U-12 Trip 2011

U12 friendly match away to Mossley Hill 3rd April 2011
Mossley Hill 1 Midleton 1
After a twelve hour journey the lads had to face a tough game against a very strong team, which included Liverpool Academy players. But as usual the lads were up to the challenge and played a game that Mosley Hill at first could not deal with.  Midleton as is usual were first to the ball and won many of the 50/50’s. An incredible performance from some very tired boys. It was the Mags who took an early lead with Ryan O’Regan pulling one out of the top draw. He pulled out a long downfield ball, one touch control, swiveled and shot with pace passed the keeper. H/T 0-1
The second half meant we had to face playing uphill, so with the boat lag and tired legs it was thought that a fresh Mosley Hill team would take advantage. Again never underestimate Midleton, they took control of the game and had a couple of very good chances that nearly wrapped up the game. Mossley Hill with their Liverpool players would not lie down and they pressed hard and it looked likely that we would hold out only for a cross/shot to drift over Corey into the net 1-1. At this point now with five minutes left and some very tired Cork boys we were happy to hear the whistle and with the game ending in a fair draw. F/T 1-1
Team: Corey McEssey, Barry O’Callaghan, Ross O’Connor, Rian Hogan, Cathal Martin, Matthew Lamb, Christian Daly, Ciaran Newlands, Andrew McMahon, Sean O’Meara, China Igboanusi, Timmy Abdullah, Stephen Roe, Kevin Mulcahey, Paudie O’Brien, Eoin Mitchell, Ryan O’Regan and Jamie Clohessey.

More photographs on the Gallery page

U12 friendly match, Halewood, Liverpool – 3pm Sat 2nd April 2011
Mossley Hill A 2   Midleton A  2
Midleton ‘A’ Fight Back for Deserved Draw
As part of the 2011 UK trip for the U12 boys a friendly match with Mossley Hill of Liverpool was arranged. The Midleton U12 ‘A’ team played their ‘A’ team counter parts from Mossley Hill and after a 12 hour coach trip over night, the Midleton ‘A’ boys played superbly to earn a draw.

The game was played on a  hot and sunny afternoon which led to a great game of soccer. After a cautious start both teams started to push forward searching for a break and it was the Mossley Hill ‘A’ team that got the break after 9 minutes when a speculative shot looped over Connor Evans in goal. There was little he could do and there was an element of luck to the goal.

The ‘A’ team were determined get something from the game and they pushed hard throughout the first half for the break. However, at half time the score was still the same and Midleton ‘A’ had a lot of work to do. The second started with Midleton ‘A’ dominating possession and numerous attacks put Mossley on the back foot. Cameron Smyth pushed up to play alongside Barry Kenneally  and after 10 mins a long ball from Liam Franklin found Smyth who controlled the ball well before beating one defender and slotting the ball into the bottom right corner for an excellent equaliser.

Mossley Hill were not to be beaten and came back into the game with several attacks. Eventually a long range shot caught the Midleton ‘A’ keeper off guard and squeezed into the net, giving Mossley Hill a 2-1 lead with 15 min left. Midleton ‘A’ made several changes and the addition of Alan Swarbrick, David Rohan, Zack McElhinney, Tyrone Stack and Cian Walsh added some fresh legs to the game.

The new lads pushed hard for the equaliser and several good attacks resulted in a free kick on the right side of the box about 20 yards out. Liam Franklin stepped up and hit a great shot that squeezed through the keepers legs and the game was level.

Both sides pushed hard for a winner in the last 10 minutes but the game ended a draw and overall it was the right result for both teams. The U12 ‘A’ team should be very proud of the hard work and commitment they made after such a long trip and they will have shown the Liverpool boys that there is plenty of talent in Midleton.
Report Colm Smyth.
Midleton Goal Scorer: Cameron Smyth and Liam Franklin. Midleton ‘A’ Coaches: Noel Meade, Colm Smyth and Joe Jalil.