U12 Prem: St Joseph’s 3 St Francis 1
St Joseph’s stay top of the league after a hard-fought win on a bitterly cold and wet day in Monksland. From the start the home side took the game to a very strong St Francis team and pressed hard for the opening goal. After going close a number of times, the lead goal finally came with a powerful shot from 20 yards from Harry O'Rourke. This settled the lads as Harry and Damien Duff began to dominate midfield while Brian Hannon and Darragh Kildea really stretched the opposition on the wings. The second half followed the same pattern with the home side pressing and Ciaran Lennon slipped a great ball through for Ian Naughton to round the keeper and slot home the second. Two became three when captain for the day, Harry O'Rourke scored with another great strike from outside the box giving the keeper no chance. St.Francis hit back and scored for 3-1 and pressed hard for another but the back four of Kevin Kelly, Sean Fallon, David McManus and Rory Barrett defended solidly and Niall Fowler made some fine saves to see out a deserved victory. The lads almost got a late fourth goal after a super run by James Kilmartin but were happy to come away with the three points after a really tough battle.
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