St. Bride’s 1-12 Roche Emmets 5-5

A stirring second half display, full of guts, heart and determination, earned our U13 boys a valuable championship victory in Knockbridge on Monday evening.

Trailing by four points, having been hit by late first half sucker punches, Emmets threw everything at the second period and thanks to goals by Liam McCabe and substitute JJ McArdle, they were three in front at the waterbreak, an advantage they had extended to five by full-time.

Full-forward McCabe was in lethal form and struck three goals in the first half as the lead regularly changed hands.

Indeed, the No14’s opening pair of majors twice gave Roche three-point leads during the early exchanges, while his hat-trick finish brought the boys in blue level as the hosts continued to knock over stunning points from long range.

But a burst of 1-2 to Shay Carolan’s reply saw the Knockbridge lads take a 1-11 to 3-1 lead at halfway.

Asked by management to give it their all in the second half, Roche immediately set about resurrecting the affair, McCabe and McArdle lifting the net before the former converted a free he had won to nudge Emmets three clear.

Roche were now rampant and added just two wides to their first half tally of nine as they piled on the pressure.

Back, from left: Ronan Grant, Cian Ellis, Bernard Verbeek, Shay Carolan, Liam McCabe, Niall Connolly, Dean Griffin, Adam McGuinness, Seán McEneaney, Conor Douglas; front, from left: JJ McArdle, James Curtis, Lee Casey, Kyle Callan, Brooklyn Taaffe, Peter McArdle, Ruairí O'Donnell

Bride’s came fighting back, only for stunning goalkeeping by James Curtis and truly resilient defending to hold them at bay – the home outfit scoring just once (free) during the entirety of the second half.

And with Niall Connolly and McCabe adding the insurance points, the boys in blue recorded a memorable triumph, bringing their competitive record in 2021 to: 10 played; seven wins and three defeats.

On the night, Curtis was just outstanding, pulling off superb stops, while his distribution was simply phenomenal in terms of its variation and accuracy.

The full-back line really came into their own in the second half – Adam McGuinness showing great discipline in the tackle, Cian Ellis bursting out to cut out incoming deliveries and Ruairí O’Donnell reading the game expertly, positioning himself in front of the danger repeatedly.

Brooklyn Taaffe and Kyle Callan, usually so effective in attack, were the source points of several offensive forays and showed keen eyes for the ball when it fell loose. Centre-half Ronan Grant, again, clogged the middle area and was composed in possession.

At midfield, Niall Connolly and Lee Casey showed incredible bravery and fortitude. Connolly was back to his barnstorming best and seemed to relish the closing stages, while Casey displayed his football acumen, dropping into defence to occupy key space. The pair’s delivery and workrate were also of the highest standard.

U11 Peter McArdle played his first full game two years out of age and when the going got tough, he was the tough that got going, picking up dirty ball and offloading it successfully before going on for a return pass.

Likewise, Carolan was immense at No11, tackling and involving himself in the play while illustrating the maturity which is graduating into his play with every fixture. To his left, Seán McEneaney, on just his second appearance of the campaign, was lively and unfortunate to see a great delivery in the first half swing narrowly wide.

Bernard Verbeek and captain Dean Griffin battled to a standstill, the latter unlucky that the ball didn’t drop for him in a scoring position. Nonetheless, their chase of lost causes ensured Bride’s were unable to relieve their lines without being hassled and harried.

McCabe, well he’s just a gem.

Off the bench came Conor Douglas and JJ McArdle to great effect, Douglas responsible for the collection of countless breaking balls which platformed attacks, and McArdle lightning in the loose and the scorer of a crucial goal.

Roche: James Curtis; Adam McGuinness, Cian Ellis, Ruairí O’Donnell; Brooklyn Taaffe, Ronan Grant, Kyle Callan; Niall Connolly (0-1), Lee Casey; Peter McArdle, Shay Carolan (0-1), Seán McEneaney; Bernard Verbeek, Liam McCabe (4-3), Dean Griffin

Subs: Conor Douglas, JJ McArdle (1-0)

Referee: Ultan McElroy