Boys U12 (2014) Prem - Clane

Naas started the match with a brief spell of pressure, but the game quickly devolved into a frantic, back-and-forth midfield battle.

• 7th Minute: Clane registered the first real warning sign with a sharp shot across goal. Naas goalkeeper Oisín made a strong parry, pushing it out to the penalty spot, where Liam was on hand to clear the danger. Shortly after, Oisín handled a routine shot comfortably.

• 8th Minute: Naas found some joy on the wings. A cross fell to Danny in midfield, but his long-range effort sailed over the crossbar.

• 14th Minute: Clane completely dominated the set-piece count, racking up corners into the double digits. A major scare for Naas arrived in the 18th minute when an initial Clane shot was parried by Oisín straight into the path of an oncoming striker. With a wide-open goal, the Clane forward somehow struck the post before Naas scrambled it away for another unfruitful corner.

• 25th Minute: The game began to open up. Clane had the ball in the net after being played clean through, but the linesman’s flag rescued Naas for offside. Naas immediately countered as Danny drove through the center of midfield but shot wide. Minutes later, Daragh drove into the box but mirrored the sequence, driving his shot wide.

•29th Minute: Naas enjoyed their best spell of the half. Daragh sent Conor down the wing, who squared beautifully to Felix, only for the Clane keeper to block the effort. Just before the whistle, Conor won the ball well in midfield, exchanged passes with Daragh, and set up Felix again, but the shot was blocked, sending the teams into the break scoreless. The second half mirrored the first—scrappy, messy, and dominated by long, direct clearances from defense.

• Early Second Half: Clane broke quickly from a Naas corner, forcing Oisín into a brilliant finger-tip save over the crossbar.

• 33rd Minute [GOAL]: The deadlock was finally broken. Clane capitalized on a Naas turnover, breaking straight through the spine of the midfield. The Clane attacker let fly with a shot that squeezed under Oisín’s arms, clipped the post, and nestled into the back of the net. (0-1)

• 37th Minute: Naas looked to respond. A high ball was headed by Finn, but it inadvertently dropped perfectly for a Clane striker, who fortunately dragged his shot wide.

• 45th Minute: Naas squandered a golden opportunity when Dara floated a cross to Conor, who headed over the bar. Moments later, Felix spearheaded a counter-attack with both Dara and Conor free, but the final pass failed to materialize.

• 47th Minute: Disaster was averted for Naas when a direct ball completely unlocked their defense. The Clane striker rounded the onrushing Oisín and looked certain to score, but a heroic, brilliant recovery tackle from Liam saved a certain goal.

• 51st Minute: Naas kept pushing. Conor brought down a great pass from Oisín, beating his defender before being blocked. Moments later, Danny threaded a brilliant through-ball into the box, but it was judged just a fraction offside. Felix then had a half-chance but scuffed his effort.

• Late Stages: In the dying minutes, Conor was played down the wing. Showing a lovely first touch and great determination, he opted for a tight-angle shot just wide. Conor took down a kick out from Oisin and played Daragh through but the shot was blocked just before the referee blew the whistle for full-time.