U13 Boys Trophy Longford

 

U13 Boys Trophy

Wicklow 2

Longford 4

Evergreen Park Kilkenny

Eoin Horkan

Longford was successful in bringing the U13 trophy to the west from Kilkenny on Sunday night thanks to a spirited second-half comeback.

As soon as the ball was kicked off, Longford's midfielder Mia Murtagh attempted to lob the Wicklow goalkeeper, but Lucy Doyle intercepted the ball above her head. A few minutes later, Wicklow goalkeeper Doyle was once more put to the test by Adam Kinlon, but he kept his ground to stop the goal-bound attempt. Wicklow scored first against the odds when Sam Conyard advanced down the left before passing it back to his twin brother Kale, who curled a shot into the top corner after ten minutes. Following this, Wicklow increased the pressure with the

After the second goal, Wicklow had the ball back in the net within ten minutes, but James McBride's shot was disallowed for offside. Sam Conyard had the last chance of the game for his team, but his shot just missed the far post as he attempted to score like his twin. Alvin Kontoh, the opposition's last attacker of the half, made a break for it and slammed a shot against the post from a sharp angle.

Wicklow continued to play after the halftime break and scored again shortly after the game resumed, only for the flag to be raised a second time. Longford was only just keeping the opponents at bay, leading to numerous corners. Cillian Maher was the recipient of one of these corners, and his effort soared past the crossbar. One of them made an instant effect, gaining a penalty that Mia Murtagh converted as the opposition's bench began to empty. Midway through the half, Tim Kenny levelled the score by controlling the ball well on the outskirts of the box and handing it off to Oisin Kiernan to finish into the corner.

After five minutes, the team from the west had grabbed the lead thanks to some excellent shot  by Kinlon and a brilliant save by Doyle, but this wasn't enough as Kontoh  finished to give his team the lead. The team from the west had reached their purple patch and this didn't let up. With three minutes remaining, Oisin Dillon broke away on the counterattack to put an expert finish on the game while Wicklow attempted to get an equalizer but were unable to get past a staunch Longford defence.

Wicklow;  20 Lucy Doyle F,  2 Shane Doyle,  3 Tristan Fogarty,  4 Cillian Maher,  5 Rhys Behan,  14 Samuel Moraghan, 7 Sam Conyard,  8 Kale Conyard, 9 David McCormac, 10 Failim Redmond, 11 Cian Murphy.

Subs Used;  17 James McBride,  16 Zach Cavanagh,  18 Alex Murphy, 13 Tiernan Shorthall

Longford; 1 Thomas Reilly, Tim Kenny, 14 Kamdi Aguneche, 3 Owen Kenny, 5 Alfie Murphy, 6 Kacper Slezak,  7 Ryan Kenny, 8 Mia Murtagh, 9 Oisin Dillon, 10 Adam Kinlon, 16 Alvin Kontoh.

Subs Used; 11 Oisin Kiernan, 15 Oliver Brychy, 2 Kian Treacy, 4 Daire Kilmurray, 20 Cormac Regan, 13 MJ Mifya.

Referee: Noel Connolly.