker to the ball and more physical in the challenge , the visitors caused no end of problems for the Clerihan lads. Despite this , Clerihan had probably the best chance of the first half when Luke Hahessy just dragged his effort wide of the far post after escaping the clutches of his marker. Birdhill stepped up the pressure after the break and Eoin Power made a fine save from point-blank range with Conor Horan clearing the rebound off the line. The opening goal arrived minutes later , a Birdhill attacker just getting a touch before Tom Sheehan to steer the ball to the net. Clerihan responded well and Sean Maher hit a wonderful shot which looked destined for the top corner only for the goalkeeper to bring off an outstanding save. When a Luke Hahessy shot was blocked down , John Alan Lowes sent a beautiful effort over the goalkeeper and into the net to bring the teams level. However , Birdhill finished much the stronger and ran through an over-worked Clerihan defence for three more goals , although one was scored by an attacker in a blatantly offside position. It is to be hoped that the lads will put this setback behind them quickly  and regroup for next Saturday’s game with Templemore

CLERIHAN SCHOOLBOYS FC

 

U11A LEAGUE   CLERIHAN   1   PEAKE VILLA   1

 

An exciting game between two closely-matched sides ended with honours even at the Clerihan all-weather pitch on Saturday morning. The opening exchanges were fairly frantic with neither side creating any goalscoring opportunities. It was the Thurles lads who took the lead after 15 minutes, a sweet strike to the bottom corner giving goalkeeper Aidan Lonergan no chance. Clerihan responded well and Anthony Phelan was unlucky on a couple of occasions with well-struck shots that just missed the target. The second half saw Clerihan take control with Brian O’Sullivan and Cormac Freier putting more pressure on the Villa defence. The equaliser duly arrived, Cormac Freier playing a lovely ball through to Denis Mulcahy who volleyed superbly to the net. Clerihan had a great chance to win it but man-of-the-match Anthony Phelan just put his shot wide from close range. Peake Villa also had a chance but Aidan Lonergan made a wonderful save from point-blank range. A draw was probably the right result on the day and the Clerihan lads can look forward with confidence to the resumption of action in the new year.

 

 

U12A LEAGUE    ST KEVINS  3  CLERIHAN  9

 

The U12s went on a scoring spree at Two-Mile-Borris on Saturday afternoon when they resumed league activity after their prolonged run in the National cup. Ace striker Sean Cotter scored a first-half hat-trick while goals from Callum Meagher and Seamus McMahon made it 5-0 to Clerihan at the break. Sean Cotter got his fourth goal in the second half while Rian Quigley, Liam McGrath and Jack O’Rourke completed the scoring for Clerihan. St.Kevins finished much better than they started and got through for three late goals but there was never any doubt about the outcome with all the Clerihan lads superb on the day. This was a great way to wrap things up for 2011 and the squad can face some tough fixtures in the new year with plenty of confidence.

 

POSTPONED

The U16s game in Bansha was called off early on Saturday morning with the Bansha pitch unplayable while dangerous road conditions meant that Birdhill were unable to travel to Clerihan for their U14 game.