Connacht Cup Boys Under 14 First Round.
Boyle Celtic 6
Gurteen Celtic 4
By Ronan Flanagan
Boyle Celtic U-14s progressed to the second round of the Connacht Cup with a 6-4 win in a thoroughly enjoyable encounter at Celtic Park, Boyle on Saturday morning.
Boyle’s slick attacking prowess was prominent throughout, and despite conceding four goals, they always looked like they would create chances.
It was a frantic opening few minutes with the action being played from end to end. Boyle opened the scoring in the fifth minute as Niall O’ Donnell’s corner reached the head of striker David Duggan, resulting in the first goal of the match. Gurteen equalised only minutes later as a long, hopeful clearance reached the feet of their number eleven who expertly found the far corner of the net.
The tempo was upped from a Boyle point of view as they searched for a second. It duly arrived after twenty minutes. Colin Burke found David Flanagan, who delicately laid it off to Luke McGrath. McGrath cleverly slipped the ball to Duggan and the number nine scored his second.
Only moments later, some smart passing led to Eden Kerins thumping the ball home to make it 3-1. Gurteen came back with a swift reply with number their eleven scoring his second. This time he cut in from the right flank and scored from a tight angle. Boyle looked threatening again just before the half time whistle as David Flanagan hit the crossbar with a drive from the outside of the box.
Half Time: Boyle Celtic 3-2 Gurteen Celtic.
Seven minutes into the second half Boyle registered their fourth goal of the contest. Niall O’ Donnell’s splendid delivery found Eden Kerins who headed home from the front post. Kerins got his hat trick five minutes later as Gavin O’ Connor fired the ball across the box. A shot on goal by David Duggan was saved only to be emphatically finished by Kerins.
A second hat trick of the game came at the fifty second minute. This time Boyle were caught unaware as Gurteen’s number eleven raced through the defence and once again found the net making the score 5-3.
Duggan must have thought he had his own treble only to see his effort fired wide. Gurteen scored a fourth from the resulting kick out as an ambitious effort trickled in. A sixth for Boyle arrived on sixty-six minutes. David Flanagan’s looping effort from outside the box found the top corner. In injury time, a good effort from Sean Higgins skimmed over the crossbar. That was the last action of the game as Boyle prevailed on a score line of Boyle Celtic 6 Gurteen Celtic 4.
