Youths cup semi final Johnville 2 Mooncoin 1

The two top teams in the division went toe toe in an epic cup semi final in Ozier park today .
As holders of the cup we were highly motivated to turn in a performance to try secure a crack at retaining the trophy but came up against a top class Johnville side who just edged the result 2.1..
We started the game brilliantly and had most of the possession and the football we played was top quality in the early exchanges.
The midfield bossed the pace of the game with their pressing , tackling and passing .
We opened the scoring after 15 minutes when a great ball from Dan Cleary deep into the Johnville area caused confusion between defender and keeper , when the ball popped up Evan Cleary was well placed to head home.
We continued to force the game and a few more chances went astray before Johnville started to get more of the play in the 10 mins before half time.
The equaliser came when a clearance was intercepted and a shot from just inside the box found the net.
The opposition forced the tempo of the game in the second half and we had to work extremely hard to create anything and restrict Johnville to the minimum of chances.
They had the luck on the hour mark when a surging run from a midfielder took him to the end line and when his delivery arrived in the box the centre forward reacted first to head home off the cross bar.
The last half hour was played at a frantic pace as both teams soaked up pressure and counter attacked to try and force the crucial goals to book a spot in the final.
Despite the few tactical and personel changes we got plenty of balls into the box but we didn’t have the luck in seeking the equaliser.
The lads can consider themselves unlucky to lose out but full credit to the Johnville players and coaches on their second half performance which ultimately swung the game in their favour.
Disappointment is hard to take in any walk of life but thats what we sign up for in sport, today didn’t go our way but these young men have done themselves proud this season and are a credit to their parents and families.
The future of the club looks in good hands with these lads coming through to junior football next season.
Although we have a league game still to play, the management want to thank the parents for their support throughout the season in getting the lads to matches , training and being vocal on the line for all our games this season .Greatly appreciated 👍🏻