U14 Football Championship Fri 2nd June’23

Passage 8-6 St Vincent’s 6-10

What a game in Manning Park last night. Passage young u14 players pulled off a sensational comeback to beat an excellent St Vincent’s side. With 14 mins left on the clock Passage were 12 points down and it looked game over.  Somehow they regrouped to score 4-2 in the closing minutes to secure an amazing win. Vincent’s started brightly and scored their first goal on the 5-minute mark. Only for some great defending by the Passage full back line of Ollie O’Neill, Oscar O’Sullivan and Finn O’Connor, the scoreline would have been far worse for Passage. Passage slowly came back into the game. Corner forward Zac Lenihan was making several great runs and was unlucky with a pointed effort that went inches wide. From the resulting kick out midfielder, Philip Heavey won the ball and sent a lovely ball to Zac who beat his man and gave a quick hand pass to the on-running David O’Connor. David scored a goal into the bottom corner to level the match after 10 minutes.  Vincents raised their game and for the next 15 mins scored 1-5 without reply. In fairness, some of their football was breathtaking to watch. Philip Heavey scored a goal against the run of play, but Passage found the going tough. Vincents replied immediately with two long-range points before they were awarded a penalty. The Vincents forward made no mistake to give them a 10-point lead coming up to the halftime break. David O’Connor scored the last score of the half with a well-taken point after a great pass from Eoghan O’Bryne. The referee blew the halftime whistle with the score standing Passage 2-1 Vincents 3-7. Passage went to the dressing room for the halftime talk and a few choice words were needed with the team down 9 points. Passage playing into the town end started well and the excellent Philip Heavey scored a great goal after only two minutes. Vincents replied with a long-range point but Passage was definitely playing better than the first half. Daniel Collier scored a point before Vincents fired in two quick goals to give them a 12-point cushion. It looked like the game was over at this stage but somehow Passage began to come back into the game. Their half-back line of Corey Browne, Sean Cash and Finn Brady got a grip on the game and midfielder Aidan O’Connor started running at the Vincent’s defence. Two goals from full forward David O’Connor and Sam O’Flynn narrowed the gap to 6 points with 10 minutes left on the clock. Vincents replied with three points and looked home and dry. Passage scored 2-1 in the next few minutes to only leave a point between the teams. Daniel Collier and Philip Heavey got the two goals with the hard-working centre forward Mark Barry firing over the well-taken point. Vincents straight from the kick out worked the ball up the field and scored a goal after a goal-line scramble. There was still time for some more drama. Passage scored two quick points from an Aidan O’Connor free and a great point from Daniel Collier. Passage was awarded another free which Philip Heavey stepped up to take. His shot out of the hands dropped in under the crossbar for a goal and Passage was in the lead. Vincents weren’t finished and they worked the ball up the field playing terrific football. They had one final goal chance but somehow Daniel Mooney managed to save the effort and the final whistle went. Passage had snatched victory against all the odds. 

Daniel Mooney made some great saves throughout and was the hero at the finish with his late-minute save. The full-back line of Ollie, Oscar and Finn was steady all night and they got in some great clearances during the game. Oscar made two great blocks stopping certain goals. The half-back line Corey, Sean and Finn especially in the second half stood tall and eventually came out best in this titanic battle. Midfielders Aidan and Philip Heavey ran themselves to a standstill. They covered every blade of grass in Manning Park and Philip’s 4 goals was some achievement. In the half-forward line Brian, Mark and Austin worked hard all night and can be proud of their performance. They were back helping out the defence for most of the game sacrificing their attacking play. The full forward line Eogan David and Zach were living off scraps in the first half but they won several balls and kept Vincent’s defence pushed back. Sam O’Flynn, Tom Kileen and Daniel Collier all helped to turn the game in favour of Passage and 2-2 was scored from the bench. Some players didn’t get a run in this game but have all played their part over the last few games. 

Heroes all well done to all the players and the management team.  

Team Daniel Mooney, Ollie O Neill, Oscar O Sullivan, Finn O Connor, Corey Browne, Sean Cash, Finn Brady, Aidan O Connor, Philip Heavey, Brian Griffin, Mark Barry, Austin Horgan, Eoghan O Bryne, David O Connor, Zachary Lenihan. Subs used; Sam O’Flynn, Tom Kileen, Daniel Collier

Scorers: Philip Heavey 4-1, David O’Connor 2-1, Daniel Collier 1-2, Sam OFlynn 1-0. Aidan O Connor 0-1, Mark Barry 0-1.