A very big weekend lies ahead for Mervue United’s u-14 side when they host East End United from Wexford in the SFAI Goodson Cup semi-final on Saturday at Fahy's Field (12.30pm ).
Damien Brennan and Rynal Browne’s side will be looking to advance to the national final in a cup the club last won in 2006. That winning side featured current Irish senior international Greg Cunningham (Bristol City ), Stephen Folan (Limerick FC ) and Mike Elwood (Galway FC ).
Mervue’s current side also looks to have some potential future stars in their squad, including Aaron Connolly and Ronan Manning who have been hitting the net with serious frequency this season, while winger Adam Kelleher has also been in excellent scoring form in recent weeks.
A 4-0 away win over Kildare Town in the quarter-final, with Connolly hitting a hat-trick and Kelleher the other strike, was preceded by high-scoring home wins over Kilcornan FC (Limerick ) 7-2 and New Oak (Carlow ) 9-0. Wins over Castlebar Celtic 2-1, Hodson Bay (Athlone ) 8-2 and Benbulben FC (Sligo ) 3-1 were achieved in the opening three rounds.
In the last three rounds Ronan Manning, a younger brother of Ryan, has hit seven goals, while strike partner Aaron Connolly has registered six and winger Kelleher has managed five goals, while midfielders Ronan Ascari, Colin Kelly, Jason Gorham and defender Adam Rooney have also been on target in some convincing wins.
The winner of Saturday’s big game will face Dublin DDSL sides, St Francis P or Belvedere in this year’s national final to be held in May.
