U16 Football League – Thursday 25th April 2024

Posted April 30, 2024

Naomh Mearnóg 5-07
Ballyboden 0-08
U16 Football League – Thursday 25th April 2024

Naomh Mearnóg U16s circled the M50 at rush hour on Thursday evening and came home with the spoils after another comprehensive victory in the Division 4 football league.
Former Dublin senior football manager Jim Gavin ran the line for Ballyboden but he came up against a stellar man from Meath as Rob Wall’s Mearnóg charges dominated the game from start to finish.
The game exploded into life when Mearnóg had the ball in the Ballyboden net after just 15 seconds. Burns won the throw in from a tap down from Cillian Lyons and 4 passes later Lyons was on hand to crash the ball to the Ballyboden net. Lyons went on to have one of his finest games in a Mearnóg shirt as he displayed real energy and workrate around the field and added some impressive fielding to his play.
Rory O’Sullivan fisted Ballyboden’s first point before Finn O’Donnel and Colin Duffy exchanged points after 7 minutes.
Mearnóg’s second goal came after 9 minutes when Liam Hogan split the Boden defence with a powerful solo run. He found Burns who passed on to O’Donnel and there was only one place that ball was going and that was the back of the net.

At this stage Mearnóg were playing champagne football. The ball was being moved up the field with real pace and intensity, using an excellent mix of short fist passes and long foot passes.
Mearnóg defenders Ronan O’Brien and Patrick Corcoran were coming forward in waves. Cillian Brennan and Oisin Carroll were working hard. Burns and Rafter were spraying the ball around to great effect.
Further scores from Burns and O’Donnell left the score 2-04 to 0-04 after 20 minutes. Mearnóg could have had 2 more goals were it not for some errant shooting but they made amends when Finn O’Donnell goaled after 23 minutes and Theo Dunne drilled a fine effort to the net on 28 minutes.

Ballyboden were rocked and Mearnóg had delivered as fine a 30 minutes football as they had played all year. The half time score was Mearnóg 4-05 to Ballyboden 0-04.
Mearnóg continued to dominate the game in the second half but for whatever reason found it very difficult to score. The tremendous build up play continued but they found it very difficult to score with shots hitting the crossbar, rebounding off the goalpost, landing into the hands of the Ballyboden goalkeeper, missed final passes and a fair share of wides. Something to work on for future games ahead.
Finn O’Donnell did score a goal on 47 minutes and Ballyboden kept playing scoring 0-04 in the final ten minutes but the game had died as a contest long before this.
This win leaves Mearnóg second to Round Towers Lusk in the league with an important match coming up on Tuesday 7th May at home to Templeogue Synge St.

Mearnóg scorers: Finn O’Donnell (3-3), Daniel Burns (0-3), Cillian Lyons (1-0), Theo Dunne (1-0), Cillian Slevin (0-1),
Ballyboden scorers: Cormac 21 (0-3), Colin Duffy (0-2), Rory O’Sullivan (0-1) Mathew Lehane (0-1) Jude Gavin (0-1)

Panel: Jack Clarke, Louis Burel, Adam Kerr, Patrick Corcoran, Sam Reid, Theo Dunne, Ronan O’Brien, Cillian Lyons, Daniel Burns, Finn O’Donnell, Liam Hogan, Shane Rafter, Oisine Carroll, Cillian Brennan, Cillian Slevin, Senan Miland, Thuan Ball, Jake Beckett, Daragh Fahy, Jack Dowley.