Boys U15 (2011) Premier - Kilcullen

KDUL U15 Cup

Naas AFC 1 - Kilcullen 0

After a half hour delay the U15 Premier teams highly anticipated Cup match with Kilcullen kicked off at 1pm on Pitch 2.

Naas were very sharp from the start. As early as the second minute Dara o Shea played a through ball on which Conor Gillespie showed real pace and strength to overtake the Kilcullen left back and force an excellent save from the Kilcullen keeper.

Over the next 15 minutes aided by a strong breeze Naas kept pressing. The team were playing quality retention football with Team Captain for this fixture Jamie Byrnes dictating play in midfield while Roddy Cummins, Conor Gillespie and Dara o Shea were causing all sorts of challenges for the Kilcullen defence in attack.

Naas won a number of corners which were all beautifully flighted by Roddy one of which saw Tyler Glesson being unlucky to see a ball that broke to him go past the right hand post from his strike.

On the following corner Roddy was desperately unlucky to see his delivery come back out of the inside of the back post and unfortunately it did not fall to a Naas player.

The team continued to dominate for the remainder of the half. Further chances were being created with Roddy Cummins, Conor Gillespie and Dara o Shea who were all outstanding throughout the match linking brilliantly, pressing together and carrying a constant threat.

After suffering the blow of losing our Captain Sean Durnin to a nasty eye injury playing Basketball at school on Thursday both Ilya Cerepanovs and Tyler Gleeson along with the ever consistent Henry Walsh were all performing and playing the team back on the front foot when called upon in defence.

Unfortunately as half time approached Naas could not find the goal the quality of their performance merited.

As the second half started any concerns we may have had in relation to playing into the strong breeze were passing quickly. With pitch 2 in excellent condition the players continued to pass and move with intent in all areas of the pitch.

Jamie Byrnes who was also once again outstanding throughout the match was by now finding his midfield colleague Fabio Kolakowski positively coming into the match. Senan (Florian) Browne who played as CDM was also now using his impressive skillset to pick really telling passes to keep the team moving forward.

Naas won a further corner 10 minutes into the 2nd Half. The ball was again beautifully flighted and this time it was met with a perfectly guided header from Jamie Byrnes to the bottom corner of the Kilcullen net. This was no more than the team deserved and for Jamie who really showed what being a team Captain is all about today in setting and demanding high standards from his team mates throughout the match.

Naas continued to dominate and had reduced Kilcullen to pumping long balls mainly from their Goalkeeper down on top of our defence.

After a solid first half display from Kai Hammersley at right back Jayden O Sullivan was now showing really well in this area with his impressive passing skills also helping to keep the team moving forward.

Ilya Cerepanoves and Tyler Gleeson continued to both really impress at Centre Back. There was a general consensus among coaches and supporters on the sideline that this was Tyler's very best performance to date in a Naas AFC Jersey.

15 minutes into the 2nd half the team was dealt a real blow with Dara o Shea coming off due to a shin injury. Sean Cooke came in and worked hard for the team for a 10 minute spell before also departing with injury. Finn Ryan then came in and also performed really impressively showing a lot of composure on the ball and real grit working back.

This shows the level of depth we have within this Premier team at present.

Naas continued to play all the football through this remaining period. Conor Gillespie set Roddy Cummins away with a perfectly weighted left foot pass. Roddy cut inside the right back and saw his curling shot agonisingly go just past the left hand post with the excellent Kilcullen keeper well beaten.

As the match reached the final minute Naas could not find the second goal their display so richly deserved. As we entered injury time Kilcullen put their only real attack of note together and when the ball broke in favour of their striker he hit a very well struck shot only for Alec Walsh to make an absolutely brilliant save to put the ball past the post.

After Naas cleared the danger from the corner that followed Alec's save the full time whistle blew.

Alec deserves huge credit. While his box management was excellent throughout the match he was a virtual spectator for long periods of the game. To maintain his concentration and produce a save of that quality when called upon was most impressive.

An outstanding Naas display by some distance the teams most impressive full 70 minutes of the season.

The players now know their standards and move forward to the Cup 1/4 Finals. There is so much for this group to play for in the remainder of the season.

We all would like to wish our Captain Sean Durnin a very speedy recovery and will hopefully have him back within the group for the upcoming fixtures.

Best for Naas today on a day when no player performed below at least a 7 out of 10 rating were

Roddy Cummins

Conor Gillespie

Jamie Byrnes

Ilya Cerepanovs

Tyler Gleeson

Alec Walsh

Dara o Shea

Henry Walsh