Mooncoin Celtic started well and were controlling the play until the 13th minute when the Villa ran through the middle and scored their first goal, a second Villa goal came against the run of play just a short 3 minutes later when a dangerous back across the front of our goal went astray and was pounced on by a vigilant Villa . 2-0 Down . Emily Blackmore forced her way through the Villa defence on the 20 minutes managing to take a shot on goal but unfortunately it went slightly wide if the post . We put ourselves under savage pressure with another back pass almost costing us . But the back four of Ellie Corcoran , Sophie Schaill, Leah Thompson and Kayla Bolger managed to get it under control and make the clearance . At half time the girls were guided by the coaches to be more accurate with their passing and getting their heads up to find a support player .

The second half got off to a bad start when a ball sneaked under the foot of Mia Ponce De Leon who came out to make the clearance.

The introduction of Katie Phelan on the right wing in place of Grace Ramysamy who had a good game , this gave Katie a chance to show her worth, as she had been itching to get in from the first kick . Villa got their 4th goal after a strong run down the middle again, where Mia came out to make the clearance but clashed with the Villa player . This spelled the end of Mia’s game , Emily stepped between the sticks and we introduced Kate McGrath to the midfield . Villa were on the attack and heading for goal in the 45th minute but were denied by Emily who put the ball out for a corner . Ellie Corcoran worked well to control the resulting incoming corner and Emily got a boot to it to make the clearance . Stand out players for Mooncoin today were Laoiseach O Donohue , Leah Thompson and Kayla Bolger . Plenty of lessons learned from today with the coaches having plenty to work on in training .

A blistering start by the lads and they flew in to a two goal lead through Eoin Tobin and Sean ‘Donoghue
Winning 2-0 after 15 minutes and all was cool. St Paul’s score a poorly defended goal and then just before half time we left in another soft goal 2-2 at half time. Straight into the 2nd half we did not start at all and found ourselves 4-2 down in no time. St. Pauls were that bit more physical and we lost all energy and shape on a hot evening on the Moon, 6-2 was the final score.
A sharp learning curve for this squad and will learn as the season goes on.

In hot clammy conditions Mooncoin hosted Tramore in Ashgrove yesterday afternoon . A close fought encounter which ended in a 1-1 draw , it was a game with many twists and turns . Mooncoins back four of Mike o Keeffe , Ciara O Keeffe , Sherwan and Liam joy laid down an early marker , letting Tramore know it was going to be no easy feat to get past them . And if they had an occasion to get past , the ever ready Joe “Mex” Del was on hand to deny any goals that might come a knocking . The first half had lots to offer for both teams , with Tramore getting a couple of chances on target , and Mooncoin also having a chance or two with Will Cuddihy unlucky not to finish to the net from a clever Mikie Cronin cross, and Jason Ryan also coming close , a little jigging of players positions from the coaches seen us settle into the game a little better coming up to the half time mark . Words of encouragement from the coaches and from the players to each other at half time saw us set about making the second half count . The game ebbed and flowed for the next ten minutes . The game began to gather a little momentum when a Mike o Keeffe clearance found Emily Blackmore out on the sideline who cleverly played the ball ahead and took on her maker , taking the ball towards the corner flag , Emily got the shot away sending the ball towards the danger area , the Tramore keeper came to make the save , but a little confusion left the ball fall to the foot of the cool, calm and collected Jamie Croke , who made no mistake in finishing the ball to the net . The Mooncoin sideline erupted at this point . The players got straight back into the game and played their hearts out , the heat at this point taking its toll on both sides , exhaustion is now setting in at this point. Daniel Roberts played one of his best games of ball today and really made his mark on the wing . Ben O Hanlon proved his worth when introduced after 15 mins of the second half pushing foward every opportunity he got . The Introduction of Eoin “Ronseal” McGrath (Bubbles christened him today, as he does exactly what it says in the tin , or better still exactly what bubbles tells him ) was a breath of fresh air for the defense as he cleared every ball that came his way . With the closing stages of the game looming , Tramore launched an attack and got a shot off on goal , saved by Joe, but Mooncoin weren’t quick enough to make the clearance and Tramore made no mistake in finishing to the net. There were no clear cut chances after that and the game flowed towards its conclusion. A very well earned point for the Mooncoin team , who have contested well in the first two games of the season, plenty of positives to be taken from today’s game and of course lessons to be learned aswell . A massive thank you to All the Parents on the sideline , who have been there week in week out for the last couple of years , always encouraging the player and coaches . The Boys and girls will be back training during the week and eager to play the next chapter of this 2019/2020 season .

A tight game on the Moon yesterday with little quarter given by either side. Very few chances created in an even first half saw it 0-0 at half time. Second half was a different story with both teams going for it and with 10 minutes left on the clock an Aaron McLaughlin corner wasn’t dealt with, and Rizgar poked it in to break the deadlock, 2 minutes later a through ball from Kieran Fagan saw Rudi round the keeper to make it 2-0. Rudi had another goal ruled off side a couple of minutes later and the lads saw out the game to secure three points. Man of the match Liam Quinn just ahead of the ever reliable Luke & Adrian.

Today:
U12A home to Bohs B, kick off 6pm
The lads will look to build on their opening day win and secure another 3 points in what will surely be a tough league with quality teams.

Tomorrow:
U12B away to St Paul’s,
kick off 4.30
A trip to the Parish is never easy but the boys can take great confidence from last week’s display against Park Rangers and use it to good effect this week.

U14 home to Tramore B,
Kick off 2.30
An opening defeat to Seaview Celtic last weekend will not have dampened the mood as a lot of positives were taken from this game. The step up in division for this squad will hopefully bring them on throughout the season.

U16 away to St Paul’s,
Kick off 2.30
After a bruising encounter in Dungarvan last Saturday, the boys will be eager to get one over on Paul’s in this one and get three points on the board.

Sunday:
4th division away to Kilmacow
Kick off 11am
The older boys under Scoby’s watch will hope to build on their opening day win and try build momentum early on.

U10 Girls home to Ballyduff
Kick off 11am
The young girls in the club are back training with a couple of weeks and we hope last year will stand to them in the season ahead.

U14 Girls away to Villa
Kick off 11am
A busy summer in the transfer window has seen this squad add a number of new girls and also a couple of new coaches who have been working hard the last few weeks. With nearly all of last year’s squad still underage we hope this squad will kick on from the off.

Another busy weekend for the club and as always we ask ye to get out to support our teams.

A little confusion overshadowed this one as two away teams showed up to play our lads but the boys weren’t phased one bit and dominated Crystal in the first half with Adam Croke, Paraic Murphy and Donnacha Hogan well on top in midfield. A super free kick by Evan Cleary opened the scoring and it was 1-0 at half time.
The second half was similar with little troubling our keeper and the two wingers in flying form with the returning Ryan Carroll and Pat Walsh a constant thorn in Crystal’s side. An Adam Croke free kick proved too hot to handle for the away keeper and Paraic Murphy reacted quickest to bundle the ball home. They ran down the clock from here but got a scare in injury time when Crystal converted a penalty. Good performance by all 16 with Paraic Murphy and Ryan Carroll the pick of the bunch.