26/05 - Malahide Under 14As lose 1-0 in Pat McCartan Cup Final

Malahide United 14As lost out to the single goal in a tightly fought Cup final against Mullingar Athletic at Bayer Healthcare’s excellent facilities in Swords. The difficult blustery conditions affected the quality of the football on display but both sides ensured that the large crowd on the line were kept enthralled right up to the final whistle.

United took a little while to get to grips with their Premier division opponents but when they did midway through the first half, they dominated proceedings up to half-time – they created a a couple of decent chances but just could not put them away. As the second half wore on, the tension grew on both sides and it looked as if a single goal was going to decide it.

The goal came with about 15 minutes to go with a very good passing move from Mullingar which was expertly finished into the net. Malahide rallied brilliantly and kept their heads up but try as they did, they could not breach the solid Mullingar rearguard – but they gave their all and more than matched their opponents and showed that they would be very much at home in the Premier division. And if the team book their place in that Premier division in their final league match tomorrow against Dunboyne and play at this pace and intensity every week, they can only get better and will challenge for honours again next season. Bring it on !!

This squad of 14/15 year-olds have been superb all season and have worked very hard for all they have achieved in training and at match days – well done lads !

And a special word of thanks to the parents and family who turned out in force to cheer the lads on last night – thanks for all the support and encouragement throughout the year. My thanks also to Fergus Walsh, my assistant Manager who has made my job a lot easier this year and provided great back-up for me all season long.

Thanks to Bayer Healthcare for hosting the match and for the excellent dressing room facilities provided for the Final.

Finally, my thanks to Dave Feenan, Sean Gaines and Fran Reynolds for the support and assistance they gave me in the run-up to the Final and to all the club officials and managers who turned out to support us on the night.

Onwards and upwards !

Brian Walshe, proud Manager / Coach,
MUFC Under 14As

Malahide United 14A Team – Pat McCartan Cup Final

Colin Burke, David O’Keeffe, Patrick Walsh, Conor Delahunty, Eoin Walshe, Lee McKenna-Byrne, Eoin Reilly, Dylan Tighe, Mark McGrath, Conor Maguire, Cormac Herlihy

Subs: Neil Doherty, Mark Gallivan, Matthew Brophy, David Guirke and Alex Barnwell

07/05 - Malahide United 14As Book Cup Final Spot !

After a thrilling Cup Semi-Final against St.Brendans United at Gannon Park last Sunday, Malahide United 14A squad booked their place in next Sunday's Pat McCartan Under 14 NDSL Cup Final. Despite dominating the match for long periods in the first half and early second half, Malahide United just could not find the net hitting the crossbar twice and seeing the St.Brendans keeper make some stunning saves.

Then with a little over a quarter of an hour left and the sides locked at 0-0, the referee blew up for a free, penalising the Malahide United keeper for handling the ball outside his area as he took his kick-out. Despite the defensive wall holding its ground and two players on the line with the keeper, the St.Brendans number 6 expertly guided a wonderful strik into the top corner of the net - it was cruel on Malahide but they showed tremendous resolve and resilience to fight their way back into the game - they kept playing their football and created further chances to score - at last the equaliser came after a lovely cool finish from leading goalscorer, Conor Maguire guided the ball in from an acute angle with 10 minutes left on the clock.

This set up the game for a grandstand finish with Malahide United now well on top and and pushing for that winner in normal time. And it came in the final minute - a high ball was pumped into the St.Brendans box - the keeper came for it but did not collect it cleanly under a challenge from the Malahide United forwards, the ball dropped kindly for Colin Burke who calmly slotted the ball home - a minute later the ref blew for full-time and cue the celebrations. We shook hands with the gallant losers but on the day, the result was a fair one and the best team certainly won the day.

A great Cup tie played in a very competitive but sporting manner by both teams and with an excellent referee in charge of proceedings.

So the season gets better and better for this talented group of 14/15 year olds - a Cup final to look forward next Sunday and still in contention for a second successive promotion ( this time to the Premier division). 2 games left to play and all the play for !!

A special word of thanks to all the parents who provided such great support on the line last Sunday - it is greatly appreciated by me and all the lads - and to the Committee for re-arranging the match to Gannon Park from the Castle.

Final Score: MALAHIDE UNITED 2 ST.BRENDANS UNITED 1

Team:

Colin Burke, David O'Keefe, Eoin Walshe, Patrick Walsh, Lee McKenna-Byrne, Conor Maguire, Eoin Reilly, Matthew Brophy, Mark McGrath, Dylan Tighe, Mark Gallivan Subs: Conor Delahunty ( for Mark Gallivan); David Guirke, Neil Doherty, Alex Barnwell

Brian Walshe
Manager / Coach,
Malahide United Under 14As

The Under 14A squad did a little fundraiser for Concern but it was a FUNdraiser with a difference..

We had a Baby Photo competition where each player gave me a photo of themselves as a baby (aged between 0-12 months) in a sealed envelope a few weeks back at training - I scanned the photos in and produced a quiz sheet for parents to complete - we gathered last Sunday morning in Gibneys (thanks to Tony Gibney again for the use of the facilities) for the competition - I also showed the photos on the big screen and added some fun captions for some photos which just cried out for them.

Each entry for the competition cost a minimum of €10. It was great fun and enjoyed by parents and players alike. And in the process we raised €260 for Concern.

It was a nice pre-Christmas get-together and an opportunity to reflect on an excellent first half to the season - this squad has a lot to look forward in 2006 ( and I don’t mean the Junior Cert!).

My thanks to all the players for joining in the fun and for the parents (and players) for the very generous contributions for Concern on the day.

Brian Walshe

(We are trying to bribe some of the pictures from Brian. If you see him - put him under pressure to release them!! - Webmaster)

Malahide United 14As win SFAI Cup thriller after penalty shoot-out

After last season's league title win at 13B level, this year's squad have started the season in great style - unbeaten in the league after 5 matches and through to the 2nd round of the SFAI Cup. During the summer, a trio of new additions were made to the squad and the squad look set to challenge for honours again this season.

Last Sunday week saw the team in action against Bay United from Division 1 of the Dundalk and District League in the 1st round of the SFAI National Cup - the players and our great supporters club arrived in Dundalk in good time for the 12.30 kick-off, looking forward to another good run in this competition but knowing that we would face a tough challenge from the local team. And what a match it was. After conceding an early OG, Malahide fought back to get the equaliser through a lovely low shot into the corner of the net from Conor Maguire. Both goalkeepers excelled as chances were made but not taken. The game went into extra time where Malahide took the lead in the first period of ET with a very well taken goal by Cormac Herlihy - we had chances to wrap up the game but we conceded an equaliser in the last minute of the second period from a corner- there was still time for Lee McKenna-Byrne to hit the bar before the ref blew the whistle and announced the penalty shoot-out.

We gathered in the centre circle, decided on the penalty takers and took a deep breadth. We missed our first penalty and Bay scored theirs - we scored our next 3 in a row while our keeper, Colin Burke made a great save from one of the Bay penalities and they missed another 1 of their next 3. And so it was all down to the final set of penalties and the tension was palpable - although we missed our last penalty, Bay did likewise and we were through on a 3-2 penalty scoreline. It had been an excellent sporting match which was excellently refereed by the local Dundalk referee and it was tough on Bay - but overall, I think we just about deserved our win and credit to all the lads who put themselves forward to take the penalties - it was a real pressure situation and they all did the team proud. And on we go the 2nd round on the 5th November. Bring it on !!

Brian Walshe