Thursday, November 9, 2023
Report courtesy of John MOLLOY, Kildare Primary School Co-ordinator
DIVISION 3 BOYS
Castledermot NS 1 - 0 Gaelscoil Chill Dara, Newbridge
Gaelscoil Cill Dara started very well in this closely contested encounter and had the Castledermot NS rearguard under quite a sustained spell of pressure throughout the first ten minutes of this game.
Castledermot did well to soak up the pressure and on a swift counter attack their excellent number 10, Harry Buitelaar, scored a superb goal with a powerful left footed finish into the roof of the net from the edge of the box to make it 1-0 to Castledermot NS.
Substitute Eoghan O Laighin almost equalised for Gaelscoil Cill Dara just five minutes later but his shot just went narrowly wide.
Castledermot NS were very unlucky not to extend their lead in the second half when both Michael Doyle and Harry Buitelaar had shots that cannoned back out off the Gaelscoil Cill Dara crossbar on 27 and 38 minutes respectively.
Gaelscoil Cill Dara piled on the pressure towards the end of this game in a desperate attempt to find the equaliser.
Despite a fantastic shot from distance outside the box by their excellent left full back, Peter O’hAnnrachain Castledermot NS held on for their first ever title in the boys section.
Best for Scoil Diarmada on the day were goalkeeper Odhran Farrell, Captain Eoin Killalee and goal-scorer Harry Buitelaar whilst the aforementioned Peter O’hAnnrachain, goalkeeper Elliott O’Laighin, front men Eoghan O’Laighin and Oran de Róiste had very strong performances for Gaelscoil Cill Dara.
Castledermot NS | Odhran Farrell, Tommy Kane, Michael Connors, Paraic Kane, Fionn Brophy, Eoin Killalee (c), Tom Keatley, Michael Doyle, TJ Kelly, Harry Buitelaar, Billy Dooley.
Subs | Rory Kane, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Yuri Rodriguez, Tomás Ó Neill, Adam Doyle
Gaelscoil Chill Dara, Newbridge | Elliott O’Laighin, Finn O’Rian, Peter O’hAnnrachain, Conn Duggan, Riain O Colmain, Ruairí MacGib, Dylan O’Raghallaigh, Alex O’Foghlú, Eoghan O’Laighin, Oran de Róiste, Zach Mac Eochaidh.
Subs | Reece Mac Críocháin, Freddie Houlihan, Conor Malinson, Darragh Kenny Cullen, Conor de Róiste, Conor Magee
DIVISION 2 BOYS
Scoil Chóca Naofa 0 - 1 St. Joseph’s NS, Kilcock
It was the clash of Kilcock as Scoil Chóca Naofa and St. Joseph’s locked horns in a bid to be crowned Division 2 Boys Champions of Kildare.
These sides had met in the group stages where Scoil Choca Naofa had won 5-3 after leading five goals to nil at one stage and would have fancied their chances having come through the group stage with a 100% record from their four games and an emphatic 7-1 victory in their semi-final.
St. Joseph’s NS were very keen to make amends for that group stage defeat. They were full of real grit and determination in the early stages of this game.
There was some excellent football on show in this game, with great skill and technique demonstrated by both sides, many of whom are teammates across Under 12 and Under 13 levels at Kilcock Celtic so there were bragging rights as well as a Cup on the line in this one.
St. Joseph’s were awarded a penalty after 12 minutes following a heavy challenge into the back of their striker John Carlo Di Mario as a high ball was landing in the Scoil Choca Naofa box.
Up stepped winger Patrick Hoey to take the spot kick and despite striking it quite well, he was thwarted by an excellent save as Danilo Dryzhenko made a full length dive to his right to keep it out of the Scoil Choca Naofa net.
Buoyed by this fantastic save, Scoil Chóca Naofa began to grow into the game and their ever dangerous attackers Jack Wren and Matteo Timpson were beginning to showcase their fantastic touches, skills and link up play and were unlucky not to equalise on a couple of occasions in the first half with shots that went very narrowly wide or were well saved by St. Joseph’s keeper Dylan O’Toole to leave the score at 0-0 at half-time.
St. Joseph’s started the second half strongly and were themselves unlucky not to score with shots going just over the bar and well saved again by Dryzhenko within the first few minutes.
They were given another opportunity to make the breakthrough when they were awarded a penalty for a handball infringement in the Scoil Chóca Naofa penalty area in the 38th minute.
Joint Captain Zaki Abdollah assumed responsibility for this one and made no mistake as he expertly converted low to the bottom left hand corner to make it 1-0 to St. Joseph’s.
Try as they might in the final stages of the game Scoil Chóca Naofa just couldn’t find that elusive equaliser and so St. Joseph’s were crowned the Champions of Kilcock and indeed all of Kildare in Division 2.
There were great celebrations at the final whistle as the underdogs defied the odds to come out on top.
Dryzhenko, Wren and Timpson enjoyed excellent performances for Scoil Chóca Naofa. Best for St. Joseph’s on the day were defenders Arthur Genk and Conor Curtin, midfielders Oskar Izbinski and Adrian Bartzczek and strikers Mario and Abdollah.
Joint Captains Bartczek and Abdollah accepted the Cup on behalf of their jubilant team and supporters.
Scoil Choca Naofa | Danilo Dryzhenko, Christian Byrne, Keelan Gibson, Rapolas Tamulis, Matthew Attoe, Ryan Connolly, Jack Wren, Sam Olivier, Eli Lawless, Matteo Timpson, Charlie Goggin.
Subs | Kiril Korolka, Iosaf Gomon, Leon Piasecki, Finn Evers, Seth Chibuda
St. Joseph’s NS | Dylan O’Toole, Arthur Genk, Conor Curtin, Tomás Bailey, Max D, Oskar Izbinski, Sean Hoey, Adrian Bartzcek, John Carlo Di Mario, Zaki Abdollah, Patrick Hoey. Subs | Marcus McCashin, Luke McGearty, Oran O’Neill, Matthew Murray, David Armstrong.
DIVISION 1 BOYS
Scoil Bhríde, Kilcullen 3-1 Scoil Mhuire, Ballymany
Scoil Bhríde, Kilcullen claimed the Division 1 Boys title with an incredibly impressive win over Scoil Mhuire, Ballymany in easily one of the most entertaining games on Finals Day.
This game was back and forth early on, but the Kilcullen School really took control as they began to dominate the midfield. That was thanks to defensive midfielder Cillian Stamper who broke up play, won possession and found an incisive pass on multiple occasions to set up Scoil Bhríde attacks.
Stamper would create the first goal after a sharp interception he chipped a beautiful through ball to Baba Khan who finished calmly past the goalkeeper to give his side the lead just before half-time.
It would be a nightmare start to the second half for Scoil Mhuire as they looked to get back into this game with the concession of a penalty just a minute after the restart.
The young man to step up to the spot was one of the outstanding attackers on the day, Sean Doherty, who put his penalty into the top corner off the underside of the crossbar, giving the opposition goalkeeper, Jame Etuh absolutely no chance.
Scoil Bhríde would go three goals to the good with eight minutes remaining as Sammy Stanislavova slid an excellent through ball to Baba Khan who used his pace and power to beat his man and once again find the net.
Scoil Mhuire would grab a goal back with just a minute to go when a superb flick sent Jake Norman through on goal. It was a tidy finish from the winger, but it would be too little too late as Scoil Bhríde claimed the Division 1 Boys title.
Scoil Bhríde, Kilcullen: Alan Pochlopien, Ben Kavanagh, Dylan Lawler, Cathal Wynne, Charlie Foster; Cillian Stamper, Matthew Murphy, Baba Khan, Harry Landy; Sammy Stanislavova, Sean Doherty.
Subs | Adam Finegan, Ruadhán McGinn, Cillian Kenny, Daire Marshall, Alex Tiwari, Cillian Beresford, Jack Higgins, Davi Lucas, Jackson Barrett, Zach Corrigan, Felix Mahon.
Scoil Mhuire, Ballymany| James Etuh, Oran Beagan, Charlie Wolfe, Oscar Boystev, Oisín Roche; Eran McAuley, James Logan, Seán Tansey, Dominik Dirda; Alex Morrissey, Jake Norman.
Subs | Jayden Murphy, Matthew Pinero, Scott Murphy, Scott Byrne.
DIVISION 2 GIRLS
Castledermot NS 0 - 0 Scoil Eoin Phoil, Leixlip (AET)
(Castledermot won 4-3 on penalties)
Castledermot NS and Scoil Eoin Phoil of Leixlip kicked off the first of five finals in Kilcullen Community Centre 4G pitch on Thursday November 9, 2023
In this eagerly anticipated clash of two sides who had both topped their respective groups with 100% records and scored a combined 42 goals. Teams only conceded 3 goals between them on their respective paths towards the final.
The question on everyone’s lips was whether the attackers or defenders would come out on top in this tussle.
In what was a very closely contested game throughout where both teams were very well matched, it was the defences who were managing to stay on top.
Scoil Eoin Phoil started well and were very unfortunate not to take the lead on a couple of occasions midway through the first half when very good attempts by Ellie O’Shea and Sadhbh Roche went narrowly wide and so the teams were tied at 0-0 as the first half drew to a close.
Castledermot grew into the game in the second half and were unlucky not to take the lead themselves after a strong driving run through the middle by powerful midfielder Kim Chatten was foiled by a terrific diving save at her feet by Leixlip goalkeeper Meddinah Rahman after 32 minutes.
Chances were at a premium at both ends for the remainder of the second half and on the rare occasion when defensive rearguards were breached both sides were very well served by two excellent goalkeepers in Lydia Tanzee of Castledermot and Rahman of Leixlip who both managed to keep a clean sheet throughout the 50 minutes of normal time and subsequent 10 minutes of extra-time. Penalties would be required to separate these two titans.
Both sides scored their first penalty through no. 5’s and centre halves on both sides Beibhinn Silke and Grace Murphy. Ailbhe Kelly who had a great game for Leixlip was unlucky to see her effort well saved by Tanzee before Ellie Mulhall converted for Castledermot.
O’Shea despatched the third penalty with aplomb for Leixlip before Tanzee took a break from netminding to take Castledermot’s third penalty but her kick was well saved by Rahman in the Leixlip goals to leave the score at 2-2 from three. Paige Phillips was next up for Leixlip but she was foiled by Tanzee who made amends immediately with a tremendous save.
Amy Healey made it 3-2 to Castledermot before Jasmina Krumina made it 3-3 with Scoil Eoin Phoil’s fifth penalty of the day and so it all came down to Castledermot’s fifth penalty taker, substitute Caitlin Kelly.
Despite the pressure and gaze of all in attendance watching, this young 10 year old from fourth class calmly stepped up and confidently slotted her penalty home to the bottom left hand corner of Rahman’s net to spark euphoric celebrations amongst the sizeable Castledermot support made up of both girls and boys squads and lots of parents.
It was a very tough way for the girls of Scoil Eoin Phoil of Leixlip to lose and they were consoled by their terrific support of parents and fellow pupils.
Both teams can hold their heads up high after a terrific game.
Captain, Lydia Tanzee accepted the Cup on behalf of her thrilled teammates.
Scoil Eoin Phoil had excellent performances by all, particularly Rahman, Silke, Krumina, O’Shea, Kelly and their twin attackers Sadhbh and Caoimhe Roche while Castledermot had standout performance by the likes of Tanzee, Grace Murphy, Kim Chatten, Ellie Mulhall and matchwinner Caitlin Kelly.
Castledermot NS | Lydia Tanzee, Patrica Procoiouc, Katie Gannon, Jill Keatley, Grace Murphy, Amy Healey, Kaci Mooney, Kim Chatten, Leah Balfe, Ellie Mulhall, Kyia Bird.
Subs | Caitlin Kelly, Sophie Flanagan, Grainne Horan, Nicole Murphy, Cayla Holman
Scoil Eoin Phoil, Leixlip | Meddinah Rahman, Lizzie Urbaniak, Kayla Whelan, Eve Coffey, Beibhinn Silke, Jasmina Krumina, Ellie O’Shea, Paige Phillips, Sadhbh Roche, Ailbhe Kelly, Caoimhe Roche. Subs: Julia Sidor, Wiktoria Boltrukiewicz.
DIVISION 1 GIRLS
Scoil Ui Riada, Kilcock 1-0 Scoil Bhríde, Kill
There was little to separate Scoil Ui Riada & Patrician and Scoil Bhríde, Kill when the sides competed for the biggest prize in primary school girls football.
There was no dominance from either side in this game as they both battled hard in search of a goal against the windy conditions.
The first big chance for a breakthrough came just two minutes before half-time when a penalty was awarded to Scoil Ui Riada for an infringement inside the box. Molly Taylor stepped up to take the penalty but was denied by an incredible save from Scoil Bhríde goalkeeper Aoife Keogh.
Keogh pushed her effort out and away from her goal, but no sooner had she done so was the ball heading back for goal as a rebound was fired towards the net. The ball would clip the crossbar and come back out once more as Scoil Bhríde tried desperately to get the game’s opening goal.
It was third time lucky for the attacking side as penalty-taker Molly Taylor got another chance to open the scoring and this time, she took it superbly as she drilled her effort into the back of the net.
Scoil Bhríde did all they could to get back into this game, driven forward by Rosie Molloy and Heidi Fox. They tried to open up a resilient opposition defence but to no avail.
Scoil Ui Riada did an incredible job in keeping a clean sheet in this game as they claimed the Division 1 Girls title following their superb performance.
Scoil Ui Riada, Kilcock | Caoimhe; Ella Ni Ghiolla Pádraid, Emma de Creag, Ciara Downa, Jessica Ní hllaine; Gráinne Gallagher, Céide Brilly, Molly Taylor, Ciara Ní Maithúna; Aoibhín Ni Chorra, Aoife Ní Cillín.
Subs | Lily Ní Cillín, Lily Ní Thuaithe, Sorcha Ní Dhúnaigh, Ciara Ní Cheallaigh, Mia Ní Dhutaigh, Isebéal Ní hllainne.
Scoil Bhríde, Kill | Aoife Keogh; Amelie Smyth, Abbie Lynch, Emer Markey, Isabel Moylan; Orlaith Youd, Habiba Helmy, Caoimhe Brennan, Ellen Moran; Conny Hennessy, Heidi Fox.
Subs | Aida Finnerty, Miley Dunne, Ellie Cummins, Mia Dunne, Moya Higgins, Amber Critchley, Molly McGarry, Rosie Molloy, Isabel Phelan
