Shared points today in absolute awful conditions. Both teams were well matched and it was end to end stuff. We started off the strongest making a few chances that we should have taken. We were knocking on the door until an own goal by a St. Paul’s defender gave us the lead. Some really good performances on the day. Sam Hartwell as the lone striker didn’t get as much chances as he would like but gave it his all. Adam Conway is making the right wing his own. Stephen Foran started on the left hand side and almost broke though on two occasions. The midfield three of Alex Bailey, Lee Freyne and Diego Blanco Ibanez were constantly on the hunt for goals and were involved in everything. Ciara O’Keeffe was excellent at right back and Denis Kinsella had a really steady game at left back. Our central defence was on Top it it’s game with Tom Conway getting involved in everything. Conor Dermody’s first game at Centre back earned him Man of the Match today. He broke down two certain goals with his quick pace. Jonah O’Toole is really progressing in the goal. Mikey Cronin came on and added freshness to heavy legs. Second half we introduced Matthew Morahan who was unlucky not a get on to a loose ball. Dylan Conway came on in midfield and played well giving another option to there. A game we probably should have taken but we can’t argue with the point and sharing the spoils with a very good St. Paul’s team. Many thanks to the lads in St. Paul’s for great sport and the teams showing great respect to each other. Well done everyone.

Our first home game of the season welcomed Sttadbally. Conditions were terrible for a game .We started slow but got on top midway through the first half. We conceeded on stroke of half time against the run of play. We started the second half brightly and were level after a rasping Jamie Croke shot was only pushed into partied into the path of Anil Ramaswamey who slotted home. We went behind again after confusion in our defence . The lads rallied and a fantastic 20 yard effort from Canice Kinsella found the net. We pushed hard for the winner but as we tired we conceded 3 late goals . This was a dramatic improvement on our first outing and our first win shouldnt be too far away. Up next is a visit to Waterford Crystal on Sat 19th
Mom Jamie Croke

We couldn’t have asked for a better start as the game was only a few minutes old when Aidan Carroll (wearing runners) contested and won a header that seen Jason Ryan bring the ball into the box before slotting past the Crystal keeper. Not long later Stephen Brennan extended the score and made it 2-0. Jason Ryan swung a dangerous corner in from the left side which the Crystal defence couldn’t deal with and put it in their own goal to make it 3-0. Jasons corners were proven to be an issue for Crystal and he was unlucky not to get his second goal of the day as the ball rattled the crossbar direct from the corner. Crystal pulled one back before the break to make it 3-1. The second half seen Crystal put us under a lot of threat but the defence of Sherwan, Patrick, Liam and Mike held strong before a re-shuffle at the back as Liam had to leave the field after picking up an injury. Crystal got a second but this Mooncoin team held strong until the final whistle to take all 3 points. Need to mention our new goalkeeper Joe Delahunty who had another excellent game in his first season on the bigger goals, calm and collected from this young man in the goal.

Player of the Match goes to Jason Ryan with 1 goal and an assist.

Starting Team: Joe; Sherwan; Patrick; Liam; Mike O’K, Daniel; Ciara (Captain); Eoin Mc; Stephen; Jason; Aidan.

Subs: Anthony; Matthew; Will; Jamie; Mikey Cronin.

A second win for Mooncoin girls in just over two days. A final score of 9-6 was not looking likely when we went 2 down inside the first 5 minutes but a goal by Mollie Murphy on 10 minutes started a revival which left us 5-2 ahead at the break. Villa started well after halftime and pulled it back to 5-4 but we managed to keep our noses in front throughout, finishing strongly with Molly Quinn scoring a second half hat trick. Ella Brennan, Saoirse Drennan and a first half hat trick from Saoirse Dunphy all got on the scoresheet. The Villa star players were well marshalled by our defense and both goalkeepers (Aoibhinn and Hannah) pulled off a string of saves. This was an excellent squad performance with all of the subs getting game time. It is our policy to ensure that everyone gets to play as this is the only way that they will improve. This may mean that some of the results won’t go our way but the only way for the girls to develop the skills is in the heat of battle on the pitch. We have a big squad and players who couldn’t play tonight will get to play on Sunday against Bohs.

Our U12 Girls team who kicked off their league tonight with a 9-6 win away to the Villa under the lights in the splendid Connors Park.

Late report from the weekend in what was a cracking game. Ballyduff raced in to a two goal lead but the lads kept trying to play their way back into the game and they did just that when Conor Holohan and Eoghan Dermody pulled the two goals back but Ballyduff were the victors with a late winner. Coaches were very happy with the performance of all involved.

Our u10 girls also played Railway/Cappoquin yesterday and an excellent hour of football was on show in a very tight game with the girls putting the training to work.

What a performance, and finally a result to match. This has been a long time coming. It was an outstanding exhibition of team play from the very first minute to the very last. Ellie and Eimear bossed the middle of the park. Kayla, Leah, Sophie and Ella kept their shape and limited Cappoquin to very few chances on goal. The defense had learned a lot of lessons from the Villa match – I would love to have a second go at Villa based on this performance. On the few occasions that Cappoquin did get through, Mia was alert and snuffed them out. Mia’s kick-outs have also improved and they provided a springboard for many attacks. Luiseach and Molly worked tirelessly on the wings, pushing forward at every opportunity while tracking back to help out the full backs when the need arose. Up front Emily and Ella put on a show. In the first half they hit the woodwork 3 times in addition to the 3 goals.
We started brightly and were ahead after 5 minutes through a goal from Emily Blackmore. Three minutes later we were 2 up again through Emily after a delightful pass from Ellie Corcoran. On 15 minutes Emily hit the bar, only to hit the post 5 minutes later. Cappoquin had a period of pressure to which the defence was defiant. Emily scored her hat-trick a few minutes before the break, again after latching on to a through ball from Ellie. Ella Brennan hit the post a minute later. The half finished with a period of sustained Cappoquin pressure. They had a narrow miss as well as two corners and were showing signs that they will be a force to be reckoned with in time to come.
The second half started as the first one ended with a corner to Cappoquin. A few minutes later Luiseach played Emily in but the resulting shot went narrowly. The game was put to bed by Emily after a long run from midfield following an excellent pass from Ella Brennan. Ella finally got her her just rewards when she scored from outside of the box. Even though Cappoquin’s heads were down at this stage they still kept battling and our defence had to work non-stop to keep them out. On 50 minutes Luiseach scored her first ever goal and it was one that was richly deserved. 5 minutes later Emily ran straight through the middle to notch up her 5th goal and Ella Brennan rounded off the scoring a minute later. Kate McGrath and Grace Ramasawmy replaced Ellie Corcoran and Emily Blackmore with about 10 minutes remaining and the team kept playing as they had throughout; as a team. This team has always had an excellent work ethic and a willingness to push to the very end. All they lacked was the belief that they could do it; a belief that the coaches have always had. Cappoquin can take a lot of positives from the game, if not the result. We know what it is like to be on the receiving end of such scorelines and it is clear that they have a core group of talented players who will get better and stronger over the next year or two, and who will be able to bring along the other girls to a level that they could not imagine at the moment.

A trip to Williamstown today for an Fai cup game and a step up in class against 1A side
St Joseph’s for this young side .
We hit the ground running in this encounter and the midfield flew into tackles with savage intensity to dominate the early part of the game .
A through ball from Ben Fitzpatrick split the home defence and the cunning Jack Ryan ghosted in behind both centre backs to finish brilliantly high into the net .
Our intense work rate continued for the remainder of the half and the home side found it difficult to settle into any sort of rhythm to cause us any problems .
We went in at half time a goal up and possibly should’ve been further ahead only for a brilliant block by a defender and a few half chances missed.
The home side had the better of the exchanges in the early part of the second half but the young lads dug in and defended and pressed the opposition superbly all over the field .
At this stage a cup upset looked on the cards as St Joseph’s started to empty the bench in an attempt to get back on level terms .
The equaliser came after 65 mins when a mix up in defence allowed a st Joseph’s midfielder with the easiest of finishes.
We got on top again and dominated possession for a spell and forced the opposition into conceding numerous corners and frees around the edge of the box .
Unfortunately when one of our attacks broke down the home side swept up the field and 3 passes later the ball nestled in our goal.
A few changes to get fresh legs on failed to yield the desired effect and the third St Joseph’s goal arrived from the penalty spot after the ref seemed to see a foul on someone.
Decent performance by the lads but a dissapointing result for their efforts on the day .
Hopefully performances like today against better opposition will give these young lads the confidence and belief to keep improving.
Well done to all involved 👏👏

A tired and jaded display from the boys who tried to get going from the off but it wasn’t to be. A dominant first half with numerous corners and free kicks being wasted, the pressure never told and Carrick took the lead with a 50/50 ball ricocheting to the net. A stern half time chat did little to change things and it was Carrick who took their chances to take a deserved three points to keep their 100% record in tact. Kieran Fagan notched the goal today and Jay Langford was the pick of our lot. Disappointing day at the office for the boys but they will bounce back in a couple of weeks and will be a match for any team once fresh.