Under 15 Premier Match Reports 2005/06

Well it was match day again and Archie's men met up in Fairview at 9.30am for the 11am kick off. All Ireland Day and we were chasing the spot in the Quarter Finals. Having trained on Saturday it was agreed that 9.30 would be
the meeting time for the game and by 9.50 sure didn't the lads have the whole pitch set up for Wes & Ciaran.

It took countless calls and breakfast in Brams to make the hard decisions of the starting 11. Who to pick we asked, as Wes mauled his scrambled egg. Well we decided and that was that. Well truth to the story was the team was named in training on Saturday where we practiced the daring move of Total Football.

We chose a different method of attack and brought the game to Joeys who, let it be known, had earlier in the season come up 1 - 0 winners in the league, with Belvo down to 10 men in that game after just 15mins.

Sunday though was a different story, the starting side was Bocker in goal, Steo Comerford, Big Nigel Stanley in the centre and Dan Langen on the left. A daring move to play 3 at the back, midfield was supported by 3 in the
centre triangle of Andy, Kevin and the point of the triangle held by Evan Connolly, the prolific goal scorer of the season.

On the left was the ever towering strength of Shane McCaffrey, while on the right was Keith Slye, our man from Malahide who came down last summer. Five in mid-field dominated the 4 of Joeys from the first kick. We opted for speed and trickery up front with Keith ( Ronaldinho ) Ward and the first start to the new year for our boy from Trim, Marcus The Great.

From the start we took the game to Joeys with two-touch football and great movement and passes through Kevin Dawson the gigantic mid-fielder from Edenmore. If his height matched his ability this guy would be the best thing to come out of Belvo in years. A dedicated footballer to the final whistle in every game and even after a terrible injury which saw him out from September to Christmas he has fought his way back into the first 11.

Andy played his first game in mid-field, doing just as he was asked, spraying passes across the park and winning every header in mid-field. Definitely a guy for the future, so watch this space as its just his first year at top flight schoolboy football.

As Keith Slye said at the end, he felt it wasn't his best game. Well I beg to differ, he worked very hard getting up and down the right line supporting the attack and defence to a high standard. He had to hold back the odd time to defend, as the blood rushed to Shane's head on the left as he went on a meandering runs past defender after defender to whip in crosses with that left boot.

Well, up front was trickery as ever from young Ronaldinho himself Keith Ward, he dazzled the on lookers as ever by passing a player and then coming back to pass him again. That's our Keith, but its a lot better than the dive against Lourdes which saw his shorts come down in front of the whole crowd 2 weeks ago.

Marcus started a little slower and took time to come to the intensity of the game. But, when he did he wasn't afraid to shoot or take on players, and impressed with his performance. A bit of confidence will see him push on to higher levels.

With every great team there needs to be a great bench and we have it. A Special Thank you goes to Eric, Darren, Allah, Collie, Adam and Maurice. The hardest thing in football is not picking the 11, its deciding who to leave
out. This is very hard this season as the lads we have offer so much to the team and when called upon they always deliver. So the squad beat Joeys, not just the player who scored.

Goalkeeper Peter Lyons has come on in leaps this season and even played against Joey's 16's in the game after ours. Always dedicated to his football, whatever he said to the players before the game was a credit to him as he rallied the team from the back to the front, ..... so well done Bocker !.

That brings us to man of the match Eabhan Connolly, who lead much of the line and had on-lookers extremely impressed with his performance. From North County Dublin, Eabhan has really stepped up the levels this year and has gained himself a call up to the Republic of Ireland Development panel. His goal secured the win, so its hats off to Archie for drafting in this great player last July.

Though Joeys put up a strong performance they had just one near goal chance, but it took some great covering and defensive work from the team to keep the ball out. Dan was brilliant as ever and he had many admirers from the football world saying that was his best game in a long time. Stephen and Nigel, what can we say, both are over 6ft 3" tall at least, and cleared their lines brilliantly and won every header. Its a relief knowing your defenders can really stand up to the opposition when they need to.

It was a squad result, so well done to all of the17 lads. We look forward to playing Cherry Orchard in the Quarter Finals at Fairview and showing them what it really means to wear a Belvo Jersey.

Report by Ciaran Quinn

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With four ex Belvedere players on the WFTA team, this was always going to be a hard game for the visitors.

Belvo had the better of the play and might have won by a higher margin had they taken some the many scoring chances they created in the match.

Maurice Drumm and Paul O'Leary up-front, both went close on a number of occasions as they caused problems for the home defence with their pace and strength, while Daniel Langan and Eabhan Conolly controlled the midfield area for Belvo.

WFTA had few chances, but they should have scored just before the half time whistle, but their striker was denied a certain goal when Belvo 'keeper Peter Lyons pulled off a brilliant save.

In the second half, Belvo wingers Andrew Kavanagh and Paul Guinan delivered some excellent crosses into the WFTA box, but Belvo failed to convert, and the hosts managed to scramble the ball away.

Back four of Keith Ward, Nigel Stanley, Adam Byrne and Shane McCaffrey were commanding in defence for Belvo and were rarely troubled by the WFTA attack in the second half.

Belvo's constant pressure on the WFTA defence eventually paid dividends when, with 6 minutes remaining, Adam Byrne headed home following a corner kick.

Indeed, Belvo should have increased their lead further in the closing minutes, but the shot was off target.

Manager Archie O'Connor was delighted with the win but he felt that the 1 - 0 scoreline didn't do his team's efforts justice on the day

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