Boys U15 (2012) Major 2 - Kildare

Kildare 3 -Naas 3.

With most matches in Kildare being called off due to the weather conditions it is no surprise that the weather played a significant role in a challenging morning for football.

Kildare started with the advantage of the wind and it was a significant advantage. Kick outs and clearances hung up in the breeze and clearing our lines was almost impossible when under pressure. We had warned the lads before hand of this and reminded them that the best way to overcome this was to play through the thirds and to keep the ball on the ground and indeed the first chance of the game fell to Naas following some good passing Kyle forced the keeper into a routine save.

The first fifteen minutes passed without much incident but a couple of warning signs were clear to see. Full backs on both sides were caught standing off their men allow them to turn and followed this up by hanging out lazy legs allowing the Kildare attackers to get round them easily. Konrad, Daniel and Cody provided good cover behind but a series of throws and corners were conceded and with the difficulty of clearing the ball we were being forced back more and more. Eventually the pressure told and Kildare scored from a corner that wasn't cleared.

We needed a response and to recognise that one goal wasn't the end of the world but the pattern of play remained the same. Some nice play released Fionn down the right hand channel and he was unlucky to see his shot held up by the wind and drop into the keeper's hands but it was a good sign that if we could start winning our battles we had the ability to play through Kildare. Unfortunately we weren't winning too many battles and another corner dropped in the box and Kildare were quickest to react. 2 -0.

Again 2 goals didn't seem like a massive margin given the conditions but we needed to see the game out to half time and looked like we would do so as we forced Kildare back to the edge of their box. Unfortunately Kildare were able to take a throw at the edge of the box and transfer the ball to the far end of the pitch with nobody engaging. A couple of half efforts at a tackle forced Daniel to have to leave his centre back position and concede a corner. The ref called last play and the need to switch on became urgent but it was obvious from the sideline that we hadn't and number 8 stood unmarked in the middle of the goals. The call went out to pick him up but nobody took responsibility for him and he met the cross and looped the ball over Ben to leave the score 3-0 at the break.

The half time team talk was an opportunity to remind the lads that the game wasn't over and that 3 goals was nothing but we also highlighted that the wind would win us nothing; we would have to play and get on the front foot from the start of the half. Anyone who has seen these lads play over the last couple of years knows that they never quit, never say die and play to the last minute. We were confident that we could come back but we would need the first goal to build momentum.

Elijah set the tone immediately, bursting onto the ball and carrying it into the box. Kildare scrambled to defend but the tone for the second half was set and from there the second half was the exact inverse of the first. Kildare struggled to clear. Naas were on the attack constantly but clear chances were at a premium. With Rioghan and Myles pushing higher from the full back positions we were able to win the ball higher up and Amin was proving a good oulet on the right. A small tactical change saw us push Cian up beside Kyle making us a 4-2-4 and this change had an immediate effect. As we pressed higher and with greater numbers we started winning more corners. Our delivery from the set pieces wasn't great as the extremely wide pitch and the wind made it difficult to get pace on the cross but Kildare struggled to get the ball away. It was from one of these corners that Cian picked the ball up and made space for his shot and struck to the bottom corner. 3-1. Game on.

Confidence was up and we were winning our battles everywhere on the pitch. Kildare were struggling to get out and when they did the back four stood solid. Konrad and Daniel's abilty to win ball and play out from the back kept us on the front foot and another piece of magic from Cian brought us back to 3-2. A superb lift of the ball over the keeper after being played in.

At this point we were completely in control and our enemy was the clock. A missing match ball broke our momentum but once play eventually resumed we were back to the task in hand. Another corner fell to Fionn in the box. He shifted the ball away from the defender and looped the ball over the keeper. 3-3.

With only minutes remaining Kildare conceded a series of throws and we attempted to create one last chance. Conor's corners kept Kildare defending and Kyle's ability to hold up the ball and bring the midfield into the game looked to be our most likely outlet. Nicholas picked the ball up at the edge of the area and slipped the ball to Fionn who shot. The keeper pushed the ball up and the wind took it towards goal but he recovered to hold on just before the ball crossed the line.

This proved to be the last chance of the game and to the relief of everyone the ref blew the final whistle a couple of minutes later. A frozen, windswept and wet pair of teams would probably agree that a draw was a fair result and we were left to wonder what might have been if we had been a little braver in the first half.

We are now unbeaten since the first game of the season and have scored 16 goals in the four games since our opening day defeat. This is a remarkable turn around given the inexperience of several new players that have joined the squad this year. We have gelled as a group very quickly and while there will be bigger challenges ahead the early indicators are that we will be very competitive again this season.

A special thanks to all the players and parents/supporters who braved the weather to cheer the lads on.