Boys U17 (2009) Premier - Monasterevin

Match Report

LFA U17 Cup – Naas AFC 7-0 Monasterevin

Date: 27/09/2025

A last-minute venue change and torrential rain might have unsettled some teams, but for these Naas AFC mentality monsters, it only served as fuel. The boys answered any questions about their mindset in just 36 seconds – a perfectly weighted through ball from Dawid Kolter found Conor Fagan, who timed his run superbly before slotting home for the opener.

Barely three minutes later, it was almost a repeat. This time, Fagan’s effort was saved, but Sean Onwere was quickest to react, smashing in the rebound to make it 2-0.

Monasterevin were gifted a golden chance on 8 minutes, somehow missing from six yards, and that let Naas know the game wasn’t over yet. The match entered a scrappy phase, but Kolter began to shine. He forced a double save on 20 minutes and stung the keeper’s hands again soon after. At the other end, Alex Higgins produced two excellent stops to ensure Naas went into half-time 2-0 up.

The second half saw changes that made an instant impact. Ryan Murtagh announced himself by rifling a thunderous effort into the top corner for 3-0, before almost pulling off an outrageous overhead kick. On 50 minutes, Kolter finally got his goal, this time set up by Matthew Greene, to make it 4-0.

Naas were in full flow. Thady Gilltrap, assisted by Fagan, smashed home another stunner into the top corner on 55 minutes. Just a minute later, Murtagh’s cross found Mattias Azzopardi, but the keeper denied him with a strong save.

The goals kept coming. On 60 minutes, Liam O’Shea slipped a clever pass through for Fagan, who coolly finished for his second of the day. And to cap things off, Isaac Cramer showed dazzling footwork to carve out space before smashing home Naas’s seventh.

The final whistle confirmed a resounding 7-0 victory. But beyond the scoreline, this was a true team performance: Higgins solid between the posts, the defensive pairing of Jake Dooley and Jack Tilly forming a wall, and Huey Phelan dictating tempo alongside Kolter and O’Shea. Jake Pitt Byrne produced his best performance to date, full of energy and determination, while Jack Campbell linked play brilliantly in attack, knitting the forward line together. Add to that the relentless energy of Brody Power, the pressing of Azzopardi, the power of Onwere, and the clinical finishing of Fagan, Murtagh, and Cramer, and Naas were simply unstoppable.