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U14 Footballers versus Cuala in League Clash - Thu, 2 Dec 2004

St Brigid's 5 - 14 Cuala 1-5

Played in heavy rain on a sodden pitch this game had all the signs of a dour affair before it started but surprisingly turned out to be an exciting game particularly for those Brigid's supporters in the small but enthusiastic crowd.

With the 2004 leagues drawing to a close and the title out of the reckoning for this year at least both teams were playing mainly for pride though St Brigid's had a strong desire to make sure their league table position was closer to the top than the bottom of the table.

With a full squad at their disposal St Brigid's started off with a vengeance. Playing down hill they quickly notched up 5 points without reply before Cuala grabbed a goal against the run of play. However the ball was hardly out of the net when D?ire Plunkett scored a cracker of a goal at the other end to quell any chance of a Cuala revival which ended when their penalty just before half time yielded just a point.

Some great defending followed from St Brigid's with Alan Waters particularly impressive at centre back. Excellent goals from Paul Clerkin and Conor Brennan gave the saints an inspiring 3-8 to 1-1 lead at half time.

During half time St Brigid's made a number of substitutions and playing up hill this half looked like a much tougher prospect. Revitalised by their half time pep talk Cuala were anxious to make amends for their less than stellar first half performance.

Gavin McIntyre opened the 2nd half storing for St Brigid's, Cuala responded quickly and the scoring was now tit for tat with Eoin O'Brien and Daire Plunkett notching up some nice points. There followed a period of intense pressure from Cuala where they threw everything at the St Brigid's defence and for a period of almost 10 minutes the ball never left the St Brigid's half of the pitch.  Throughout this onslaught the St Brigid's defence held firm. Jamie Winters in goal made many fine saves and Alan McCarrick, Conor Woodgate, Ryan McEnernin and Alan Waters repeatedly cleared their lines

The St Brigid's mid-field duo of Jack Chambers and Niall Myron now came back into the game after a short lull and despite the sustained Cuala pressure Brigid's appeared to have weathered the storm. Philip Carroll made many darting runs through midfield and Daire Plunkett continued to out run the Cuala defence and it was no surprise when St Brigid's notched up another 2 goals in quick succession with scores from Conor Carton and Philip Carroll.

At this stage the game was all bit over and Cuala ended up the wrong side of a 5-14 to 1-5 score-line. A highlight of this match was a particularly fine performance from Eoin O'Brien who ploughed through the Cuala defence on a regular basis to score a total of 6 points from play.

After some lacklustre performances recently it must have been heartening for the St Brigid's management team of Gerry McEntee and Liam Plunkett to see their charges showing just what they are capable of.

St Brigids Scorers:  Eoin O Brien 0-6, D?ire Plunkett 1-3, Conor Brennan 1-1, Philip Carroll 1-1, Conor Carton 1-0, P Clerkin 1-0, P Gavin McIntyre 0-2, Philip McEntee 0-1,

St Brigids: Jamie Winters, Alan Waters, Alan McCarrick, Cathal Doyle, Ryan McEnernin, Philip Carroll, Sean Brady, Jack Chambers, Niall Myron, Sean Murray, Eoin O'Brien, Paul Clerkin, Conor Brennan, Gavin McIntyre, Daire Plunkett,
  
Subs: Conor Woodgate for Cathal Doyle, (35) Philip McEntee for Gavin McIntyre (35), Jeff Mullens for Sean Brady,(40) Brendan Roche for Conor Brennan (40)

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