Mooncoin win 5-4 on penaltys

Aother cup game this week as we entertained neighbours Piltown .
A rather poor performance saw us advance to the semi finals thanks to a penalty shootout .The visitors were by far the better side on the day in every aspect of the game. They showed a hunger and desire to win every ball and we can be grateful for some excellent defending to keep us in this game throughout the 90 mins.
The first half was an uneventful show as there was little creativity or goal mouth action .
An improvement in atitude in the second half saw us play with a bit of composure for a while and a few chances were created during the opening period of the half.
But Piltown to their credit got on top and forced us into long spells of defending and were unlucky not to open the scoring when a good save from Darragh rebounded to a Piltown striker and his effort was goal bound only for Jack to throw himself in front of the ball and clear the danger.
A few substitutions at this stage allowed us to get higher up the pitch and start creating more chances.
The opening goal arrived after 70 minutes when a harmless back pass was chased down by James and his block on the keepers clearance rebounded into the net.For the first time in the game we looked comfortable and could possibly have increased the lead only for some safe handling by the Piltown goalie.
The visitors got their reward in the last minute when a loose ball in midfield was pounced on and great pass sent a striker clear , although his shot was parried by Darragh they had a queue of lads waiting to tap into the empty goal.
Full time ended 1-1 and onto the penalty shootout and the good fortune favoured us as Lee,Dylan,Ryan,James and Dan Cleary all scored to put us through 5-4.
Big crowd out today to support us and it’s massively appreciated by all in the group .
Semi finals are fixed for next weekend and similar support again would be great.

Our 300 club monthly draw takes place tonight at 8:30 pm in Doyle’s Bar in Carrigeen.

Disappointing morning for the under 14s yesterday especially after coming out the strongest. It was a cold, wet windy morning that didn’t really suit our play. Some great moves seen us take the lead through Sam Hartwell and we went two up mid way through the first half from another goal by Sam which was really well taken. Villa were very strong moving forward and got on top of us in the second half. Alex Bailey was at the heart of the attack and drove us forward Liam Hogan and lee Freyne made up the midfield which is very effective. Sean Lennon and Eoin O’Callaghan on the wings. We were in control with all those players early on. Ciara O’Keeffe and Denis Kinsella were busy at full back with most of Villas play coming down the wings. Mikey Cronin played in central defence and had a lot of clearing to do. Tom Conway has a good game at Centre half throughout. Adam Conway got unlucky on a few occasions. Our subs today Conor Dermody got into play but couldn’t break through. Mike O’Keeffe and Matthew Morahan were the other subs.. hard luck better luck next day. Man of the match Sam Hartwell

The very best of luck to our u14 girls keeper Mia Ponce De Leon who plays with the Waterford U12 Girls Development squad in the FAI u12 blitz tomorrow in Bunclody FC Wexford.
Waterford play four games over the course of the afternoon:
1st game
1.30
Waterford v Carlow
2.50pm
Waterford v Wexford
4.05pm
Waterford v S Tipperary
5.10pm
Waterford v Cork.

We travelled to an even windier than usual annestown to play title chasing seaview. Conditions were terrible with a swirling wind that made it very difficult for both sides. We had the better of the opening stages with Ben and Anil running the wings. We went behind against the run of play but battled back into the game. Jamie ran at their defence and nearly levelled but the keeper aided by the wind kept him out. Just as we were getting on top the wind caught a cross and beat Paddy. 2.0 down at the break. The 2nd half went same as the first we had majority of the play but just couldnt get the better of the conditions. Daragh made a few good runs and had a good effort well saved. Great performance by all 17 players who played their hearts out and they deserved something from this game. Man of the match Sean Kearns . Next up Kilmacow away.

A Thursday evening trip to Poleberry threw up an opportunity to get momentum going before the cup starts next week but Bohs put it up to them for the hour. Mikey Cronin continued his good form with a brace, Emily Blackmore celebrated her inclusion in the u13 Waterford Girls Gaynor Cup squad with a super finish and the ever reliable Mike O’Keeffe finished off the scoring. This talented squad kick off their cup campaign away to Tramore next week.

10 left standing with one through on Liverpool tonight, two on Spurs and the rest on Fulham, Everton, Southampton, Leicester, Watford, Brighton and Man City. Surely a couple of fallers over the weekend?

Tomorrow:
U12 away to Seaview Celtic, kick off 10.30
U14 away to Villa, kick off 10.30
Support for both teams is most welcome tomorrow if at all possible.
Sunday:
Youth Cup Quarter Final home to Piltown, kick off 2pm
Support for this team is vital as this bunch of 16 and 17 year olds head in to an important couple of weeks with two trophies up for grabs.

Our U14 Girls team took to the field this evening to take on Ballyduff .
Missing a few players and also missing Master Tacticians Miguel and Padraig ,
Sheila Goulding and Catherine Blackmore and a panel of 12 determined young ladies took to the pitch in search of their first points of the season .
Mooncoin started the game very well and pressed forward at every opportunity with Kayleigh Smith and Eve Dunphy putting the Ballyduff defenders to the test . Eimear Quinn and Ella Brennan fought hard in the middle of the field for every ball sending balls down the wings . Our first goal came from a cleverly placed throw in from Ciara O Keeffe who found the Foot of Emily Blackmore who travelled diagonally with the ball making sure to position herself to slot the ball to the back of the net . 1 Nil Mooncoin . The game was frantic for the next ten minutes with Mooncoin trying to take a hold of the game . Katie Tolan , Ella Bailey , Ellie Corcoran and Sophie Scahill defended and shut down every ball that came their way . Which seemed to be working well, until a Ballyduff player broke onto a through ball and made no mistake putting it to the net . 1 All . Mia Ponce De Leon pulled off some fantastic saves between the sticks this evening. Half time came with the teams in deadlock . It was all still there to be played for . A quick drink and some words of encouragement on the sidelines the girls headed back in for the second half . Georgia Grant replaces Kayleigh Smith in the middle of the field , and made her presence known . There was chances to be had on both sides in the second half with the keepers on both teams coming to the rescue on more than one occasion . Midway through the second half Ella Brennan passed the ball to Ciara O Keeffe who got her foot under it and sent the ball up the field . Emily Blackmore happened upon the ball beating 2 defenders before looking up to see the Ballyduff keeper coming off her line . Emily took another two steps before chipping the ball over the head of the keeper and to the back of the net, 2-1 Mooncoin . Tiredness by this stage was creeping in , but the girls kept plugging away and encouraging each other doing the very best they could . Ballyduff played a lovely ball down the line and a great cross in from the sideline was finished to the goal only narrowly beating Mia. 2 All . Eve Dunphy came close to grabbing the winner this evening and was a constant thorn in the side of Ballyduff defence . The last ten mins saw both teams scramble to get the win and take all three points , but a draw was the outcome . Our girls never gave up this evening , their heads never dropped and their steely determination saw them get the point that they so desperately wanted and without a doubt deserved . Great result and performance by all.

U14 girls home to Ballyduff,
Kick off 6.45
Please get down to Ashgrove to support this young squad as they aim for their first win.