Mervue United 2
Knocknacarra 3
Knocknacarra secured the u-13 League division 3 title when edging Mervue United in the weekend’s final.
Mervue, with home advantage, needed just a draw to take the title, whereas Knocknacarra needed to win. Knocknacarra were going into the game without top scorer Michael O’Sullivan, so a big effort was needed to compensate for his absence.
Although Mervue started the stronger, the visitors struck first when Andrew Moore was put through and he headed the ball over the Mervue keeper. A second was added with an excellent free kick from Ben Slater from 30 yards. Mervue pulled one back before the break, and midway through the second half they secured the vital equaliser with a header from a corner.
However, with seven minutes remaining, Knocknacarra’s left wing Micheal Prendergast received the ball outside the Mervue box and beat two Mervue defenders before passing to Andrew Moore who finished expertly to give the lead back to Knocknacarra.
Knocknacarra had to withstand some serious pressure in the closing minutes, but the central defensive partnership of Mark Trainor and Ben McCloskey was superb, with Daniel Minton putting in a captain’s performance in central midfield. Goalkeeper Rian O’Donnell made a superb save towards the end, pushing a powerful Mervue free-kick over the bar, to seal victory for Knocknacarra.
Knocknacarra: Rian O’Donnell, Conor Crean, Conor Ostheimer, Mark Trainor, Ben McCloskey, Matthew Hourigan, Jack Counihan, Daniel Minton, Andrew Moore, Ben Slater, Micheal Prendergast, Tom Jones, Tom Ferris, Joe Gleeson, Eoin Molloy, James Moore.
