Our U15 Girls travelled to Kiltullagh astro on a windy and rainy Thursday evening to face Kiltullagh girls. The girls were in top form from the moment they arrived and proved they wanted to put on a fine display of football. Captain Lucy Roberts won the coin toss and following a discussion with her keeper Edel Egan they decided on playing with the wind in the first half and it proved to be the right decision. The girls started strong and were immediately on the attack. Our starting midfield 4 of Libby Kennedy, Ally Nutley, Lillie Kirby and Eva Molloy were exceptional in supporting their defence and playing the ball forward to Anna Barrett, Laoise Maybin and Roisin Ruane upfront. The shots on goal were constant as our girls used the wind to their advantage. The scoriline opened with a pinpoint pass from Roisin Ruane to the feet of Lillie Kirby who finished it superbly.
The girls continued to attack and our 2nd goal came from a pass forward by Ally Nutley to the feet of Libby Kennedy who struck the ball from half way out flying to the back of the net. The girls were on a high. Tip off started the game once again but Colemanstown stole the ball from the feet of Kiltullagh. Eva Molloy gave a great ball to Libby Kennedy who with her back to the goal did a series of keepie uppies and was just unlucky not to get the bicycle executed. The intense workrate continued by our girls and some fantastic play down the left wing originated with Annalise Doran feeding Eva Molloy who slotted to Anna Barrett who created a fantastic passage of play. Anna weaved in and out of 2 defenders only to just see her final strike just off target. The kick out started play but Eva Molloy was straight onto the ball with a fantastic dummy to get past her player, she passed the ball to Anna Barrett who rounded the defenders once more, ran for goal, coolly rounded the goal keeper only for the defenders to be quickly back on their line to save the ball from the goal line and then on Anna’s second attempt, the goalkeeper superbly stopped the ball. Our defensive 3 of Chloe Manley, Lucy Roberts and Annalise Doran were superb in their clearances ensuring they kept the ball fed to their attacking force. Kiltullaghs No.9 was eager to break the defensive line but Chloe Manley made a fantastic clearance out wide to Lillie Kirby whose darting runs down the right wing was phenomenal and made life for Kiltullagh very hard. Her link up work with Laoise Maybin all day was fantastic showing their great team intuition.
No.9 wasn’t giving in and her speed proved to be a danger to our defenders but their constant pressure and never give up attitude put her under immense pressure forcing a shot from too far out the field. She continued to push and pressurise and in the first half alone she had 3 one-on-one efforts hit straight at Edel Egan who fearlessly closed her down and kept a clean sheet for the entire first half. It was an outstanding display of goal keeping by Edel. A superb kickout from Edel to Libby Kennedy arrived perfectly in front of her and she volleyed it first time from behind the half way line straight to the back of the net; the cheers erupted immediately for her immense goal. The girls kept plugging away on the attack and Laoise Maybin’s persistence eventually forced a corner. A well taken corner worked perfectly for the girls when central defender Lucy Roberts got right in on the mix and slotted the ball to the net after a fantastic corner floated in by Libby Kennedy. Nicole Brennan was then introduced to the attack and within 60 seconds she was in the thick of the action, showing her fantastic footwork and speed. Our midfield continued their fantastic workrate and when left wing Eva Molloy found herself in front of the goal she took her chance and slotted home our fifth and final goal of the half. 5-0 half time
The half time jellies and jaffas were welcomed by all the girls as their workrate had them savouring the break. The girls regrouped under the shelter of the dug-out but knew they needed to improve and change their style of play playing against the wind in the 2nd half and were well aware of the threat No.9 was forcing on them. They superbly discussed what they did well in the first half and how to improve in the 2nd half. We as coaches and the surrounding parents were extremely impressed and proud of the match intelligence this group have. For the restart Shona Barrett was introduced to forwards and Aoife Hynes to defensive mid.
From the start Kiltullagh went immediately on attack using the wind to their advantage. They forced a corner but Aoife Hynes immediately cleared the oncoming attack. The fantastic link ups between Libby Kennedy & Laoise Maybin created constant pressure through the centre of the Kiltullagh defence. Libby Kennedy was on fire and made some fantastic crosses into the box while Kiltullagh’s fantastic goalkeeper must be praised for her confidence all evening. Libby Kennedy’s persistent crosses paid off as she crossed to the onrunning Lillie Kirby who slotted home No.6. In her new position of right back for the 2nd half Ally Nutley made a huge clearance to Laoise Maybin who saw her shot on goal just drift wide. At this stage Annalise Doran was dominating the left wing and after a huge clearance the ball fell kindly for Nicole Brennan who accurately passed to Lillie Kirby who once again slotted to the back of the claiming her hat trick on the night. Shona Barrett’s introduction to striker was immediately evident as she made impressive runs at the keeper and was unlucky not to secure a goal for herself. Lucy Roberts in her role of U15 captain was vocal all evening in motivating and supporting her teammates when Kiltullagh grabbed 2 well worked goals. The heads never dropped and our girls went on the attack again. Roisin Ruane was unlucky in getting caught offside when she scored but immediately after the free kick was taken Lillie Kirby took hold of the ball, passed to Nicole Brennan who grabbed her first goal for the U15s this year.
The girls kept the attack going and after another free out due to an offside Roisin Ruane was quick to react to a miss kick and grabbed her goal making it 9-2 on the scoreboard. Kiltullagh kept the pressure on but a fantastic clearance to Annalise Doran landed to Lillie Kirby who passed to Libby Kennedy who was unfortunate to see her shot hit the upright. The girls kept working until the end and Libby Kennedy grabbed her hat trick when Roisin Ruane played the ball forward with a fantastic delivery. The final goal of the game arrived through another fantastic corner from Libby Kennedy which landed at the feet of Roisin Ruane and she grabbed her 2nd of the night. The game ended 11-2 to a jubilant Colemnastown U15 girls side. Scorers: Libby Kennedy x3; Lillie Kirby x3; Roisin Ruane x2; Eva Molloy; Lucy Roberts; Nicole Brennan.
Players of the match were awarded after the game to Edel Egan, Lucy Roberts and Lillie Kirby. Well done young ladies on a fantastic display. Match report by Laura Parker