U-10 BRENDAN MCKENNA CUP
Joy as final countdown begins for Boys in blue
BALSCADDEN BOYS (E)..4 PORTMARNOCK (F)........1
Balscadden Boys' Under-10E team celebrate their victory against Portmarnock at the weekend.
Wednesday March 10 2010
DECKED out in their new Castlerock Building Services-sponsored jerseys, Balscadden did the club proud as they won through in Saturday's Brendan McKenna Cup semi-final.
Both teams applied themselves superbly in the first half, but it was Balscadden who controlled the game courtesy of some great defending from Ben Keogh and Dylan Foster.
Ryan Holland was the first to test the Portmarnock keeper, only for his instinctive shot to go just wide of the far post.
Balscadden continued to pressure the Portmarnock goal, with Adam Carroll's through-ball to Paul Whelan requiring a timely intervention by the Portmarnock defence.
Portmarnock came more into the game after that, but Balscadden's midfield stood firm, with forward James Gannon pulling off a crucial interception as a Portmarnock player bore down on goal.
Adam Carroll also got in a terrific block as the two teams went in at half-time on level terms. But a rousing team talk from the Balscadden management team of Philip Foster and Paul McQuirk had the desired effect as Balscadden turned in a terrific second-half display.
The boys in blue finally got the goal their efforts deserved when Tadhg Woods, having taken control of the ball from the right side of defence, delivered a perfectly weighted pass into Jamie Fennell.
Fennell duly obliged with a cracking effort, and then a minute later Adam Pine slotted home a second goal for Balscadden amongst great cheers and excitement from the Balscadden supporters.
With Balscadden's man of the match Adam Carroll controlling the midfield, it was looking good for the home side at that stage.
Portmarnock, however, were not out of this game yet, and Balscadden keeper Ruaidhri Power had to pull off some great saves in the second half.
Subs Luke Clarke, Aaron Lynch and Ryan MacDonald were brought on to relieve some tiring legs following a relentless spell of attacking play from Portmarnock.
And despite another terrific save from Power, Portmarnock finally found the back of the net to leave the game wide open again.
However, with Ryan Mac Donald adding a third for his team, Balscadden were given a bit of breathing space which they needed as a wonderfully committ e d Portmarnock outfit continued to press forward. However Jamie Fennell's second goal took the game out of Portmarnock's reach and they nearly got a fifth when Meaghan Gannon delivered a slick through-ball into Fennell who was just inches away from completing his hat-trick.
Balscadden would like to thank their very dedicated and hard-working managers Philip and Paul and extend a big thank-you to the hard-working linesman Tim Woods and referee Jason McGlynn who played a fair and open game.
