It was not only a busy week for our hockey teams. Also our soccer teams had some games to play.
Read here about the latest soccer news:
Minor Boys just miss out in final minute for Leinster Soccer Final place
The Minor boys team reached the semi-finals of the Leinster B Cup after receiving a bye in the first round and accounting for Our Ladys (5-4 on penalties after a 3-3 draw ), Colaiste de Hide (5-1) and St Pauls of Monastervin (4-2, hat-trick hero, Liam Ryan!) on their way to a clash with Grennan College, Kilkenny, to determine who would reach the final.
The game was played in Newbridge Town’s grounds, with the sun shining but accompanied by a strong breeze which made conditions a little difficult for both teams. Despite this, St. Kilian’s opened brightly and took an early lead when Liam played a ball over the top for Conor to break onto and chip the keeper from twelve yards out. The first half didn’t see many chances being created by either team and they nullified each other in midfield. Adam and Ethan fought hard to ensure that their opponents weren’t able to gain the upper hand and began to gain an edge.
The teams changed ends at halftime and Grennan College came out determined to come back into the game. St.Kilian’s were resolute in defending, with First year defender Eoghan playing an important part in the defensive unit. We had chances to add to our lead, through Liam after good work by Niko down the left wing, and Cian, who rounded the keeper only to be denied by a recovering defender.
Grennan College continued to increase their possession stats in the game but St.Kilian’s were looking strong enough to hold out, only to concede midway through the half when a hopeful cross from the right saw one of our defenders slip and the Grennan striker made no mistake to restore parity. St Kilians composed themselves and gained the upper hand as the game approached it’s final stages, with subs Charlie and Max adding a new, fresh impetus to our right wing after Sasha and Moritz had begun to tire after working very hard.
The game looked destined for extra time until two minutes from the end when another hopeful ball into the St.Kilian’s penalty area proved our undoing as we failed to clear and Grennan College were quickest to react and took the lead. The referee played three minutes added time and it gave us the chance to lay siege to the Grennan College goal. Despite forcing a number of corners and near misses in the remaining minutes, we couldn’t make the breakthrough and Grennan College advanced to the Leinster Minor Cup final and we wish them well in that.
Under 14 Boys Soccer team storm through to their League Final & reach Cup Quarter Finals
The under 14s played Luttrellstown in the semi-final of the Under 14 league, after qualifying from their five team group and defeating Greenhills College. The game was played on Hartstown’s astro pitch before midterm break and St Kilians took an early lead when Ethan broke from halfway and powered a shot that the opposing keeper could only deflect into the roof of the net.
The St Kilians team continued to probe for openings to add to their lead but had to be careful of not conceding to a Luttrellstown team that were improving as the first half progressed. As half time approached, one of the opposing midfielder’s played a through ball to their striker and Adam had to be alert to make a great save with his feet to avert the danger.
The second half continued in the same vein but, crucially, St.Kilian’s made a vital breakthrough when Hugo was played in by Ethan and he coolly finished past the advancing Luttrellstown keeper. We then had to weather the storm to ensure that we held our two goal lead and ten minutes after scoring the second, we added to the tally when Louis played a defence-splitting pass for Ethan to race onto before rounding the keeper and finishing to the net from an acute angle.
Luttrellstown continued to press forward and never gave up their level of effort. They were rewarded when their freekick reduced the deficit despite Adam’s best efforts to thwart the danger. However, St.Kilian’s remained strong through to the final whistle and qualified for the League final, to be played in the coming weeks, with Rockbrook providing the opposition.
On the first day back after midterm break, we played St.Kevin’s of Crumlin in the cup and recorded a resounding 8-2 win to reach the quarter finals of the cup. The opening goal was struck by Ethan who scored with a first time volley from a poorly hit freekick by the keeper. St.Kilian’s continued their bright start and were 5-0 by halftime. They continued to play well but St.Kevin’s rallied and scored two goals but couldn’t reduce the arrears any further, with Hugo scoring a hat-trick and Niko, Eoin B, Mohammad and Michael adding to the final score.
Al Sugg, Soccer Coach
