Jan 16

Written by:
16 January 2017 

This year’s under 14 footballers were a very talented bunch who developed and progressed very well throughout the year. They reached the South Leinster Football Final for the first time in nine years, but ultimately couldn’t capture the title.  
                                                          They started their campaign away to St. Peter’s of Wexford in a tricky           assignment. In a windswept school pitch Knockbeg dominated much of the first half and were well in control at the   interval. However, St. Peter’s emptied their bench in the second half and it made a considerable impact. St. Peter’s took the lead with a few minutes       remaining, but Knockbeg showed great character in holding out for a draw.  Although Knockbeg were disappointed to let a lead slip, the draw was a decent result away from home and proved very     valuable in the group standings.

The next outing was a home tie against the fancied Good Counsel, New Ross. Knockbeg brought a great attitude to the game and controlled the majority of the proceedings. Knockbeg defended very well throughout which gave them a great platform to seal the victory. The win against Good Counsel and the hard-fought draw in St. Peter’s meant that Knockbeg topped their group.

Knockbeg were rewarded with a home semi-final against St Peter’s after their table topping exploits. The two sides had played out a draw when they met in the group stages a few weeks previous. Knockbeg started much the brighter and their early pressure was rewarded with a goal, when Colin Dunne found himself on the end of a well worked move. Knockbeg really asserted their         dominance by tagging on several points and found themselves 1-4 to a solitary point ahead after 15 minutes. However, St. Peter's started to gain a foothold in the game and strung together a few scores, scoring a goal a few minutes before halftime. St. Peter's carried considerable momentum into halftime,  closing the gap to a single point. The teams traded points early in the second half before Knockbeg took control of the game with some clinical finishing. Colin Dunne completed a hat trick of goals before Oisin Hooney put the result    beyond any doubt with Knockbeg's fourth goal. The victory over St. Peter’s meant that Knockbeg progressed to play Good Counsel in the South Leinster decider. 

There was huge excitement as       Knockbeg travelled to play the South Leinster Final Final in MW Hire Park, Dunmore. However, losing 1-2 to no score after ten minutes and behind 1-8 to 3 points at half time, Knockbeg never got going against the robust Wexford outfit. Knockbeg played much better in the early stages of the second half, led by Ian Shanahan, Orrie Doran and half time substitute Tadhg Dunne and with fifteen minutes to go had reduced the deficit to four points, 1-8 to 1-4. The goal coming from a well taken penalty by Oisin Byrne and Fionn Bergin     putting over his third free of the day. During this period Knockbeg had other scoring opportunities but failed to take them. Shortly after, Good Counsel corner forward Matthew Foley scored his second goal of the game, putting a stop to Knockbeg’s earlier momentum. They went on to add another 1-3 to put the game out of Knockbeg’s reach. Credit to the Knockbeg players they never stopped trying but it just wasn’t to be their day. 

The team can be very proud of their efforts and hopefully will learn from the year and have some successful years in the future.