Under-13 Championship: Mullingar Shamrocks v Tubberclair
Mullingar Shamrocks’ under 13 whites travelled to Tubberclair on Wednesday evening to face the home side in the quarter final of phase 2 of the under 13 competition and produced an admirable performance against a physically stronger side. The progress of this squad of players this year has been noteworthy and it’s a considerable achievement that they have competed in every match while fielding a team all of whom are underage next year.
Minus a couple of key players on the night, the management team of Micheal Burke and Vinny Timoney made astute positional changes to help the side stay competitive. MJ Burke and Oliver Keane forged a hard working midfield pairing while Theo Kelly relished his attacking remit alongside Jamie Timoney, Conor Matthews and Sam Phillips . Tom McCaul was excellent in goals while each of his defenders put their bodies on the line to thwart a series of Tubberclair attacks. Killian Hand, Conan Kelly and Evan Nohilly were determined and courageous in their defensive duties. Fionn Ledwith’s cleverly taken goal midway through the first half ensured a narrow interval deficit and two more second moiety majors courtesy of team captain Darragh Daly and a sublime flick by Jamie Murtagh kept the superior home side honest up to the final whistle.
Shamrocks had 20 players on duty, a significant feat with the under 13 Green side in action in Springfield at the same time. Ruairi Thornton made his debut in the green and white and added to the valiant effort. A satisfactory evening’s work was completed with a stop for refreshments in Ballymahon.
Mullingar Shamrocks squad on duty was: Conan Kelly, Jamie Murtagh, MJ Burke, Manus Kelly, Darragh Daly, Conor Matthews, Cian Treanor, Oliver Keane, Theo Kelly, Sam Phillips, Jamie Timoney, Evan Nohilly, Noah Smyth, Carl Keane, Ruairi Thornton, Alfie Rock, Fionn Ledwith, Conor Glynn, Tom McCaul and Killian Hand.
Under-13 Greens Make Championship Progress …
Our U13 Green team was at full strength for probably the first time this year and put on an exhibition of football against a very good, young Lilliput Gaels team. One of the most pleasing aspects of the result was that the full panel of 24 players contributed to the win. Aaron Conroy was excellent in goals, putting his body on the line on numerous occasions to keep the excellent Lilliput Gaels forwards out. His distribution from kicks outs was a key foundation stone for the victory. An All-Star full back line of Luke Kelly, Óisin Gavin and Jack Conlon kept things under control for most of the game displaying the full range of skills in the game. The half back line of Zak Masterson, Ryan McNamee and Rían Sheeran were outstanding. Zak and Ryan showed outstanding determination in the tackle turning over the ball in this key area of the pitch on many occasions while Rian not only defended admirably, but was a huge force going forward even catching a number of Gaels kickouts. Our midfield of Sean Hickey and Hugo Corroon were outstanding and you'll have to search far and wide to find two better footballers than these two young men. Our half forward line was one of our hardest working group with Harry Tilson doing as much work in defence as he did in attack. Indeed there wasn't a blade of grass left untrodden by Harry in the game. Darragh Ryan and Dylan Byrne made up the rest of the half forward line and both contributed to the scoreline with fine displays. Our full forward line would strike fear into many a senior team in the county with Paddy Colleary, Scott Farrelly and Colm Clinton running riot for the whole game. Their passing, movement and scoring was a joy to behold. As with all games, our finishing team was as important as our starting team. Conor Walsh and Shay Leavy were outstanding in both the half forward and half back lines. Padraig Regan and John Gilbride also brought huge energy and passion to the game with some fine moves. Eoin Horan, who only joined the panel at the start of the summer, came on at half back and proved to everyone what a fine footballer he is with some neat and tidy touches to get us out of trouble a few times. Charlie Murtagh and Ben Murphy came on and made a huge impact, indeed Ben Murphy scored his first Championship goal for Shamrocks showing great composure in front of goals. A special mention has to be made of Ruairi Kelly, one of our most improved footballers this year. Ruairi never misses training or games and his development this year has been incredible. Ruairi came on and was a ball of energy and speed turning in another notable performance at this level.
Overall, it was a great performance from the Greens with a semi-final place against St Michael's now up next.
