Match Reports
U12 National Cup Midleton 1-1 Mallow Utd (Mallow won 4-3 on penalties)
On a beautiful mild, sunny morning in East Cork, Midleton gave their Premier visitors a real game in round 4 of the National Cup. Mallow made a very bright start and threatened the Midleton goal, pinning the home side back into their own half. The semi-frozen pitch made skilful play almost impossible, made worse by the icy areas becoming boggy as they thawed. Midleton's solid defending, led by Seadnaidh Smyth and Luke Finnerty in the centre seemed to inspire the rest of the Midleton team who started to attack Mallow. Ross Cummins and Aaron Butler at right and left back respectively made sure their opponents didn't get a chance to run with the ball, while feeding the ball into midfield at every opportunity.
The Midleton midfield quartet of Alan Ware, Cormac Beausang, Martin Aszyjczyk and the ever impressive Owen Coates really started to probe the Mallow defense, providing back up to their strikers as well as chasing back when required. Conor Fitzgerald put Midleton ahead after some great play on the left hand side from Owen Coates, who crossed for Conor to finish. Jamie Warrington made some great runs in spite of the treacherous conditions, and can count himself unlucky not to get on the score sheet. Midleton went into the break looking good value for their 1-0 lead, and didn't look under too much pressure for most of the second half. Jack Enright came on to replace Alan Ware with 12 minutes left to go, while Muiris Moloney slotted into his centre back position with 9 minutes of normal time left.
He replaced Martin Aszyjczyk, which meant Luke Finnerty moving forward to midfield. A mistake in midfield though, saw Mallow run through and put the ball past the helpless Joseph Wyer for the equalizer. Midleton continued to attack, right through the first period of extra time when they could have added a couple of goals with a bit more luck, the Mallow keeper making 2 terrific saves. Seadnaidh and Luke made vital stops themselves at the other end, Seadnaidh in particular making a great stop about a foot from the line, despite frantic appeals for a goal from Mallow.
Neither side could break the deadlock despite brilliant efforts from Conor Fitzgerald and Owen Coates, and the game went to penalties. Midleton went down 4-3 in the shootout, but can be very proud of themselves for the exceptional skill and commitment they showed to give last year's Premier Winners a real fright.
Man of the match: Owen Coates
Team:J Wyer, A Butler, S Smyth, L Finnerty, R Cummins, C Beausang, O Coates (C), A Ware, M Aszyjczyk, J Warrington, C Fitzgerald.
Subs: , J Enright, M Moloney
