Under 14 Match Report - Aquinas v Celtic Boys

Dogged Defence Defies Aquinas

Aquinas 1 Celtic Boys 1

The reverse of this fixture back in October was scoreless and up to the last ten minutes of this match it looked like déjà vu. Despite dominating possession, Aquinas found it hard to break through a well organised Celtic formation. Sam Walsh made the right flank his with some tremendous tackle dodging runs. He met a Matt Carson Corner only to see his header veer wide. There was plenty of Aquinas pressure to be soaked up by Celtic, which confined much of the play to the middle third. Serious threats to the blue n’ blacks keeper Kevin McGovern were limited and mainly from distance. Peter Morgan rattled in a cross which Matt Hughes headed towards the back post agonisingly past the outstretched boot of an acrobatic James Guinness. Moments before the interval he poked the ball through scrambling goalmouth legs but the keeper somehow managed to stop it crossing the line.

Celtic boys continued to frustrate after the restart although the free flowing Aquinas style looked the more likely to pay off. A Carson blast from a Jackson Touhey cross was saved and Walsh pressure lead to another Carson corner which Michael McGonigle was unlucky not to convert. Hughes ran amok in the box but despite all of this blue ‘n black endeavour, it was Celtic who took the lead with ten minutes remaining, exploiting a rare defensive lapse with a tidy finish. As the clock ticked, a point was looking attractive for Aquinas who showed tremendous spirit as they strode forward. Hughes was hauled down in the box but spot kicks have been unkind to Aquinas recently and the resulting blast grazed the post. Some teams would have given up at this point but Aquinas pressed on with Kealan McAllister adding a sense of urgency and McGovern nearly at the half way line. It paid off at the death when Ciaran Mohan strode into a congested Celtic box to fire home the equaliser.

Squad – Kevin McGovern, Peter Morgan, Michael McGonigle, Philip O’Sullivan, Dan Rainey, Sam Walsh, Matt Carson (C), Ciaran Mohan, James Guinness, Matt Hughes, Jackson Touhey, Kealan McAllister.

Man of the Match - Ciaran Mohan