The festive season is fast approaching and it’s time to dispense good news regarding our boys soccer teams. We entered four teams at secondary school level this year – Under 14, Minor, Junior and Senior. All four teams were entered in their respective league and cup competitions.
The Minor team have had a very good year so far. They opened their campaign in the cup where they beat Our Ladys of Drimnagh on penalties, after the game finished 3-3. Niko Nikolic stepped up to take the decisive penalty that saw us advance to the second round. Our next competitive game at this age level came in the league and was against Colaiste de Hide, a school we had encountered on many previous occasions, at senior level. We proved too strong for them and won the game 6-1, with the goals shared amongst four different scorers. Our next league game saw Our Lady’s exact revenge for their cup exit by beating us 3-2. Shomik Chakraborty scored with a free kick that would be ‘Goal of the Season’ contender and Ethan McGlynn-Levins had a hat-trick of disallowed goals. If only for video replay technology or better sighted referees!!
However, we ensured our qualification for the knockout stages of the league with a comprehensive win against Ballinteer Community School by 5-2, with Liam Ryan chipping in with a spectacular hat-trick. The second round of the cup saw us host, by coincidence, another team from our league group – Colaiste de Hide. We showed no signs of complacency and won 5-1, with Charlie Twomey rounding off the scoring with a sublime volley, after Cian Ohlendieck had headed a Max Murphy cross to make it 4-1.
Our Junior team opened their campaign with a resounding 9-3 win against St. Tiernan’s, with Phillip Redmond in prolific form, notching an early season hat-trick. We then faced a useful St. Aidan’s team and went behind twice in the game but came back to draw 2-2. We then had a game abandoned against St. Laurence’s due to indiscipline on the part of some of their players. We then faced our last game in the league, against Colaiste de Hide, knowing that a win would secure our qualification from the group. We were in scintillating form, as we ran out comfortable winners by 10-0.
In the Junior cup, we played St Johns, Ballyfermot, and despite David Noone scoring twice, it wasn’t enough as we conceded four. This year, a Junior Shield competition was introduced for those beaten in the First round of the cup and we were paired with St Peters, Dunboyne. Thankfully, it was a home game for us but we were beaten by a stronger team 5-2, though it might be a blessing in disguise as many of our players play for the Senior team and we were facing a fixture pile up!
At Senior level, we received a bye in the first round and met Rockbrook Park in the second round, who had beaten Mount Seskin by a wide margin in their first game. On a wet and wintry day in Rockbrook, we put in a superb performance, winning the game 6-3, against a team with a Shamrock Rovers Senior player. Dillon Fox opened the scoring, arriving at the backpost to convert the cross from Phillip Redmond, who scored another hat-trick, with Jessie Kamm rounding off the scoring with a brace. In the league, we played Mount Temple after the midterm and led 3-1 at halftime, with goals from Phillip and Jessie. However, Mount Temple played their trump card and their ‘star’ player was introduced at halftime; as we went on to lose 4-3! We play St. Kevin’s in the league and, should we win this game, that will be enough for us to qualify from the group.
Our Under 14 team have only played one league game to date and were beaten 3-1 by Rockbrook Park, who exacted revenge for their Senior team’s cup exit. This was their third league game and the victory kept their 100% record in place. Our performance was very good and merited a draw, so we would be optimistic that we can win our remaining league games and qualify for the knockout stages of the league, whilst we have a home draw against St. Aidan’s in the cup to look forward to in the New Year.
Our Primary school group have suffered from the volume of fixtures that our secondary teams have had to play. We have won two of our three scheduled games for our ‘A’ team. Our opening game was against Rathmichael and we were narrowly defeated 4-3, with Josh Wynne scoring twice and Daniel Sheeran getting the other goal. Shortly after the midterm break, we played RMDS and managed to score six, with our opponents only getting three, so a good day all round! Daniel scored again, with Wataru Mato getting two, as did Jack Norman, with Michael Brennan also getting on the score sheet. In our final game, Felix Welz kept a clean sheet as he thwarted KPS on a few occasions before Jake Nourse scored midway through the second half.
In other soccer news, we had two players attend for the Leinster Senior Team trials – Phillip Redmond and Dillon Fox. Both players did well and, whilst they didn’t make it onto the team, they gained invaluable experience, as both are eligible for next year. Our annual football trip to a Premiership game is a little later than normal, and we will be heading to Manchester at the end of January to see United play Leicester City at Old Trafford. Unfortunately, we will only be able to attend one game, unlike our two previous visits when we saw two, due to the fixture listings for that particular weekend and no other weekend offered the opportunity.
Al Sugg
St. Kilian’s Junior Soccer Team
St. Kilian’s Under 14 Soccer Team
