Brteslin Cup quarter-final

All Saints 1-9 Aghagallon 1-6

All Saints U16 footballers  advanced to the semi- final of the Breslin Cup where they will face Moneyglass.  They defeated a good Aghagallon team by 3 points in a closely fought encounter at Slemish Park today.

Scores were hard to come by in a game with both defences on top and space was at a premium. 

The young Saints competed all over pitch with fierce determination and dominated early passages of play but struggled to make their dominance count on the scoreboard.  They missed several scoring opportunities and left themselves under pressure at times.

A nip and tuck first half left All Saints with a slender 2 point lead at half time on a score line of 0-4 to 0-2.

The home side began the second half on the front foot and scored 2 early points to take a 4 point lead.

Playing possession football they retained the lead throughout the 2nd half and maintained a 3 point cushion as the game entered its closing stages. They extended that lead to 6 points and looked to have secured the game following a superbly taken goal by Ronan McKillop.

Heading into injury time, they  held their 6 point lead but  Aghagallon were awarded a 13m free and this was superbly blasted to the roof of the net to leave a goal between the teams.

The Saints rallied to steady the ship and held on for a 3 point win.  Final score 1.9 to 1.6.

This was a determined performance from an improving U16 team. The young team showed great maturity, confidence and game management to win this game and reach the semi- finals.

Excellent performances all over the pitch with strong defensive displays, dominant midfield and lots of good link up play in the forward line.

More to come from this team and further improvements will be required if they are to reach the final.

Team: Daniel McCoy, Ryan Martin, Jude Casey, Paddy O Brien, Patrick Ferris, Michael Read, Ryan McCartney, Ronan McKillop, Shaun O’Callaghan, Tyrone Mitchel, Ross McKay, Cal O Brien, Oisin O Mullin, Joe O Rawe, Ciaran Campbell.