Boys U16 (2010) Premier - Suncroft
Naas powered their way into the next round of the KDUL Cup today by knocking-out the cup holders, Suncroft, in emphatic style on the Kerdiffstown astro pitch.
Despite missing several players through injury, the home team had the upper hand throughout this absorbing cup-tie and the 4-2 victory was fully deserved against a resolute and hard working Suncroft team.
Naas started very brightly and carved out a few decent chances early on, but Suncroft somehow scored against the run of play on 15 minutes following an unfortunate mix up in the Naas defence. Naas responded very positively and created several more chances, playing some lovely football at times. It was only a matter of time before the equalising goal came and, on 25 minutes, a fantastic pass from Conor Murtagh carved open the Suncroft defence to release Jack O’Brien who calmly slotted it home into the bottom left corner to leave the scores level at half-time. Game on.
Naas came charging out of the blocks at the start of the second half and Suncroft were immediately on the back foot again. A sublime corner from the impressive Max Galvin broke to Conor Murtagh who curled a left foot shot into the Suncroft net from the corner of the box to make it 2-1. The keeper had no chance. Suncroft were now on the ropes and were struggling to deal with the pace and movement of the Naas front three. In midfield, Naas captain James Collins and the magnificent Matthew McCarthy were now in complete control. Daniel Oke marshalled the Naas defence superbly and very little got past him and his fellow defenders Fred Cowdell, Max Galvin and the versatile wing back Evan Moriarty.
Two more goals inevitably followed for Naas. Conor Murtagh scored his second with a drive from outside the box into the bottom right corner and then Jack O’Brien scored his second by racing onto a pass from Sean Stafford who put in a decent shift across a few positions today. A brace of goals each, and assists shared between Murtagh and O’Brien, supported by the tireless Ned Keogh who had a fine game in leading the line, up-front.
The game became a bit scrappy at 4-1 and the referee felt obliged to issue a few yellow cards to players on both sides. Naas coaches sent on Cormac Donegan and Cian Leonard with a view to regaining our composure and our control of the game – job done!
While Suncroft scored very late on, the outcome of this cup tie was never really in doubt.
A special mention to our Man of the Match – Evan Malone – who bravely stepped in as our Goalkeeper today at very short notice. On the few occasions that our defence was breached, Evan was on hand to pull off some world-class saves, and his ball control and passes out from the back were the start to many of our attacking moves.
In summary, one of our best performances of the season and the 13 lads available today all played their part. The team now progresses, with renewed confidence, to the next round of The Cup.
