Junior Soccer
AAAFC Junior B team continued their excellent league form with a tense win in Southill Vs Southend United. With three teams going up to Division 1A this is a great opportunity for the Junior B team to gain a first ever place in Division 1A. The game itself was a cracker which was played in a biting cold wind on a bumpy pitch. The early exchanges were tight until AAAFC opened the scoring with a beauty. A long ball was headed down at the edge of the box by Graham Power and Jason Lipper with a daisy cutter made it one-nil. Ten minutes before half time Jason repaid the compliment to his striking partner Graham Power who skilfully finished to give us a two nil half time lead.
However, against the wind and the slope Southend were always going to make a comeback and three minutes into the second half they pulled one back from close range. Great defending from Des Keenan and Damien “Wobbler” Collins kept Southend at bay and on the break Jason Lipper was felled by the Southend keeper and stuck home the resulting penalty with ease. Southend though were not quite finished, they scored again following some intense pressure and with 16 minutes to go the game was back in the melting pot. A series of high balls and overcrowded penalty box schmozzles ensued but we held firm to win out on a 3-2 score line. Mark Carmody and Philly Maher were brilliant in midfield and captain David “Harry” Harrington led by example. This result leaves us needing two wins from our final two games to get promoted.
U14A Team
The 14As had a busy bank holiday weekend with two league games down for decision. First up was an away fixture at Pike Rovers which turned out to be a cracking game. Pike took an early lead and scored again just before half time to take control of the game. But straight from the restart Caimin Ayres put Dara Costelloe through for a crucial goal. Pike restored their two goal lead early in the second half and once again the lads had to dig deep to keep their league hopes alive. Caimin Ayres scored from the rebound after a James Collopy effort had come back off the bar and grabbed the equaliser when put through by Sean Fahy. Aisling finished strongly as Pike tired but couldn’t force a winner. On Monday evening, we hosted Limerick FC in Annacotty. Rory Murphy gave us an early lead but Limerick forced their way back into the game early in the second half. However, goals by Jake Dillon, Murphy again, Caimin Ayres, Paul Brennan and Sean O’Shea saw us eventually run out comfortable winners. Our last game of the season away to Regional will decide the outcome of this year’s league.
Barnardos Tournament
A huge thanks to everyone who volunteered to bag pack in SuperValu last Saturday as part of our fundraising forBarnardos.
Summer Soccer Camp
Our annual soccer camp is being held the week of 4th– 8thJuly. Bookings can be made throughwww.summersoccerschools.ie
Match Reports to aislingpro@hotmail.com .