Well it’s that time of year again and the Academy is once again participating in the Cork Schoolboys League’s Non Competitive Small Sided Games (SSG).
The Groups and Fixtures can be found on the Small Sided Games section of the CSL website, but please note that these can be subject to change should both clubs agree to reschedule a particular fixture.
As players are selected for each match they will be notified by their coaches. For a list of relevant coaches please see the Academy’s Contacts page.
A complete set of the SGG rules can be found on the Small Sided Games section of the CSL website, but here are some of the main points:
Cork Schoolboys League
Small Sided Games Rules for Season 2011/12
Age Groups
U7, U8 & U9 will be 7-a-side non competitive leagues.
U10 will be 9-a-side non competitive leagues.
Panel Sizes
7-a-side – 10 players (max)
9-a-side – 13 players (max)
Managers must not have more than the above numbers per panel for any one game.
Playing Season
Games will commence on the weekend of Mar 31/Apr 1 and will continue until the end of May. (This will mean some midweek evening games).
Academy
U7s CSL Non Competitive League
Ballincollig v Corinthians
The Ballincollig Under 7s played their last game of the season on Saturday June 5th down in the Regional Park. The first period was and even enough contest with Ballincollig defending well. Mark Oldham volunteered to be the keeper for the match and he was outstanding throughout. He had to make some great saves including an early double save from the Corinthians attackers. Paraic O’Keeffe was handed the central midfield role and whilst performing his defensive duties he also had time for the odd sortie forward, including a shot or two on goal, only to be denied by the keeper. Luke and Brook were doing well in midfield while Sean and Jordan were rock solid in defence. Jamie Slavin worked tirelessly up front on a very warm evening. Unfortunately late on a mishit defensive header fell kindly to a Corinthians striker who let Mark with no chance of saving it.
For the second period a new defensive duo of Alex Hill and Ryan Crowley were introduced with Justin and Gabriel moving into midfield. Ballincollig had to defend for most of this period too, with Justin and Gabriel dropping back to help out their defenders. Brook and Jamie combined well for a couple of rare attacks, but again Ballincollig were unlucky to accidentally set up a Corinthians attacker for an easy shot without him having to break his stride. Alex and Ryan regrouped and defended very well for the rest of this period. Mark in goal was again outstanding playing as a sweeper at times clearing his lines and we lost count of the number of saves that he made in this period.
For the last period Alex continued his defensive partnership, despite taking a nasty knock just before the interval, with Ryan and Sean and Jordan returning in midfield and Luke was given his chance up front. Corinthians started with a flurry of activity, thanks to a “super sub”, and banged in three goals in just as many minutes before Ballincollig had even had a chance to settle. Despite this Ballincollig didn’t give up with Luke having an early shot on goal. With only about eight minutes to go the come back began with Luke and Justin combining nicely in attack resulting in Justin scoring a hat-trick and narrowly missing another. Jordan imposed himself in midfield and Alex and Mark dominated the defence, with Mark making yet more great saves.
Again it was a great end to a game and one that was filled with excitement. Man of the Match was a close contest with Justin this week picking up the hat-trick, Alex was outstanding in defence in the last two periods, but the coaches agreed that for his great saves throughout the game, and especially for keeping us in the game in the middle period, Mark Oldham was this weeks Man of the Match.
All the lads have improved greatly over the course of the season and have provided us with some great entertainment. The Under 7s coaches would like to thank all the players and their parents for their time, effort and support this season and we hope to see you all back in September after a much deserved summer break.
Academy
U7s CSL Non Competitive League
Wilton v Ballincollig
Last Saturday, May 22nd, the opposition for the Ballincollig Under 7s was Wilton. The first period saw Ballincollig start well enough, although it was difficult for both sides due to the intense heat. Jamie Slavin returned in goal while Cillian Kierse and Darragh Moriarty continued their new defensive partnership. Alex Hill, Luke O’Sullivan and Scott Kelly were in midfield and Mark Oldham, captain for the match, was given his opportunity up front. Ballincollig had the best of things early on with Scott controlling the play nicely from midfield. Some nice passing between Alex, Mark and Luke saw Alex force a corner when the Wilton keeper made a great save, and then later he hit the post and also had a shot go wide. Wilton stepped up a gear and had Ballincollig defending, with Scott dropping back to help out in the left back position. Jamie made a couple of good saves and Darragh and Cillian were closing down well. Then unfortunately Wilton scored a couple within a minute as Ballincollig failed to clear their lines, leaving Jamie with no chance of saving them. Jamie did make a great save soon after, from an overhead kick. Ballincollig finished the stronger with Alex setting up Luke and Mark for a shot on goal just before the interval.
The second period saw Ballincollig get an early corner, which Alex took, and he curled it beautifully into the net. Unfortunately though it didn’t count as it went in without anyone else touching it and scoring direct from a corner isn’t allowed at this level, hard luck Alex. Bryan Smith was introduced up from with Robbie Walsh and Gabriel Czubak coming into midfield, but they spent most of their time defending as Ballincollig spent more time defending that attacking. Darragh continued to have an excellent game at the back and Jamie making some brave saves, to the point of throwing himself on the ball at the feet of an attacker. Bryan had the only real Ballincollig chances in this period, after having been put through by Luke and then by Robbie, but the keeper saved. Wilton finally made the pressure tell though, with only a few minutes to go, first they scored an amazing first time left footed volley from a corner, poor Jamie never had a chance. Then a bit of confusion in the Ballincollig defence saw a back pass result in an own goal.
For the last period Cillian and Mark were brought back into midfield and Scott came into defence alongside Gabriel. Bryan scored almost straight from the kick off to get Ballincollig off to a great start only to then see Wilton catch them out straight away as they scored their fifth. Ballincollig never gave up though and dominated from here on in. Scott started to control the play nicely from defence/midfield, intercepting the ball and setting up the attackers time and time again. Bryan had a number of chances but each time was unlucky to be on his weaker foot. Mark and Robbie played well and Cillian racked up a quick hat-trick giving Ballincollig a great chance of an amazing comeback, but with Wilton on the rack we ran out of time.
What a great end to the game and what entertainment. Man of the Match was a close contest with Cillian picking up a hat-trick, Darragh outstanding in defence in the first two periods and Jamie did well in goal, but for his tireless efforts in the first period and for controlling the final period so well Scott gets the nod in a close contest. Good recovery lads.
Academy
U7s CSL Non Competitive League
Blarney v Ballincollig
Last Wednesday evening, May 19th, the Ballincollig Under 7s travelled to Blarney. The first period saw Ballincollig with a couple of shots on goal from Scott Kelly and Luke O’Sullivan before Blarney hit them on the counter-attack as Jamie Slavin, in goal, was unlucky to be wrong footed. Cillian Kierse and Darragh Moriarty were beginning to adapt to their new roles as defenders and Gabriel Czubak and Ryan Crowley were doing well to help them out from midfield. Then it was Ballincollig’s turn for a swift counter attack of their own, Darragh played a great ball out of defence up to Scott, who’d dropped back into midfield, he then quickly turned his marker, ran towards goal, and unleased a fierce left footed shot into the top right hand corner of the net. Luke and Scott then both had chances from set pieces before Ballincollig conceded again just before the break. Jamie made a great double save but the ball fell kindly to a Blarney player who coolly slotted it home.
The second period was a flurry of activity. The defence remained unchanged, Bryan Smith was introduced up front, with Paraic O’Keeffe and Mark Oldham brought into midfield. Jamie made a number of good saves early on to keep Ballincollig in the game. Darragh and Cillian were excellent in defence and Gabriel came more into the game. Then the floodgates opened with Paraic, Mark and Bryan now running riot up front. Ballincollig scored the next three goals, Mark setting up Bryan for two, and then Mark got one himself. Paraic had a couple of chances, one hitting the side netting, before Blarney replied with a great goal catching Ballincollig on the break. Bryan then grabbed his hat-trick with a right footed shot into the top left corner, and then followed up with another soon after. Just before the break Ballincollig all but sealed the win with Paraic scoring a stunning right footed shot from the edge of the penalty area.
The final period saw Luke and Paraic take over in defence with Jordan Murphy as the keeper. Scott and Ryan were brought into midfield as defensive cover. Ballincollig continued to play well with some nice passing moves, but Blarney were better able to compete in this period. Jordan made a couple of saves, Paraic and Luke did very well in defence. Scott and Ryan put in a good shift working up and down the pitch helping out both in defence and supporting the guys in attack. Then Mark and Bryan resumed normal service with a great run from Mark setting up Bryan who finished well. Ballincollig had a number of chances by Paraic, Scott and Mark before Blarney got their fourth just on the final whistle.
What a game and what a performance. Yet again the lads showed great improvement. Man of the Match has to go to Bryan with his five cool finishes, although the quality of the goals by Scott, Mark and Paraic pushed him close, and none of them would have had a chance without the rest of the team who were excellent. Well done lads.
Academy
U7s CSL Non Competitive League
Ballincollig v Greenwood
Last Saturday, May 15th, it was the turn of Greenwood to make the trip to the Regional Park, on a glorious summer’s evening, to take on the Ballincollig Under 7s. The game started brightly with both sides playing well. Scott Kelly was tasked with the responsibility of man marking one of the known main threats from Greenwood, based on our last encounter, which he did to great effect. This helped the defenders, Dillon Ring and Paraic O’Keeffe, and keeper Jordan Murphy, to lay the foundations for a solid start to the game. This resulted in the sides being all level at the interval.
The second period was barely underway when Ballincollig fell behind. Greenwood intercepted a pass in midfield, broke down the left wing and scored a cracking goal, despite Jordan doing well to get a hand on the ball, but the shot was just too powerful. As they’ve shown in previous games the lads didn’t despair and just got on with the game. At one stage Ballincollig had to defend a set piece at which Jordan made a great double save, with the second Greenwood attempt almost going in off the post. Later on it was Dillon and Alex Hill making the tackles to keep Greenwood out, and it wasn’t long before Ballincollig had the scores level again. Alex played a great quick ball out of defence to Mark, who in turn neatly put Bryan Smith through on goal and he duly converted. The midfield trio of Robbie Walsh, Jamie Slavin and Mark Oldham were truly outstanding in this period competing all over the pitch. The period ended with Greenwood having a couple of shots wide, before a great passing move saw Robbie slip a ball through to Mark who was so unlucky to see his shot go to the left and wide of the post.
The final period saw Adam Summers and Paraic take over the defensive duties in front of Jordan, with Scott playing a holding role in midfield. Robbie and Mark were given license to get forward on the wings in support of Bryan up front. Ballincollig scored an early couple of goals both from corners; the first was in from the left by Mark and coolly finished by Bryan, the second in from the right again by Mark but this time put over the line near the back post by Robbie. On a couple of occasions Bryan was put through nicely by Scott only to see the keeper make a couple of good saves, and on one occasion Paraic even found himself within shooting distance, only for the keeper to save it. Greenwood then had a series of corners which Ballincollig defended well as a team, but in particular by Paraic and Jordan, who had a great reflex save at the end to put the ball over the bar.
And so it ended, with the lads picking up their much deserved first win of the season. It was truly a great performance by all ten players. Picking a Man of the Match would be both impossible and unfair to those who played considering they were all equally impressive. Congratulations lads, and a big that you to all who came to support them.
The next game is on Wednesday evening, May 19th, away to Blarney at 7pm, hope to see you there.
Academy
U7s CSL Non Competitive League
Ballincollig v Leeds
Last Saturday, May 8th, was the start of the second half of the league fixtures with Ballincollig hosting Leeds AFC, at home in the Regional Park.
Due to the delayed arrival of the intended Ballincollig keeper Patrick Kelly kindly agreed to make his debut for us in goal, thanks Patrick. Leeds made the early running with the Ballincollig defence of David Hume and Cillian Kierse under pressure and Mark Oldham, Bryan Smith and Robbie Walsh were dropping back from midfield on occasion to help out. As a result of the pressure Leeds got their reward with a few early goals to leave Ballincollig with an uphill task, especially as Leeds had quite a few good players well able to pass and shoot from distance.
The second period saw Justin Eguaibor take over the goal keeping duties and Sean Casey and Paraic O’Keeffe move into defence, while Cillian moved out to midfield where Luke O’Sullivan was also introduced. Paraic and Cillian played particularly well in this period as Ballincollig came a little more into the game. Leeds were forced into conceding an own goal, but Ballincollig shipped another couple themselves leaving it 5-1 at the second interval
Not to be disheartened, and with the reintroduction of Mark, Robbie and Bryan, all in midfield, Ballincollig turned in a much better performance in the final period. This trio, and with Paraic excelling in defence, showed just what they can do when they relax and play as a team. Mark, at times, practically took on the whole Leeds team single handed with some impressive dribbling, and it was our top scorer, Bryan who converted a couple of chances giving him 2 fine goals to add to his collection.
Hopefully for the next game the lads can settle into the game earlier and give themselves the platform for success that they deserve. Man of the Match this week was Mark Oldham for all his efforts in running the show from midfield.
Academy
U7s CSL Non Competitive League
Corinthians v Ballincollig
Last Saturday, May 1st, saw Ballincollig’s Under 7s take on College Corinthians in an early morning kick off. Straight away they were under pressure and as a result Corinthians got an early goal. Ballincollig then slowly played their way into the game and started to defend better with Mark Oldham and Alex Hill starting to dominate in defence, and Bryan Smith and Jamie Slavin dropping back from midfield to lend a hand. In attack Cillian Kierse was supported mainly by Bryan, Jamie and Robbie Walsh. Ballincollig had hardly any shots on goal in the first period but they did manage to make one count, a nice move involving Cillian and Bryan, with the latter finishing at the second attempt.
The second period saw Cillian and Luke O’Sullivan playing well in defence. The Ballincollig keeper, Sean Casey, had a busy period making many important saves. Alex, now in midfiled was outstanding, helping out both in attack and in defence. Paraic O’Keeffe, also in midfield, had a long range shot just slip left and wide. Scott was unlucky as he had a couple of efforts on goal saved. Corinthians were then gifted a goal, just before the break, when their man was tackled from behind in the box, and they scored from the resulting penalty.
Unfortunately a couple of mistakes in defence then allowed Corinthians through on goal for a third, but Ballincollig responded in perfect fashion with a nice passing move between Mark, Robbie and Bryan, resulting with Bryan’s shot hitting the side netting. Then Corinthians took advantage with a quick counterattack catching the Ballincollig defence out of position and a last ditch tackle by our defender resulted in the second own goal to Corinthians, so unfair. Again though the response was great, Ballincollig, while defending well, then broke from defence with a sweeping move from Paraic to Luke to Mark who finished off brilliantly for our second goal. Corithians though continued to bombard our defense and when a bouncing shot wasn’t dealt with a slight touch by the Corithians forward was all they needed to get it into the back of the net. Ballincollig kept going despite the setback and the pressure told when Ballincollig forced an own goal of their own. Then as they push for another Luke was unlucky when he hit the post and the follow up shot hit the side netting. Ballincollig ended the game with a number of corners and crosses from Robbie, Luke and Mark but couldn’t convert the chances, the last of which was a great passing move between Robbie and Luke, with Luke so unlucky to his shot slip wide of the post.
Ballincollig Under7s
Again the lads showed just how good they can be when they get the chance to pass the ball. Man of the Match this week was Alex Hill for his box to box efforts.
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.
Academy
U7s CSL Non Competitive League
Ballincollig v Blarney
Last Saturday, April 24th, Ballincollig had their first home fixture in the Regional Park against Blarney United. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t the best as the rain had started to fall even before kickoff.
It was pretty much an even contest in the first period with both sides having some good possession. The main threats for Ballincollig came from Luke O’Sullivan and Robbie Walsh in midfield with Bryan Smith up front. On occasions Ballincollig had to defend for their lives, and did so brilliantly. On one such occasion they broke forward, with Justin Eguaibor playing it to Adam Summers, who beat two Blarney players and then set Brian and Robbie up for a neat one-two, which unfortunately the Blarney defence cut out. It was a great passing move. Ballincollig had a number of chances but were very unlucky not to find the back of the net. In defence Craig Keane was outstanding with tackle after tackle, and Scott Kelly made a great save to keep Blarney at bay. So at the end of first period it was honours even.
The second period of play saw the rain getting much heavier with conditions under foot getting worse, but Ballincollig still showed some nice touches. Mark Oldham now in defence was sweeping out and linked up nicely with Luke and Robbie to create a number of good chances. James Faherty, in midfield, was getting stuck in helping to break up the Blarney attacks and Robbie started to show his skills as he repeatedly tormented the Blarney midfield and defence, but Ballincollig were still unable find that elusive opener. Instead it was Blarney who opened the scoring when they got through for a one-on-one with our keeper. Ballincollig immediately attacked with Mark setting up Luke only to see the Blarney keeper make a great save stopping his shot going into the bottom right hand corner. Again though it was Blarney who proved the more clinical as they counterattacked down the right wing and despite Scott closing the angle well and getting a hand to the ball the shot was too strong and Blarney now had their second.
The third period got underway and for most of it Ballincollig had to drop back into their own half to defend. Darragh Moriarty was now leading the line, up front alone, and he showed some nice dribbling to help relieve the pressure. Unfortunately a combination of the weather and Ballincollig falling back deeper and deeper allowed Blarney to turn possession into scores and they grabbed a few more in the last eight minutes of the game. The score didn’t reflect all the effort the lads put in and the miserable weather just compounded things.
This week Ballincollig will be at home again on Tuesday evening, April 27th, at 7pm against Wilton in the Regional Park, and away against Corinthian Boys of Douglas on Saturday, May 1st, at 10:30am.
Academy
U7s CSL Non Competitive League
Greenwood v Ballincollig
Ballincollig continued their league campaign last Saturday, April 17th, with another away trip, this time to Greenwood in Togher. The game started brightly with Greenwood playing with the advantage of a slight slope. Both sides were well matched with the tenacious Ryan Crowley, Gabriel Czubak and the silky skills of Mark Oldham providing the platform for most of Ballincollig’s attacks. At the first interval however it was the defences that had come out on top.
The second period of play saw Ballincollig under some serious pressure at times but looking very dangerous on the counter attack. On a number of occasions Scott Kelly broke from defence linking up with Mark Oldham and Dillon Ring. This trio first allowed Mark and then latter Darragh Moriarty to narrowly miss out after opening up the Greenwood defence. In between Ballincollig had some serious defending to do with a finger-tip save by Bryan Smith in goals and a goal line clearance from Alex Hill. Greenwood then scored with just minutes of the second period to go as Ballincollig got caught out of position. Not to be deterred Ballincollig soon were on the attack again this time down the right wing with Dillon Ring bringing a great save out of the Greenwood keeper.
The third period of play saw some excellent pressure from Ballincollig and it was Greenwood’s turn to perform the last ditch defending. Ballincollig forced corner after corner, with Alex Hill, Scott Kelly and Sean Callinan all testing the Greenwood defence. Then Greenwood hit Ballincollig on the counter attack as they broke down the left wing tucking the ball into the bottom left corner. Despite the set back Ballincollig never gave in and were soon on the attack again. With only a few minutes to go Scott Kelly finally broke through and slotted home with a nice finish to throw Ballincollig a lifeline. Moments later he was through again and unleashed a thunderous left foot drive, which all on the sideline were convinced was destined for the top left hand corner of the net, only to see it slip wide past the post. Well done lads great performance.
Next week Ballincollig U7s will be at home against Blarney United at 5pm in the Regional Park. Do come and support us if you can.
