Ballincollig AFC

We were so close this time

Academy

U7s CSL Non Competitive League

Ballincollig v Wilton

Last Tuesday evening Ballincollig’s Under 7s continued their home fixtures in the Regional Park this time against Wilton. Thankfully the rain held off this time.

The game started brightly for Ballincollig with a number of outstanding saves by our keeper, Paraic O’Keeffe. Scott Kelly, captain for the game, showed some great defensive work and in midfield Robbie Walsh was at the centre of most of the attacks, and he was very unlucky to see a shot stopped on the goal line, by the Wilton keeper. As the game progressed, Dillon Ring, Ryan Crowley and Jordan Murphy came more and more into the game. It was Wilton though who managed to strike first when the Ballincollig defence got caught out of position. We responded well though with Jamie Slavin put through on goal only to see the keeper just pip him to the ball.

The second period saw Bryan Smith up front and he was straight into action with a shot saved by the Wilton keeper. Ryan Crowley, now in defence, gave a great display in his new position. The Wilton keeper had to make a number of saves from Bryan after some good play by Jamie and Alex Hill in midfield. Bryan then had another shot but this time into the side netting. Was he ever going to score we wondered. Mark Oldham and later Alex had good crosses but each time there was no one in penalty area. Jamie had a looping shot from a corner, which deflected out off a Wilton defender. For a time Ballincollig were pinned back, but the entire team defended well as a unit. Then on the counterattack Bryan skipping around a defender and slotting the ball home as cool as you like. Ballincollig were well on top again and we soon had a second. It was a spectacular goal, and a celebration to match, from Bryan as he cut in from the right, went past the defender and unleashed an unstoppable shot into the top left corner, giving the Wilton keeper no chance of saving it.

The final period saw some great passing moves and relentless pressure by Ballincollig. This resulted in Mark hitting the post, Bryan and Robbie both having shots cleared off the line as they tried to extend their lead. Scott was deployed in midfield as defensive cover to the defence of Jordan and Alex, to help try and protect the lead, with Robbie, Mark and Bryan leading the attacks. This worked well up until the final few minutes when tiredness seem to set in and the Ballincollig defence opened up to let Wilton in for the equaliser.

So close to a win, but it was plain to see the continued improvement in the Ballincollig players. Keep it up lads. Man of the Match was a close call too with so many good performances, but we had to give it to Bryan for his stunning goals.