2005 CONNACHT CUP U12 FINAL : MERVUE UNITED 1 STRAND CELTIC 0
Milebush Park, Castlebar
Cup finals are usually notoriously tight affairs. For the players of the Strand Celtic U-12s, last Saturday’s Connacht U-12 Cup final encounter in Milebush Park, Castlebar, proved to be a bitter blow.
Their Mervue United counterparts edged them out by a single goal, a goal which failed to live up to the high standard of football set by these two magnificent young teams. The game’s sole strike came eight minutes after half-time, Mervue finally making use of one of their countless corner-kicks. Player of the Match Mark Murphy crossed and defender James Casserley was on hand to shatter Strand Celtic’s dreams.
Strand manager John Barry, pictured right, commented afterwards: “After all our hard work this year, we deserved more from today [Saturday] than to lose to such a disappointing goal.”
In truth, Mervue had the best opportunities of the game. They signalled their intentions from as early as the first minute, Cillian O’Conghaile fired over after some fine approach play from Stevie Folan.
The Sligo-Leitrim Youth & Schoolboys League side found it difficult to force their way into the game, Mervue had them on the back-foot for a long period of the first-half.
There were precious few chances for strikers Adam Hynes or Cormac Doherty to benefit from, and despite the best efforts of captain Barry O’Mahony and his midfield partner Anthony Kelly to get the ball to them, no territory could be gained.
Time after time, Mervue found an outlet in their impressive winger Sean Glynn, who caused Strand all sorts of problems, especially after left-back Eoin Comerford had to be substituted through injury before half-time.
Despite their pressure, Mervue could not find a lead before the break. Some resolute defending from Strand’s diligent Graham Kelly kept the Galway side at bay. He, in particular, impressed for the Sligo side, denying his skilful opponents time and space on the ball, and winning his fair share of challenges.
The opening exchanges of the second-half saw Strand up the tempo, playing much better than they did before the break. Unfortunately, it was just after this period that Mervue scrambled the winner. Adam Hynes – who scored twice in the Connacht semi-final the previous Saturday – looked the most likely to find an equaliser for Strand, he had his best chance of the match after 40 minutes. Substitute Shane Grey whipped a corner kick, Hynes rose well to meet the cross but his header went agonisingly wide.
Try as they may, the leveller just wouldn’t come for Strand. As they sought a passage back into the final, chance after chance went astray. Barry O’Mahony and Cormac Doherty both had shots blocked on the edge of the area as the sides approached the final whistle.
The danger of throwing caution to the wind, however, is leaving your defence susceptible to counter-attacks. Mervue midfielder Stevie Folan almost doubled his side’s advantage on one such canter upfield. His header, from a cross provided by Sean Glynn, went just over.
There proved to be no reply from plucky Strand, as they were to make the trip home to Sligo empty-handed. They played their part in a compelling affair, and were truly unlucky to miss out on the provincial trophy by the odd goal.
Strand Celtic: Errol Flanagan, Cathal O’Hara, Eoin Comerford (Shane Grey 25, Gary Cadden 50), Conor McDonagh, Graham Kelly, Anthony Kelly, Niall Murphy, Barry O’Mahony, Cormac Doherty, Adam Hynes, Cathal Burke
Mervue United: Aaron Connolly, Kieran O’Donnell, Ronan O’Higgins, James Casserley, Joe Shaughnessy, Cillian O’Conghaile, Sean Glynn, Stevie Folan, Greg Fox (Sean Moynihan 55), Mark Murphy, Shane Keogh (Craig Glynn 50)