U21 Football Championship 2011
November 5, Roinn 1 county semi-final: Ferns St Aidans 2-15, Kilmore 4-6
AFTER WHAT was an amazing 60 minutes of football, Ferns St. Aidan's eventually emerged with a three-point victory over a gallant Kilmore outfit in this excellent Under-21 Roinn 1 championship semi-final at St. Patrick's Park, Enniscorthy, on Saturday last.
Ferns looked to be cruising when leading by eleven points after 41 minutes (2-10 to 0-5), but what followed was almost unbelievable, as the south county side had a barnstorming twelveminute spell that produced four goals between the 43rd and 55th minutes, to amazingly take the lead (4-6 to 2-11).
When it looked as if Kilmore's amazing recovery was about to spring a sensational victory, Ferns somehow regained their composure to go on and dominate the closing five minutes, as they kicked four unanswered points to set up a final meeting with St. James'.
Ferns took control in the opening half, with their attack spearheaded by the excellent Ian Byrne and Patrick Breen, with Byrne getting the allimportant opening goal after 20 minutes, giving his side a 1-4 to 0-1 lead.
They had stretched into a 1-6 to 0-2 lead, with the losers' opening points coming from Shane Cassidy and Robert Cousins. Then after a brief bout of handbags involving a number of players, Ian Byrne and Finbar O'flaherty were harsly redcarded by referee Brian O'leary.
After this the sides went on to trade points, leaving Ferns leading by 1-7 to 0-5 at the interval.
When Barry Breen extended his side's lead with a goal inside four minutes of the re-start, they went on to cruise into a 2-10 to 0-5 advantage after 40 minutes. Kilmore were handed a lifeline when Noel Casey, who had switched to full-forward, was fouled, leaving Daithí Moore to goal the resulting penalty. Further goals followed from Christopher Moore in the 46th minute and Robert Cousins four minutes later, with a Casey goal on 55 minutes giving Kilmore a 4-6 to 2-11 lead.
But it was Ferns who finished strongest, adding points through Paul Morris, Brian Codd and Patrick Breen with two, one free, to deservedly advance to the final.
Ferns St. Aidans: David Murphy; Brian O'neill, Pádraig Bolger, Declan Byrne; Matthew Hendrick, Ciarán Roberts, Keith Breen; Brian Leacy, Paul Morris (0-2); Robert Vickers (0-1), Ian Byrne (1-1), Frankie Devereux (0-2); Brian Codd (0-2), Barry Breen (1-0), Patrick Breen (0-7, 2 frees).
November 12, Roinn 1 county final: Ferns St Aidans 2-9, St. James (Ramsgrange) 1-10
ROBERT VICKERS produced a magnificent goal 14 minutes from the end, helping Ferns St. Aidan's to surge to a narrow two-point victory over a gallant St. James' side in this excellent Under-21 football Roinn 1 championship final at St. Patrick's Park on Saturday last.
While Ferns were always within striking distance of their opponents, they were finding it difficult to get ahead, and it was not until Vickers’ marvellous goal that they took the lead for the very first time. The sides had been level on five separate occasions up to Vickers’ strike, but it was always St. James’ who showed the ability to bounce back and regain the lead once they were pegged back.
With Matthew O'Hanlon having a huge game in midfield, St. James’ made the running through the opening 30 minutes, but their failure to turn this period of control into scores eventually came back to haunt them. They created sufficient chances to have given themselves a comfortable cushion by the break, but wayward finishing and over-elaborate approach play saw numerous scoring chances go abegging.
This was in stark contrast to Ferns who were far more positive with the possession that came their way. Their attack always looked dangerous as their play revolved around excellent centre-forward Ian Byrne, who won a reprieve from suspension with his mid-week appeal, having been dismissed in the semi-final.
Byrne certainly showed his benefit to the side as he was instrumental in most of their attacks. His presence was massive and certainly proved a huge factor in his side’s winning effort. In defence, Declan Byrne and Ciarán Roberts were hugely impressive, while Brian Leacy and Paul Morris got through a tremendous amount of positive play in midfield.
Simon Wallace, Daniel Keating and Jamie Kent strove valiantly in the losers’ defence, with O'Hanlon outstanding in midfield alongside the impressive Jack O'Brien, but the attack was dependant very much on Kevin O'Grady and Adam Parle for their scores.
O'Grady and Ian Byrne traded early points, while the sides were deadlocked at 0-3 each when Adam Parle, having collected a long Matthew O'Hanlon free, turned inside his marker to finish superbly to the net after 21 minutes.
The Ferns response was almost immediate as within two minutes they were back level when Vickers put through Ian Byrne who finished with a rising shot to the roof of the net. The sides went on to trade points but St. James' led by 1-5 to 1-4 at the interval.
When Kevin O'Grady and Matthew O'Hanlon (both frees) extended their side’s lead to three points within six minutes of the re-start, they looked comfortable. However, points from Patrick Breen (free) and centre-back Ciarán Roberts kept Ferns very much in contention.
The south county side were still clinging to a two-point lead (1-9 to 1-7) at the end of the third quarter when Ferns got that all-important breakthrough. Vickers seemed to have lost possession, but kept his composure to control the breaking ball from his hand and first-time a marvellous low shot to the bottom right-hand corner of the net from 14 metres, giving his side the lead for the first time (2-7 to 1-9).
With St. James' unable to add to their tally for some 15 minutes, Frank Devereux and Paul Morris drove their side into a 2-9 to 1-9 lead with one minute remaining. O'Grady did manage to pull back a point from a free but Ferns held out for a well-deserved victory.
Ferns St Aidans: David Murphy; Brian O'Neill, Pádraig Bolger, Declan Byrne; Matthew Hendrick, Ciarán Roberts (0-1), Keith Breen; Brian Leacy, Paul Morris (0-1); Robert Vickers (1-2), Ian Byrne (1-2), Frank Devereux (0-1); Brian Codd, Barry Breen (0-1), Patrick Breen (0-1 free). Sub: Mark Gethings for Codd.
Referee: Nicholas Kehoe (Cloughbawn).
AFTER WHAT was an amazing 60 minutes of football, Ferns St. Aidan's eventually emerged with a three-point victory over a gallant Kilmore outfit in this excellent Under-21 Roinn 1 championship semi-final at St. Patrick's Park, Enniscorthy, on Saturday last.
Ferns looked to be cruising when leading by eleven points after 41 minutes (2-10 to 0-5), but what followed was almost unbelievable, as the south county side had a barnstorming twelveminute spell that produced four goals between the 43rd and 55th minutes, to amazingly take the lead (4-6 to 2-11).
When it looked as if Kilmore's amazing recovery was about to spring a sensational victory, Ferns somehow regained their composure to go on and dominate the closing five minutes, as they kicked four unanswered points to set up a final meeting with St. James'.
Ferns took control in the opening half, with their attack spearheaded by the excellent Ian Byrne and Patrick Breen, with Byrne getting the allimportant opening goal after 20 minutes, giving his side a 1-4 to 0-1 lead.
They had stretched into a 1-6 to 0-2 lead, with the losers' opening points coming from Shane Cassidy and Robert Cousins. Then after a brief bout of handbags involving a number of players, Ian Byrne and Finbar O'flaherty were harsly redcarded by referee Brian O'leary.
After this the sides went on to trade points, leaving Ferns leading by 1-7 to 0-5 at the interval.
When Barry Breen extended his side's lead with a goal inside four minutes of the re-start, they went on to cruise into a 2-10 to 0-5 advantage after 40 minutes. Kilmore were handed a lifeline when Noel Casey, who had switched to full-forward, was fouled, leaving Daithí Moore to goal the resulting penalty. Further goals followed from Christopher Moore in the 46th minute and Robert Cousins four minutes later, with a Casey goal on 55 minutes giving Kilmore a 4-6 to 2-11 lead.
But it was Ferns who finished strongest, adding points through Paul Morris, Brian Codd and Patrick Breen with two, one free, to deservedly advance to the final.
Ferns St. Aidans: David Murphy; Brian O'neill, Pádraig Bolger, Declan Byrne; Matthew Hendrick, Ciarán Roberts, Keith Breen; Brian Leacy, Paul Morris (0-2); Robert Vickers (0-1), Ian Byrne (1-1), Frankie Devereux (0-2); Brian Codd (0-2), Barry Breen (1-0), Patrick Breen (0-7, 2 frees).
November 12, Roinn 1 county final: Ferns St Aidans 2-9, St. James (Ramsgrange) 1-10
ROBERT VICKERS produced a magnificent goal 14 minutes from the end, helping Ferns St. Aidan's to surge to a narrow two-point victory over a gallant St. James' side in this excellent Under-21 football Roinn 1 championship final at St. Patrick's Park on Saturday last.
While Ferns were always within striking distance of their opponents, they were finding it difficult to get ahead, and it was not until Vickers’ marvellous goal that they took the lead for the very first time. The sides had been level on five separate occasions up to Vickers’ strike, but it was always St. James’ who showed the ability to bounce back and regain the lead once they were pegged back.
With Matthew O'Hanlon having a huge game in midfield, St. James’ made the running through the opening 30 minutes, but their failure to turn this period of control into scores eventually came back to haunt them. They created sufficient chances to have given themselves a comfortable cushion by the break, but wayward finishing and over-elaborate approach play saw numerous scoring chances go abegging.
This was in stark contrast to Ferns who were far more positive with the possession that came their way. Their attack always looked dangerous as their play revolved around excellent centre-forward Ian Byrne, who won a reprieve from suspension with his mid-week appeal, having been dismissed in the semi-final.
Byrne certainly showed his benefit to the side as he was instrumental in most of their attacks. His presence was massive and certainly proved a huge factor in his side’s winning effort. In defence, Declan Byrne and Ciarán Roberts were hugely impressive, while Brian Leacy and Paul Morris got through a tremendous amount of positive play in midfield.
Simon Wallace, Daniel Keating and Jamie Kent strove valiantly in the losers’ defence, with O'Hanlon outstanding in midfield alongside the impressive Jack O'Brien, but the attack was dependant very much on Kevin O'Grady and Adam Parle for their scores.
O'Grady and Ian Byrne traded early points, while the sides were deadlocked at 0-3 each when Adam Parle, having collected a long Matthew O'Hanlon free, turned inside his marker to finish superbly to the net after 21 minutes.
The Ferns response was almost immediate as within two minutes they were back level when Vickers put through Ian Byrne who finished with a rising shot to the roof of the net. The sides went on to trade points but St. James' led by 1-5 to 1-4 at the interval.
When Kevin O'Grady and Matthew O'Hanlon (both frees) extended their side’s lead to three points within six minutes of the re-start, they looked comfortable. However, points from Patrick Breen (free) and centre-back Ciarán Roberts kept Ferns very much in contention.
The south county side were still clinging to a two-point lead (1-9 to 1-7) at the end of the third quarter when Ferns got that all-important breakthrough. Vickers seemed to have lost possession, but kept his composure to control the breaking ball from his hand and first-time a marvellous low shot to the bottom right-hand corner of the net from 14 metres, giving his side the lead for the first time (2-7 to 1-9).
With St. James' unable to add to their tally for some 15 minutes, Frank Devereux and Paul Morris drove their side into a 2-9 to 1-9 lead with one minute remaining. O'Grady did manage to pull back a point from a free but Ferns held out for a well-deserved victory.
Ferns St Aidans: David Murphy; Brian O'Neill, Pádraig Bolger, Declan Byrne; Matthew Hendrick, Ciarán Roberts (0-1), Keith Breen; Brian Leacy, Paul Morris (0-1); Robert Vickers (1-2), Ian Byrne (1-2), Frank Devereux (0-1); Brian Codd, Barry Breen (0-1), Patrick Breen (0-1 free). Sub: Mark Gethings for Codd.
Referee: Nicholas Kehoe (Cloughbawn).
