CLERIHAN SCHOOLBOYS FC 3rd Dec
U12 SFAI CUP PILTOWN 1 CLERIHAN 0
Clerihan lost out on a place in the last 32 of the SFAI cup when they were defeated by a solitary goal after a thrilling game of football in Piltown. The home side got a dream start , scoring in the first minute , after some hesitant defending by the Clerihan lads. However , Clerihan quickly put that setback behind them and dominated the rest of the first half. Rian Quigley was at the centre of all Clerihan’s attacks and he combined well with Sean Cotter to stretch a solid Piltown defence. Unfortunately , neither could find the opening to really test the goalkeeper with many of the efforts hit from too far out. Cathal Ryan really made his mark in midfield , winning a lot of ball with solid tackling and breaking up some threatening situations. The second half continued in the same vein with Sean Cotter unlucky to see his volley from a Rian Quigley cross strike a defender while Rian himself burst into the penalty area but his shot was too close to the keeper who made a good save. As the efforts of the Clerihan lads began to take their toll, Piltown began to attack with grater frequency but the centre-back partnership of Conor McGrath and Daniel Fitzpatrick was outstanding and thwarted all that Piltown had to offer. With Clerihan committed to all-out attack , Daniel in particular made some crucial last-ditch tackles to prevent a second goal while goalkeeper Michael Cleary also made some smart saves to deny the home team. Clerihan just could’nt find the goal they needed and Piltown progress to the next round. Well done to the entire squad on a fine campaign which saw them conquer teams from Carlow , Wexford and Waterford. and to coaches Mark and Gerry who had the team well-trained and organised.
U16 LEAGUE CLERIHAN 1 CAHIR PARK 0
The U16s achieved their best result of the season to date when they defeated Cahir Park by a single goal at a very muddy community field on Saturday. The visitors were reduced to ten men early in the game after a bad tackle with Adam Taylor-Fahy picking up a costly yellow card for his protests. Clerihan took the lead when Sean Hahessy headed home a Rory Maher corner midway through the first half and had further chances to put the game out of sight but failed to take them. A second yellow card for Adam Taylor-Fahy early in the second half saw both teams down to ten men and Cahir began to dominate. Not for the first time this season , goalkeeper Liam Powell was outstanding and kept a well-deserved clean sheet. Rhys McMorrow was the best player on the pitch , making light of the dreadful conditions to get up and down the pitch all game long. This was a welcome good result for the squad who have kept at it despite some shattering defeats and just shows that the talent is there .
U10A LEAGUE CLONMEL TOWN A 4 CLERIHAN 3
This was a real thriller at the Clonmel Town complex on Sunday morning with the standard of football very high for this age group. Town took an early lead from a corner and Daragh Hurley was really unlucky not to get an equaliser when his shot hit the post. Two quick goals before half-time looked to have Town in an unassailable position at 3-0 but Daragh Hurley pulled one back just before the break. A brilliant strike from Ryan Walsh made it 3-2 and Clerihan looked the more likel;y to score again at this stage. However , a costly defensive lapse restored Town’s two goal lead before Daragh Hurley smashed home another great goal to set up a thrilling finish. This was a fine game with the tremendous work-rate of the Clerihan lads again evident and almost salvaging what looked like a lost cause. Jack Fitzpatrick was outstanding in defence and has to get the man-of-the-match for the number of times he denied Town’s attackers.
CLERIHAN SCHOOLBOYS FC 26th Nov
U13A LEAGUE ST. KEVINS 0 CLERIHAN 2
The U13s travelled to Two-Mile-Borris on Saturday morning and came away with the three points after a much improved performance. A resolute Clerihan defence restricted the home side to only a few half-chances while , on the one occasion a Kevins attacker looked likely to score , goalkeeper Eoin Power advanced well and forced him to shoot wide. Alan O’Donnell was the man-of-the-match and also scored the opening goal to settle the team. Glenn Cullinane scored Clerihan’s other goal to secure the win while Clerihan also had two efforts rebound off the crossbar and away to safety. Hopefully , the team can bring this improved form into the next match.
U13B LEAGUE CLERIHAN 1 CASHEL TOWN 3
Clerihan’s first half performance was very satisfying as the team played their best football of the season. There was a major improvement in ball retention and passing while the players also held their positions on the field much better than in recent games. Daragh Bolger gave Clerihan a deserved lead with a great strike from the edge of the penalty area but a goal from a free-kick got the visitors back on level terms before half-time. Sadly , the second half saw a drop in standard from the Clerihan lads as Cashel pushed on for a winner. Goalkeeper Michael Cleary made a great save in a one-on-one situation and was really unlucky to see the ball rebound off the attacker and trickle over the line. The third goal had more than a hint of offside about it and closed out the game but the focus for the Clerihan lads must be to maintain the first half form for the full game.
U11A LEAGUE CAHIR PARK 1 CLERIHAN 4
The stand-out display of the weekend came from the U11s who made it two away wins from two with a really good effort in Cahir. Clerihan adapted well to the difficult pitch and it came as no surprise when Cormac Freier turned a brilliant Aidan Hayes cross into the net after ten minutes. The same players combined again before half-time , Cormac attacking a great delivery from Aidan to volley to the net and double Clerihan’s lead. Cahir pulled a goal back early in the second half but , when Anthony Phelan’s shot hit the post , Denis Mulcahy was on hand to restore the two-goal advantage. Anthony himself scored the fourth to cap a man-of-the-match display although he was pushed close for that by both Brian O’Sullivan and Riain Bolton.
U9 BLITZ
The U9s took part in a blitz on Sunday morning at the Clonmel Town complex. The Clerihan panel was : Hugh Fitzgerald, Oisin Dempsey, Donncha Keeley , Kieran O’Donnell, Danny Dunne , Riain Casey and Killian O’Keeffe. They played three matches of 20 minutes duration each and will have learned a lot from the experience. Some highlights were the tremendous goalkeeping of Hugh Fitzgerald and the non-stop running of Danny Dunne while Oisin Dempsey will remember the fine goal he scored with a sweet strike to the roof of the net.
U8 BLITZ
The U8s took to the pitch at 1 o’clock for their blitz , many playing their first ever competitive soccer match. This is a very youg Clerihan panel with half the boys eligible again for U8 next year. The panel on the day was : Jake Coen, Caoimhin Lonergan, Ben Power, Evan Kiely, Charlie Hackett , Dara O’Meara , Keelan Hanrahan, Robert Cleary and Sam Power. Everybody played really well and , hopefully , we will have a similar outing in a few weeks time.
