Fortune favours the brave, and that’s what Belvedere had to be on Saturday in this tough battle against St Francis. Having only recently lost to the same opposition at home, Belvo came into this match with a real belief that we could cause an upset against a side that has proved to be physically too powerful for most teams this season.

St Francis have only lost one match all season and were many peoples' favourites for the treble but, equally as impressive was our record in this competition with only 2 goals conceded in 4 victories to get to the final.

The team sent out was the same personnel and formation as the recent league encounter. Enda Smith and Robbie Pearson were part of a 5 man midfield given the job of stopping their key players from influencing the match.

Adam Evans was given the very hard task of leading the line on his own on the big AUL pitch. For these 3 players in particular, this was a real test at the end of their first season at this level. We were asking Enda to curtail his natural attacking instincts for the benefit of the team today and like all of the lads he performed better than we could have hoped for.

The match started at a pretty frantic pace with neither side showing their passing qualities. The match very quickly developed into a battle of the defenses, with plenty of counter attacks. Leading lights in these early exchanges with the entire Belvo defense who worked very hard to deny the opposition any real shots on our goal.

Danny Rogers in the Belvo goal did brilliantly to palm a corner away from the on rushing St Francis players. Pearse Sweeney at centre half was dominant right across the back line – both in the air and on the deck.

Our first real chance of note came to Adam Evans. A superb through ball from Darragh Lenihan saw the pacey front man through on goal only to see their 'keeper pull of a brilliant and very brave save by diving at his feet to block his shot, taking a ball into his face for his troubles.

Shortly after we went close again when a dangerous corner from Sean Kavanagh was only cleared as far as Enda on the edge of the box, and he drove his shot towards the top corner, for what looked like a certain goal, only for the St Francis 'keeper to make another fine save.

To be fair though, we did not create much else in this half. We spent the majority of it doing the defending as the pace and power of St Francis was proving hard to handle at times. However unlike the recent league defeat we were showing lots of desire in defending our goal by blocking shots, clearing our lines and making sure we didn’t make any mistakes. The half ended scoreless.

The 2^nd half had more to offer in terms of goal chances from both sides. Darragh Lenihan, the skipper, was beginning to find more space in the crowded midfield and this led to better football from Belvo.

As a result of this better passing we found ourselves in good possession of the ball closer to the Francis goal. Enda did well to hold of a challenge from 2 players and expertly played a pass out to Kavo on the Belvo left flank. Taking one touch to steady himself, Kavo swung in a great cross to the back post for the on-rushing Darragh to head home, to open the scoring for Belvo with 10 minutes of the half gone.

The pace of the game increased now as the St Francis side pushed hard to equalise. This left us even more space to play in their half and the pace of the Belvo wingers, aided by Adam up front was now working very well.

Darragh Lenihan went close on two more occasions with long drives from midfield. Adam Evans won us plenty of set plays with his tireless chasing down of their defenders. St. Francis were becoming increasingly more desperate and began shooting from everywhere.

Many of the shots looked destined to hit the back of the net, only for one of our lads getting a block on the shot before it could trouble our 'keeper. Adam Quinn, Graham Fagan and Adam Sheedy all showing real commitment to their defending when called upon.

And when they couldn’t stop the shots, Danny Rogers in the Belvo goal proved to be right on top of his game with some superb handling and fielding of the ball.

With 10 minutes to play we scored our second goal. Sean Corbally showed some superb pace to get down our right hand side. Seeing his first cross blocked he found his aim again and sent a brilliant ball into Kavo who had come in from his wing to support his front men.

Kavo like Zidane in the European cup final volleyed brilliantly into the top corner with his right foot from just inside the box. An assist and a goal from our wide left midfielder was an excellent days work.

With 10 minutes to play, it was backs to the wall stuff with both sides making plenty of changes for opposite reasons. Thankfully we held out and the match ended with us on yet another excellent counter attack. At the final whistle it was Belvo who won the cup by two goals to nil.

There were scenes of great celebration by the Belvo players and management following the presentation of the Tony Ryan Cup by the DDSL's Cathy Byrne to captain Darragh Lenihan.

Man Of The Match: Pearse Sweeney, 10 out of 10 at the heart of the Belvo defense. To be fair though we could have given it to any of the lads who played today.

Team: Rogers, Sheedy ( McDonnell 55 ), Quinn, Sweeney, Fagan, Corbally ( Berrigan 45),Smith, Lenihan ( Capt.), Pearsons, Kavanagh ( Hyland 50 ), Evans ( Moynihan 50 ).

Back to back league games against Tolka saw the same outcome for the 12’s on Saturday with a good win with plenty of goals to talk about. Making only one change to last weeks line up with Sean McDonnell lining up at right full, the management team went with the same line up that had done so well the previous week.

It didn’t take long for the blues to take the lead. Sean Kavanagh finished very well from 8 yards having been put through on goal by Enda Smyth. Sean did well to draw the 'keeper from his line and slot the ball underneath him for a calm and clever finish.

From here on it was one way traffic with Belvo taking a firm grip of the game and creating a host of chances in both halves. Being critical of the lads we really should have won by more as our finishing let us down on a number of occasions but that’s probably being to harsh as creating the amount of chances that we did was excellent.

Shortly after Kavo gave us the lead we notched up our second one, with Adam Evans this time driving home a good goal from 12 yards. Adam has come into a rich vein of form at the moment and throughout the match he was our main threat to Tolka with his pace and also his powerhouse running and chasing down of the loose balls.

Out third goal in this half was an own goal when another excellent cross from Kavo was deflected home by the Tolka left full over on the back post. To be fair he had no option as we had a man waiting to tap it in anyway. Other chances in this half fell to Pearse Sweeney, the big centre half shooting tamely from 6 yards into the 'keepers hands.

Enda Smith was also guilty of missing when it seemed easier to score, he headed over from 6 yards following a cross – again from the excellent Kavo at left midfield. At the other end of the park the Belvo back line had little to worry about except the counter attack from Tolka.

Any threat though was soon sorted by Robbie Pearsons in mid-field with the help of his back line. Robbie’s role in our team is a protective one and he did an excellent job in this game, winning headers, blocking passes, stealing possession and in general tidying things up when we were under pressure.

The 2^nd half was again one way traffic. The introduction of Sean Berrigan and Jake Hyland shortly into this half kept the tempo up high. Our right hand side was now proving to be our main source of chances as cross after cross reigned in on the home defence, the chances falling to Kavo sneaking in on our left hand side.

The home 'keeper though was in no mood to give us anything easy as he pulled of a number of excellent saves to keep the score at 3 - 0 for a good while, but 15 minutes into the half though Adam got his 2^nd goal of the day when he smashed home a low effort from 18 yards. A great finish to round of an excellent passing move from the lads involving our entire left hand side of the team.

Five minutes later Adam notched his hat trick just as his number was about to go up for a substitution ! Latching onto a loose ball in the Tolka penalty area he toe poked it home from 8 yards. Dane Moynihan and David Kiernan joined the fray soon after and continued to pile the pressure onto the home side. With the last kick of the game David had a great chance to match last weeks score line, but his lob from 10 yards dropping just over the bar.

Team: Rogers, McDonnell ( Berrigan 35), Quinn (Sheedy 40),Sweeney, Fagan, Corbally (Kiernan 45), Lenihan, Pearsons, Kavangh, Smith (Hyland 35), Evans (Moynihan 45)

Following a recent 2-1 defeat in the SFAI Norton Cup, Belvedere returned to action on Saint Patrick's Day and kept their excellent league form on track with a convincing win over Tolka Rovers at Fairview Park. Played in very windy conditions this match could have been a lot harder if the lads didn’t go about their business in the right way. Thankfully the weather didn’t really play a part and the contest was a one sided one from start to finish.

Making a couple of changes to the side, the management team went for the Adam Evans up front to bring a bit of power to the front line, Adam Sheedy started at right full and Sean Corbally started at right midfield – a position he has done well in recently.

The score was 4-0 at half time to the blues with the goals coming from Enda Smith, who netted 2, Adam Evans and Sean Corbally. Only for the traveling 'keeper the score would have been 7-0 as he made 3 outstanding saves in this first period.

Our first came after 5 minutes when Kavo played a neat ball in behind the opposition back line for Enda to latch onto. The big number 9 did well to finish from 10 yards with a neat flick of the ball past the advancing 'keeper.

Soon After he went close again as he met an excellent corner from Kavo but narrowly headed wide. Soon after the 'keeper made his 1^st save – doing brilliantly to parry the low drive from Adam Evans around his post.

Not to be outdone though Adam soon set the record straight with an excellent finish from 18 yards. Skipping past the centre half and drilling a low shot across the diving keeper for an excellent finish. Adam was really prominent in the early stages.

Blessed with terrific pace and a terrific attitude Adam was proving to be a real problem to the Tolka defence. In the move of the match Adam was unlucky not to setup his striking partner with a back heel on the edge of the box. Almost the perfect end to a one touch passing move across the Belvo team.

Corbo made it 3-0 after 20 minutes when he buried a Kavo cross from close range. Kavo doing excellently to beat his man out wide and deliver the perfect ball for his opposite wide man. The Tolka 'keeper show then stepped up a notch when he made 2 really outstanding saves, both of them from long distance strikes from our midfield two.

Robbie drilled a brilliant low shot from just outside the box and despite a packed box the keeper again parried the shot around his post. Robbie was on his way to celebrate his goal only to see the keeper appear from no where. Soon after Darragh did the same from the opposite side and again the keeper makes a brilliant low save to knock the ball around his post.

Kavo was again the provider for our 4^th goal. Enda got his heading right this time when he connected with the corner and sent the ball back across the 'keeper into the net. That’s 17 goals now from the Boyle local in his 1^st season at this level, an excellent return by anyone's standards.

Kavo himself should have had a couple in this half. In replica chances he shot high and wide from 12 yards with only the 'keeper to beat. Its finishing practice for him at our next training session.

The 2^nd half continued much as the first. Belvo dominate with the visitors looking to cause problems on the break. Thankfully the Belvo back line was in no mood to give away any chances today with some excellent defending across the board. Graham Fagan leading the way with a number of thumping tackles down his left flank.

Our 5^th goal came 10 minutes into the half. Kavo this time getting his finish spot on when he side footed past the keeper from 12 yards. Sean Berrigan providing the cross on this occasion – coming from the bench to make sure the tempo of the game remained up high.

Almost immediately after Adam Evans made it 6-0 when he picked up a ball deep in our half, ran past 2 players and sent in a powerful left foot drive which the 'keeper couldn’t handle, only managing to take the pace from it as it went under his body.

A host of changes with 20 minutes to go from the Belvo line saw the introduction of 4 more players – hungry to get it on the act. Mooner and Dane up front continued to provide lots of problems to Tolka, the latter going close within 5 minutes of joining the game. The 'keeper making an excellent save from his powerful shot. Robbie Pearsons providing the excellent through ball for that chance.

Mooner then did well to win a peno when he turned his marker inside the box and was taken down for his troubles. The same player though saw his pen saved and the rebound fell to Sean Berrigan who hit the post and his rebound fell back to Mooner who had his shot blocked on the line, unlucky. The match finished soon after.

Man Of The Match: Adam Evans. Lots of contenders today but Adam just nicks it for his two excellent goals and his all round play.

Team: Rogers, Sheedy (Berrigan 35) ,Quinn, Sweeney, Fagan (Hyland 40), Corbally (McDonnell 40), Pearsons, Lenihan (Kiernan 40), Kavanagh, Smith, Evans (Moynihan 40)

Disappointment for Belvedere on Saturday last when they went down 2 - 1 away to rivals St Josephs in the SFAI Under 12 Norton Cup. The game was a very tight one and it never really looked like anything other than one goal was going to separate the two teams so credit must go to all the players involved for serving up an enthralling match.

On the team front Sean Berrigan returned to the starting 11 having shown great promise in training recently. The squad were also delighted to see Dane Moynihan return to the fold following a month out with an Appendix operation. The squad also wishes David Kiernan – aka Mooner - a speedy recovery as he had to pull out on Saturday morning due to illness.

We began the game brightly and very few could argue that we weren’t controlling the game for the prolonged periods in the 1^st half. Chances were at a premium for either side as the defenses looked very solid. Pearse Sweeney was called into early action and timed a brilliant sliding tackle to deny his opponent a run on our goal.

Sean Corbally at right full was also playing his part in this half with some testing passes in behind the Joeys line. The first real chance of the game fell to Belvo when a scramble in the box saw the loose ball almost fall to Jake Hyland, following a blocked shot from his striking partner Enda Smith.

Jake was unlucky not to get his shot away as a Joeys defender managed to stick his boot out and deflect the ball from his path. Apart from that there was very little in the way of clear chances for either side although Danny Rogers in the Belvo goal was called upon to make a smart save at his near post after 15 minutes.

We were dominant though and the only area lacking in our game was the final ball. The first goal came after 20 minutes and it fell to us. Darragh Lenihan was given a 2^nd attempt at a free from just outside the edge of the box and he duly curled in a dipping shot to give us a deserved lead. The lead looked intact right up to the last kick in the half.

The Joeys back line sent an innocent enough looking ball up the park that their forward did well to latch onto. The Belvo defence made a fatal error here and allowed the ball to bounce and the Joeys striker punished us with a clever lob over the advancing Danny from 18 yards. The half time whistle went straight after the restart – very frustrating !

The 2^nd half continued much as the first had. Very tight with neither side really creating anything of note – except a few well defended set pieces. If anything the equalizer gave the home side more hope and rather than facing the task of scoring two goals to win it – they now only needed one and this seemed to give them an extra boost.

To be fair this half was going less in our favour and our back line was doing well to stop the increasing Joeys pressure. Our best chance of this half fell to Pearse Sweeney who got his head to another excellent corner from our skipper. With the keeper beaten his header hit the back of the head of another Joeys defender and went over the bar.

Shortly after we created an excellent chance down our right hand side when Sean Berrigan and Sean Corbally combined with a neat give and go. Corbo’s cross though lacked the quality needed to penetrate the resolute home defense.

The winning goal came with 10 minutes remaining on the clock. An excellent ball from the Joeys midfielder found its way in between our defenders and an on rushing Joeys player. He got there first and like the equalizer did well in lobbing the advancing Danny from 18 yds. Although we threw caution to the wind for most of the remaining ten minutes we just couldn’t find another break through.

Credit though must go to the lads as lesser teams would have been demoralised once going behind but the lads kept at it. The last 2 to 3 minutes were spent entirely in the last third of the pitch as we earned throw ins, corners and finally a free kick – sadly none of them led to our equalizer. The whistle went to end a tough and close battle. Our 2^nd defeat of the season was a hard one to swallow but we can take lots of positives from today.

Man Of The Match: Pearse Sweeney. Dominant at the back although he was run close by Darragh Lenihan

Team: Rogers, Corbally (Sheedy 50), Sweeney, Quinn, Fagan, Berrigan, Lenihan, Pearsons, Evans, Smith (Moynihan 50), Hyland. Subs not used: McDonnell

Another convincing win on Saturday for Belvedere who, from the first whistle, never looked like anything other than the winners of this match with Saint Kevin's Boys. One forced change from last weeks brilliant display saw Adam Sheedy replace the unavailable Sean Kavanagh at full back. No other changes were made as we looked to record our 5^th win in a row.

In yet another whirlwind start we found ourselves 3-0 up inside the first 10 minutes. Enda Smith did well down our right hand side to deliver a cross into the box for his striking partner Jake Hyland to smash home on the 2^nd attempt. Jake has done well this season in his new position of link man and is now beginning to show some consistency in front of goal. Also worth noting that Jake is playing a year out of his age group but rarely can you tell this is the case.

The next 10 minutes belonged to Adam Evans on the Belvo left hand side. Blessed with lightening pace and a superb attitude Adam is another one to play in a new position this season. Having spent most of his schoolboy football to date as a striker in the lower leagues Adam now looks like he has come to grips with his role in our team having spent some time adjusting to the demands of the premier league AND a new position.

He scored our 2^nd and 3^rd goals today within 5 minutes and then went very close to netting his hat trick – all inside a 10 minute spell. His first was an excellent finish. Darragh Lenihan put Adam in on goal with an excellent pass in behind the visitors' defence.

The ball was close enough to the box to entice the 'keeper out to gather up the pass, but Adam got there a split second before him and touched the ball past him, he then shot on goal from 18 yards past the 2 covering defenders – an excellent finish.

His 2^nd was also an excellent goal, this time he shot first time with his right foot from 20 yards having drifted into a dangerous position on the edge of the box. The setup this time coming from his opposite wing man – Sean Corbally. Adams shot rifled into the roof of the net to give us a 3 goal cushion. Very soon after Adam shot again from 20 yards – this time his low left footed drive was well saved by the 'keeper.

At the other end of the pitch the away side did cause us some problems with their pacey number 9 at the forefront. He should have pulled them a goal back after 20 minutes when he was put through on goal with only the 'keeper to beat but he shot wide though.

Soon after the same player was again in on goal only for Pearse Sweeney to tackle him superbly with a sliding hook tackle from behind. This really was a brilliant tackle and had to be performed perfectly as the Kevin's player was 10 yards from goal and about to pull the trigger.

The 2^nd half continued much the same as we set about our business with equal purpose in this half. We probably should have scored more than the 2 that we did get as Enda, Jake, Sean Berrigan, Robbie and David Kiernan all had excellent chances on goal.

The away side did offer more in this half and managed to hit the bar with the score at 4 - 0 but in truth the result was never in doubt. Our 4^th and probably the killer goal came from Darragh Lenihan. Having been fouled on the edge of the box he converted the free kick – with a little luck – to cap yet another fine performance as our skipper.

Our 5^th and final goal came from our big number 9, Enda. Replacing Darragh in centre midfield after he was removed from the field of play to protect his sore groin, the Boyle local did a decent job in a position he has never played before. His goal was an excellent one.

When our left full, Graham Fagan, took up possession deep into St Kevin's half Enda made an excellent run into the box to meet Fago’s excellent cross on the volley. The shot flew past the 'keeper from 18 yards in what was an excellent finish. The final whistle went soon after.

Team: Rogers, Sheedy, Sweeney, Quinn, Fagan, Corbally ( Berrigan 45), Lenihan (Kiernan 40), Pearsons, Evans (McDonnell 45), Smith, Hyland

Firstly a big thank you to Home Farm F.C. for kindly making their excellent Mobhi Road pitch available at short notice for Belvedere's SFAI Under 12 Norton Cup match after Fairview Park was declared unplayable. Dungloe Town's Under 12's of last season reached the final of this cup competition and were unlucky to lose.

Big games seem to bring the best out of this bunch of Belvedere players as they in truth never gave their opponents an inch all match. Belvedere continued their fine 2007 form with another convincing win in the SFAI Cup on Saturday. In a whirlwind start the lads set about their business with plenty of pace and purpose.

Some excellent early combinations saw Enda Smith go close with a header from 8 yards. Jake Hyland and Adam Evans were proving to be a real threat to the Donegal team and sure enough another combination between these two players saw Jake free deep in the final third and in spite of his jersey being pulled he managed to send in a brilliant cross to the far post for Sean "Corbo" Corbally to nod home from 6 yards after just 5 minutes of play.

Our 2nd and 3rd goals came from striker Enda up front. In the 10th minute he combined with Jake on the edge of the box before powering his way through on goal and finished brilliantly with his weaker left foot - side footing past the advancing 'keeper into the bottom corner.

Jake's pass for this one was excellent as he controlled it with his back to goal and hooked the ball over his head for his striking partner to run onto. Jake was on 2 assists now but not only was his offensive game in top form he was also matching this with a superb work rate of the ball - chasing down lost causes, blocking clearances and setting a real example for his team mates in defending from the front.

We were well in command of the game now and soon after Enda put the contest out of reach with his 2nd and Belvo's 3rd goal. A cross from deep by Adam Evans fell to Corbo on the right hand side of the box. He controlled the cross and headed the ball onto the supporting Enda, and the Boyle local made no mistake as he buried his shot from 18 yards past the imposing Dungloe 'keeper.

Equally as important in this half was our excellent defending. The entire Belvo back line played its part today and dealt with any threat from the visitors with some excellent defensive play. Leading the way was Kavo and Bray local Pearse Sweeney. The latter using his pace and reading of the game to great effect.

Kavo, at left full, was proving an excellent outlet for us. His distribution from the back was a highlight in this half. He time and time again found our front and wide men with some top quality passes.

The 2nd half, although not as exciting, was again mainly one way traffic from the lads. The visitors looked deflated now and seemed to settle for damage limitation. Introduced to the fray early in this half was David Kiernan, and his endeavor at right midfield made sure we kept on the front foot. The pace of the match did drop a number of levels.

The onus wasn't on us now so we were able to soak up a little more pressure here and try to catch Dungloe on the break. This is exactly what happened 10 minutes into the 2nd half when David played a brilliant switch to his opposite wide man, Adam Evans.

Taking one touch to steady himself Adam smashed a drive from 20 yards past the diving 'keeper to give us a 4-0 lead. Either side of this goal Kavo tried his luck from distance and tested the 'keeper on a couple of occasions.

Also prominent in this half was our skipper....... no surprises to see Darragh Lenihan leading the way with his usual work horse style of play, tackling, chasing and shouting his team to the finish line. The match finished 4-0 and its onto the next round for the lads.

Man of the Match: Jake Hyland. Very hard call as every man was a contender today but Jake just nicks it for his superb attitude and his 2 assists.

Team: Rogers, Fagan (Kiernan 35), Sweeney, Quinn, Kavanagh, Corbally (Sheedy 40), Lenihan, Pearsons, Evans, Hyland (Mc Donell 40), Smith (Berrigan 40).

Match report by Simon Kelly

Homepage

In the second round of the U12 league cup last Saturday Belvedere recorded a comfortable win against their major division opponents. This result was never really in any doubt from the tip-off as the lads set about their business with an excellent attitude at a cold and frosty Loreto Park.

First on the score sheet was Sean “Kavo” Kavanagh. He finished brilliantly from a cross by Jake Hyland. The entire move here was excellent and when the ball found Jake Hyland he sent in an excellent cross with his “weaker” right foot for Kavo to pass into the net from 12 yards out.

From here on in it was really one way traffic and with a bit more luck in front of goal we could have scored a lot more. Our 2^nd goal came from Kavo again. After 10 minutes of play he picked the ball up just inside the attacking half and went on a brilliant run, beating three players before sliding the ball past the advancing 'keeper.

Kavo’s showed great skill and confidence to use the same trick to beat each of the three players, dropping his shoulder one way and going the other. His finish again was excellent as he calmly passed the ball past the advancing 'keeper with his right foot.

This really was a class goal from a class player. A contender for goal of the season and one that wouldn’t have looked out of place from Ronaldinho !

Although there were no more goals in this half there was still plenty of action to talk about. Sean Corbally, our right full and Graham Fagan, our left full could both have had a hat trick in this first half.

Corbo saw a brilliant 30 yard effort rattle of the top of the bar. He also had another shot on goal cleared from the line by the home defence after combining excellently with our front players. Fago saw the home 'keeper make tidy saves from his three efforts on goal.

All three being a replica as he drilled in three low shots from outside the box which the 'keeper parried wide. Also going close in this half were Adam Evans and Robbie Pearsons who both had goal bound efforts blocked or well saved by the 'keeper.

The 2^nd half continued in much the same style with almost every outfield player from Belvo having a crack at goal. Out third goal came from the skipper Darragh Lenihan who popped up inside the 6 yard box to tap in a spilled shot from the 'keeper.

The shot coming from Adam Evans who as usual worked his heart out for the team. The skipper really should have scored again a few minutes later when he ran through from midfield, but with only the 'keeper to beat shot just wide.

To be fair the Leicester pitch was a bumpy one and the ball did take a jump just as he took his shot, ( well that was Darragh’s excuse anyway ). The crosses and shots were flying in now, and Kavo was on a mission to get his hat trick and had a few attempts on goal early in this half.

His best chance came mid-way through the 2^nd half when he found himself six yards from goal heading in another excellent cross from Jake. However he mis-timed his jump and managed to head the ball away from goal to the on rushing Adam who made no mistake as he nodded in his goal for today.

Our 5^th and final goal came from David Kiernan, who did well to follow in a shot from distance by Darrragh. The 'keeper could only parry the ball back into play and David finished well from 6 yards with a tight angle to deal with also. A good finish to a good day.

Man Of The Match: Sean Kavanagh. Deserved it for his 2 goals and his all round play.

Team: Rogers, Corbally, Sweeney, Quinn (Kiernan,40), Fagan, McDonnell (Sheedy 35), Pearsons, Lenihan, Kavanagh, Hyland, Evans.

First game back after the Christmas break for Belvedere Under 12's was a good one. Hosting new comers Knocklyon last Saturday against whom the lads had recorded a 3 - 1 away win earlier in the season.

The management team were not a bit surprised at the result as the team had been working extremely hard in training and were itching to get back into competitive action after a six week break.

Most of the action in this one took place in the first half when the Blues went 4 - 0 ahead. Starting strongly it was clear we were never going to lose this one and began to get on top of the visiting side very early on.

Prominent in the opening exchanges were the midfield duo of Daragh Lenihan and Sean Kavanagh. Our 3^rd corner of the game on the 5^th minute resulted in the opening goal and came from these 2 players.

Kavo sent in an excellent corner for the skipper to power home a superb header from 10 yards. Darragh is not the biggest of players but yet he rose a good foot above anyone else and with superb technique buried the ball.

We deserved this lead and really began to push on now. Adam Evans and Sean Corbally on the wings providing plenty of width and problems to Knocklyon. Our 2^nd goal came on the 10^th minute when Darragh found himself in possession of the ball on the edge of the box, following an excellent move down the Belvo right.

With time and space he drilled a low shot across the visiting 'keeper and into the net. Having scored two goals the skipper then sets up our third goal of the half. Enda Smith made himself available for a pass from midfield, turned and finished well past the advancing Knocklyon 'keeper.

We were rampant now and soon again we could have been 4-0 ahead when the clever Jake Hyland sent Adam Evans racing in on goal. Adam was very unlucky to see his shot brilliantly saved by the keeper – something that was repeated again a few times during the game!

Adam was unlucky not to get a hat trick in this match – it seemed the keeper was only able to save his shots. In spite of this Adam played a key role in our 4^th goal. Sending the overlapping Graham Fagan racing down our left hand side who delivered an excellent cross to the near post.

Our big centre forward, Enda, controlled it excellently and gave his striking partner – Jake Hyland – an easy enough finish from 6 yards. This was the last goal of the half and the match.

The second half was as exciting from our point of view but, none the less, we continued to create some chances and restricted the visitors to a few long range efforts. Highlights from this half included another two excellent saves from the 'keeper to deny shots from Adam, whose second one was the best after he had brilliantly beaten 3 men to see himself in a one on one with the 'keeper.

Our skipper continued to lead the way as he dominated everything in the midfield. Also prominent in this half were the belvo back line who did well to cope with the admirable spirited fight back from Knocklyon.

Another highlight in this half was an excellent move down the Belvo right resulting in a cross from the supporting full back, Sean Corbally. Guess who finds himself on the end of the cross – Adam! This time, though, his brilliant diving header flew inches wide. The game finished 4 - 0.

Team: Rogers, Sheedy (McDonnell 30), Quinn, Sweeney, Fagan, Corbally, Lenihan, Kavanagh, Evans (Kiernan 40), Smith, Hyland (Pearsons).

Having failed at this stage last year in the SFAI Cup, Belvedere were keen to make amends on Saturday morning and get themselves into the draw for the last 32 of the Under 12 Norton Cup with a win over Tolka Rovers at Fairview Park.

The team given this job saw the return of Adam Sheedy to right full, Conor Saunders started up front, having impressed in training recently and Sean Berrigan returned from injury to start at right midfield.

Tolka have been struggling in the league this season but cup games can sometimes go against current form so it was important for the lads to stamp their authority on the game early on. Thankfully that’s exactly what we did and created a couple of very good chances which to be honest we should have scored from within the opening 10 minutes.

Some excellent passing play in the middle of the park from Kavo and Darragh Lenihan saw Sean Berrigan in behind the visitor's back line and his two excellent crosses fell firstly to Enda Smith who headed over from 6 yards and then soon after Conor Saunders saw his diving header also fly wide from close range.

Sean was proving to be a good asset for us in this half – aided by his right full partner Adam Sheedy who also in this opening period delivered some good crosses that we failed to take full advantage of.

Also prominent in this period was Enda Smith up front who seemed to be popping up everywhere keen to get back amongst the scorers having failed to find the net in his last 2 matches. Indeed it was an excellent pass from Enda in behind the Tolka back line that saw Conor Saunders free on goal and following an excellent touch from the front man he calmly slotted the ball past the advancing keeper to give is a deserved lead.

We had other chances in this half to extend the lead but credit to the away side who battled away and didn’t make anything easy for us. Dara went close with two strikes from distance. Adam Evans on the Belvo left also went close with a half volley from a tight angle. We also had a header cleared from the line following a corner. It wasn’t to be though and the game turned with a tight enough 1-0 score line to us.

The 2^nd half didn’t have the same flow as the first one. Both sides made numerous changes and there were also a few more knocks suffered. This probably suited us more than Tolka though, who to be fair were struggling to cause us many problems at the back.

One drive from distance and a scrappy corner was about all we had to worry about but it was still important that at 1-0 the Belvo back line kept its concentration. We scored our 2^nd goal with about 10 minutes left on the watch. Before that we had gone close on a few occasions with long distance efforts from Darragh and Sean Berrigan.

Our left hand side seemed to be more fruitful for us in this half as Adam Evans and Jake Hyland sent over some excellent crosses but we failed to get onto them. The goal itself was similar to our first one with a pass from the Belvo midfield finding Enda free in the box and he calmly took his time before smashing his 10 yard shot past the advancing keeper.

Just rewards for the big front man who had worked his socks of today. Making one and scoring the other is a good return in anyone's books. After Enda scored this goal the game was pretty much over and the last few minutes saw very little in the way of action.

Team: Rogers, Sheedy, Quinn, Sweeney, Fagan (Pearsons 35, Corbally 45), Berrigan (McDonnell 50),Lenihan, Kavanagh, Evans (Hyland 45), Smith, Saunders (Kiernan 50)

Disappointing result for Belvedere on Saturday at a very and windy Ballyfermot. Having been unbeaten in their first nine games, Belvo's winning streak came to end away to last years league champions.

A defeat was probably a little harsh on the lads as this was another classic game of 2 halves between these two sides with the home team dominating the 1^st period and the blues dominating the 2^nd period.

Probably the most frustrating part of this match is that for the first time this season we did not dominate the opening 10 minutes of the game. We have scored in all but 1 match so far this season within the first 10 minutes – stamping our authority on games early on.

This didn’t happen on Saturday when playing with a very strong wind against us, we found ourselves 2-0 down. It could have been 3 as Cherry Orchard piled on the pressure within the opening period – their third effort hit the bar.

We were really struggling in this period of the game. Some tactical switches were necessary to stem the pressure and allow us to make our way back into the match. We did have a few half chances in this first half.

We even managed to block one of our own shots which was on its way into the net but the home side never let us catch our breath in this half and we struggled to put together any passing moves of note. The impressive Pearse Sweeney and Darragh Lenihan were the leading lights here in keeping us in the game.

The 2^nd period was almost exactly the opposite. We had the wind and the slight hill now and towards the end of the first half we seemed to get a handle on the home team – was it to late though? Our first chance in this half fell to Kavo who was unlucky to see his long range effort dip to early into the keepers hands.

The introduction of Dane Moynihan at half time seemed to worry the home sides defence a lot more and he soon had a chance inside the box but his touch let him down and he had to rush his shot straight into the advancing keeper.

We were on top now and only had to worry about breaks from the Orchard which our back line had finally managed to get to grips with 10 minutes gone and Kavo managed to repeat his shot from earlier – this time making no mistake as it flew into the roof of the net from 20 yds.

An excellent goal and with twenty minutes to play it was game on now again. More chances fell to Enda Smith who managed to find some space in the box. His first attempt went narrowly wide of the near post, while his 2^nd one a few minutes later went just wide of the far post. Two good chances missed from our top scorer.

The only chance to note from the home side in this half came from an error in the Belvo back line. Delaying on a pass back allowed their forward to rob the ball – thankfully Danny Rogers in the Belvo goal read his intentions and saved well on the edge of his box.

We had run out of time though and as the clock ticked down we could only manage a few hopeful balls into the box. Full time came and our first defeat of the season.

Team: Rogers, Corbally, Sweeney, Quinn, Fagan, Hyland (Moynihan 30), Lenihan, Pearsons, Kavanagh, Evans, Smith

First round of the league cup saw Malahide return to Fairview for the 2^nd time in a week and thankfully it was same result and win for the blues who progress to the next round.

Not many changes to last weeks side although the Belvo management decided to go with our most experienced side for this tricky fixture – we were expecting a much different match to last weeks league game and so we started with the side that has played the more difficult games this season.

Sean “Corbo” Corbally returned to right back where his pace and reading of the game have been huge assets to us this season and Kavo returned to centre midfield. The hugely talented Pearse Sweeney, from Bray, also returned to side following his absence through illness the previous week.

I should begin this report by apologising to our top scorer this season. Enda Smith is actually a Roscommon man and not a Leitrim man as I have been reporting so far this season! Thankfully that’s the only thing that’s been reported incorrectly as the big powerful number 9 has been banging in the goals of late and this game was no exception.

We were 3 up in this one after 15 minutes and Enda had scored 2 of them. A dream start really as the initial few minutes looked very different to last week as Malahide set about this cup fixture with plenty of confidence and good play. Aided by a strong breeze they had us on the back foot for a while.

It took an excellent pass from Kavo in midfield to set Enda in for his and our first goal. Enda picked up Kavo’s pass 25 yards from goal and then expertly slide the ball home from 10 yards after drawing the keeper of his line.

Only 2 minutes later the ROSCOMMON lad found himself in space on the edge of the box and curled an excellent goal into the top corner from 18 yards. The travelling keeper had no chance with this one as somehow Enda had managed to curl the ball around all of the players packed into the Malahide box.

This really settled us down now and also seemed to take the wind out of Malahide a little. With 15 minutes on the clock a shot from front man Jake Hyland was spilled into the path of Adam Evans who flicked it back under the despairing keeper to give us a 3-0 lead.

We did have other chances in this half, frustratingly though we failed to take advantage of the superb corners taken by skipper Darragha Lenihan. The skipper puts more miles than anyone into his training and his matches but along with his superb attitude you get lots of talent also.

He can score from anywhere – left and right foot, is completely dominant in the air, never stops wanting the ball and trying to make things happen and is deadly from set plays. Definitely one to watch in the future.

The second half was a far less exciting one. Both sides made lots of changes – nine in total. The strong wind was now in the faces of the traveling side so their task was always going to be a tough one. To be fair they did pull a goal back in this half to cause us some worries.

The Belvo back line failing to clear the ball and a rocket shot from 30 yards beat Danny Rogers in the Belvo goal. 3-1 with 15 minutes to go could have been a problem if David Kiernan (aka Mooner) didn’t immediately put us 4-1 ahead with a class goal.

Running onto a ball he out fought the centre half and then dinked the ball over the advancing keeper into the net from 12 yds with his right foot. Its not being harsh also by saying Mooner could have had a hat trick in this half.

He was unlucky to see two volleys fly inches wide – his second one being the best effort when another sweeping Belvo move down our right saw Mooner attempt a flying volley from 10 yards that flew just wide of the post.

Adam Quinn could also have scored in this half when we finally met another excellent corner from Dara with a shot at goal. Adam’s volley striking a Malahide defender and flying over the bar with the keeper stranded. Unlucky. Its worth mentioning the Belvo defending this season so far which has been overall excellent so far.

Adam has played in every game and his partnership with Bray lad Pearse is looking very good this season. Today they were aided by Graham Fagan at left full who on several occasions made excellent tackles down his side of the pitch to prevent the away side from hurting us in any way from there.

A consolation goal for away side saw this half to a close and a final result of 4-2 to Belvo.

Man Of The Match: Graham Fagan. All through the game our left full gave them nothing which inspired those around him to do likewise.

Team: Rogers, Corbally, Quinn, Sweeney, Fagan, Berrigan (McDonnell 15), Kavanagh, Lenihan (Sheedy 45),Evans (Kiernan 45), Smith (Moynihan 40), Hyland(Saunders 40)

This was Belvedere's second home match in a row on Saturday and thankfully they took the full quota of points with another good league win..

Visitors to Fairview, where last season they earned a well deserved draw were near rivals Malahide United, and with both sides having started the season in good form it was all set to be a finely balanced game.

Only one change for Belvo from the last time out saw Sean Berrigan return to the starting eleven, with Pearse Sweeney absent through illness. Sean “Kavo” Kavanagh kept his place at left full after a fine performance in his last outing.

The game almost got of to a perfect start with Leitrim lad Enda Smyth testing the visiting 'keeper straight from our tip. Kavo played an excellent ball into the channel for our powerful number 9 to run onto. Unfortunately his marker did enough to put him off balance and his shot went straight at the 'keeper.

Our intentions were clear though and the first half continued in the same manner with wave after wave of attacks from the lads. Five minutes into the game and we took the lead when a brilliant corner from skipper Darragh Lenihan was met by Enda in the box and he finished well.

Also prominent in our excellent first half was Adam Sheedy at right full whose tidy passing was proving to be an excellent source of possession for us. His opposite full back, Kavo, was also playing a key role with some excellent supporting play down our left.

Our 2^nd goal came midway through the half. Robbie Pearsons won a ball back for us in the centre of the park. He played his customary easy ball to the supporting Adam Sheedy who in turn played an excellent pass down the channel for Enda.

This time, making no mistake, he finished well into the corner as the United 'keeper started to close him down. Other chances in this half fell to Enda – who could easily have scored 4, Adam Evans, Jake Hyland and Robbie.

The 2^nd half wasn’t as good to talk about from our perspective. Our passing became sloppy and our finishing was very very poor. Although there were no goals to talk about, there really should have been, with almost every attacking Belvo player guilty of poor quality in front of goal.

On the occasions that we did pass the ball we certainly created some excellent opportunities and had 2 perfectly good goals disallowed for off side. Both sides also made plenty of substitutes so the match really struggled to maintain any sort of rhythm.

The better chances in this half fell to Enda who on another day could have had 6 goals in this match. Dane Moynihan, Sean McDonnell, Adam Evans and Jake Hyland also failed to find the back of the net from very good positions.

The visitors did also pose a bigger problem to us in this half and they came close themselves on a few occasions, but thankfully the Belvo back line was in no mood to give them any soft goals.

The match finished 2-0 with a good three points earned and although the score line didn’t reflect the game it was certainly pleasing to see that our home form is as good as anyone's in the league.

We have played better than this and perhaps would have drawn this type of match last season, so winning a match when we are not firing on all cylinders is also good to see.

Team: Rogers, Sheedy, Corbally, Quinn, Kavanagh, Berrigan (Kiernan 50), Pearsons (Fagan 55),Lenihan, Evans, Smyth (Moynihan 55), Hyland (McDonnell 60)

A comfortable home win for the blues on Saturday morning at Fairview Park against a Leicester Celtic side hit badly with injuries. Returning to side at left full was Sean "Kavo" Kavanagh. Injuries and illness also saw a number of other changes throughout the side with Adam Sheedy starting at right full and David Kiernan starting up front.

With the pitch in almost perfect condition the lads set about their business from the start with pace and purpose. Without being too harsh, the game was a one sided affair. The first half although ending only 1-0 to Belvedere, saw very little in the way of chances for the away side, whereas the hosts should really have come in a few more than just one up.

Chances in this half fell to Enda Smyth who blazed over from a superb Darragh Lenihan corner, Sean "Corbo" Corbally also had a good chance to put us ahead early in the half but, again shot over from close range after brilliantly creating his own space inside the box.

Robbie Pearsons tried his luck from distance but didn't really test the keeper enough other half chances fell to Dara and Adam Evans. The goal itself though arrived midway through the half and was a superb one.

Working the ball down our left hand side Kavo made a brilliant over lapping run and sent in a brilliant cross which found Corbo charging in on the back post from his right mid position. Corbo duely smashed his shot into the roof of the net from 6 yards.

Our football was flowing now as the away side struggled to cope with our tempo. Our 5th corner of this half saw the ball come to David Kiernan who brilliantly scored from an over head kick only to hear the refs whistle blow for half time as he was in mid flight in the box!........... An incredible decision!!.

The 2nd half continued much in the same vein but the introduction of Jake Hyland at half time who linked the play superbly in this half did change the overall quality of our attacking play and now we began to see the other players around him show their real strengths.

Adam Evans on our left was now showing the talent he has and repeatedly got to the byline sending in cross after cross. Our 2nd goal was probably the move the match when Jakey dropped into the hole, played a superb flick to the support Adam out left, his cross found Enda up front who finished well from 10 yards.

Our third goal also involved our much traveled front man Enda who lives in Boyle. Enda held the ball up for Darrragh on the edge of the box who smashed in his shot to give us a 3-0 lead.

We were rampant now and it didn't take long for another excellent passing move to find Adam Evans on the edge of the box, he raced past his man and finished well from 10 yards - driving his shot low and hard across the 'keeper.

Other chances in this half fell to Enda who hit the bar and also went narrowly wide with an over head kick. Sean Berrigan was unlucky not to see a brilliant drive from 20 yards fly inches wide.

Sean was one of the Belvo subs today and credit must go them all as they didn't let the tempo of the game drop when they came onto the pitch and also credit to the much changed Belvo back line today who kept an excellent clean sheet - denying the traveling side any shots of note on our goal.

An excellent home win, four goals from four players with outstanding performances right across the team. Man of the match has to go to Jake Hyland whose clever link play in the 2nd half was almost a ten out of ten ( he missed a sitter from 8 yards! ).

Team: Rogers, Sheedy (Berrigan 45), Sweeney, Quinn, Kavanagh, Corbally, Lenihan, Pearson (McDonnell 48), Evans, Smyth, Kiernan (Hyland 30).

It was back to back wins for Belvedere Under 12's on Saturday with another fine performance from the lads against a team that had started this season in good form. Only one change from the team that did so well the last time out with the return of Robbie Pearsons in the centre of midfield.

We started very strongly today and didn't really look like anything but winners to be honest from the first whistle. The goals looked likely to come along soon as we pushed forward with pace and purpose.

Adam Evans on the Belvo left was in sensational form as his pace and power down that side was proving a real problem to the home side. The clever and skilful Jake Hyland playing in the hole was also proving to be a key player for us today as he combined with Adam on a number of occasions resulting in a number of corners and also chances on goal.

Indeed, Adam was the first to signal our intentions today when he toe-poked narrowly wide from 10 yards out with his right foot. The ball did get stuck under his feet so Adam had to improvise when he was pressed by the opposition defender.

Our first goal came after 15 minutes from skipper Darragh Lenihan. Another sweeping Belvo move saw the ball come back out to Darragh who brilliantly curled a high dipping shot into the roof of the net from 18 yards.

His coaches were particularly pleased about this one as we had spoken to him in the build up to the game to try and get himself back on the score sheet which he managed to do in every other game last season.

As we continued to dominate the game it was important we gave nothing away at the other end. Thankfully the Belvo back line was working very well together and quickly sorted anything that came their way. Adam Quinn and Graham Fagan being the leading lights in that area of our game.

Fago was having his best match this season after spending our first few matches getting to grips with his new position. As a right footed attacking player last season he has now developed into a tidy left back who loves to tackle hard !

The 2nd half was a little less one sided, as is in every game at this level, one nil is never game over until its over! The home side pushed us back a bit more in this half and did come close on a couple of occasions with efforts from distance.

Goalkeeper Danny Rogers was up to the job though. The introduction of Sean Berrigan 10 minutes after the re-start seemed to swing the game back in our favour though. From yet another corner Enda Smyth knocked the ball towards goal and found Jake who brilliantly flicked the ball backwards and into the net for the all important 2nd goal.

We pushed on from there and scored our 3rd goal, with 5 minutes left to play, when substitute David Kiernan broke free and when his shot across the 'keeper looked to be going wide, in came Adam Evans to slot it home from 3 yards. David himself went close again soon after when another shot across the keeper creped wide.

Adam wasn't quick enough this time to nab his 2nd goal from a shot by David! The home side did get a consolation goal when a dubious looking free kick found a free man breaking into the box to finish well from 6 yards, with the Belvo back line all feeling the free kick should have been given our way.

The game finished soon after and sees the blues start their season unbeaten with 3 wins and 3 draws so far.

Team: Rogers, Cobally, Sweeney, Quinn (Sheedy 50), Fagan, McDonnell (Berrigan 35), Lenihan, Pearsons (Kavanagh 45), Evans, Smyth (Kiernan 45), Hyland.

Five minutes remained on the clock at this stage and our new found energy was to come good again when a long ball by Conor Saunders was spilled by the Joeys' 'keeper. Thankfully the honest follow up by Sean McDonnell paid off when his shot was blocked and rebounded to the supporting Jake Hyland who smashed home a low drive into the corner of the net for the equaliser.

Under 12 Premier Match Reports 2006/07