U14 League Quarter Finals
Clone 5 – 03 : Cappagh 8 – 10
Cappagh U14 boys had to dig deep and really fight to progress to the semi-finals of the Tyrone Grade 1 League. This was a hard game in conditions that seen both sunshine and torrential rain, but all this was forgotten when the referee blew up time after 2 periods of entertaining football for Cappagh to progress to their second semi-final of the year – and well deserved it was too. The fast passing moves, finishing and determination were a spectacle to behold led out by their captain for the day, Adam Potts.
Having won the toss, and choosing to play with the wind, Cappagh got off to a fantastic start with a well taken goal from Ruari Meyler very early on. Ruari was the first of 7 forwards to score on the day – all six starting forwards got on the score sheet, in addition to the half-time sub, both midfielders and the attacking centre-half back, Ciaran Carlin.
The fact that Clonoe scored 5 goals shouldn’t take away from the ever-reliable performance of the back line. This may be a focussed (ok it is blatantly biased) opinion, but, the full back-line of Cappagh must be the best at this level. They were bombarded at times by a very attacking aware Clone team, but, the lads held their nerve and coped with everything that was fired at them. The half-back line were once again on top of their game, their marking and determination to win the ball was a treat to watch – Fergal Meenagh, you were a star today! Oh, yes, the keeper – 5 goals is a very poor indication to the quality of play from this lad. Sean’s catching under a high ball, his distribution to get play started again and his kick-outs against a really strong wind should be remembered – not the opportunistic goals. Matty Sweeney came on to the team with 15 to go to replace a very battered and bruised Nathan Donnelly – Matty, did really well, a worthy replacement for another fantastic player.
The midfield – what more can be said about these lads. Both worked relentlessly, both defending and attacking. Seeing Potsy and RB running out of the back line with the ball is such a motivator for the whole team. They relieved pressure all over the field, and both registered scores.
When an entire forward line scores, you can ask no more and no script is necessary to let the reader know how well they played – they were clinical, registering the highest scoreline of the season. For the writer, the highlight score was the last goal of the game. Imagine the scene – Cappagh are 13 pts ahead with minutes to go. The ball is pumped in as an attempted score, but, drags wide. Ryan Fay follows the ball, at a speed that would make you think it was the start of the game, rather than the end, he’s fortunate because the surface water stops the ball going out over the end line. He picks up the ball first time, turns on sixpence (for U14 boys, that’s a very small coin), cuts inside one man, then cuts inside a second before firing to the bottom left corner – a brilliant goal! Big thanks must go to Peter O’Kane who coached the boys on Thursday night past. The focus of his training was on finishing – good work Peter! See they were listening and you should never doubt your coaching abilities again! “Do That!”
Overall, a job well done. The reward for success is yet to be determined, but, no doubt the semi-final draw will be made this week so make sure you visit killycloghergaa.com for fixtures. Focus now sets on the U14 Championship. Again opposition from the ‘East’ will ensure a really hard fought game. Good luck lads.
Finally, thank you to Cappagh Ladies for helping us out with our jersey problem – it was greatly appreciated.
Next game : Cappagh –v- Coalisland, Tyrone Grade 1 Championship : Saturday 23rd May (Time and Venue to be confirmed).
Training continues on Tuesday @ 5.30pm.
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