Coláiste Choilm 2
Rochfortbridge 2
(Coláiste Choilm win 5 – 4 on penalties)
By Jakub Skrzecz
Coláiste Choilm played a fantastic game against Rochfortbrige to win the West-Leinster final. From a two-goal lead to red card drama Coláiste Choilm came out on top after penalties.
First Half
The first half started quickly with both teams having scoring opportunities, but both teams defended eagerly to win the final. Coláiste Choilm attacked and finally S. Lawless found space in midfield and passed a piercing ball trough to Kryzyvicius, who dribbled around the keeper and tapped it in, 1-0. Before the half ended, Lawless nicely struck a shot outside the box to bounce off the inside of the crossbar and into the net 2-0.
Second Half
Early in the second half, Rochfortbridge had a man going head-to-head with CC’s keeper McAndrew after a quick counterattack. Evans as the last man back had to react. He slid in from behind and made a tackle, The referee rushed over to him and showed a red card. The foul was made outside of the box and the freekick was missed. CC had to play with 10 men. Coláiste Choilm kept on defending well but in the 47th minute Rochfortbridge scored with a header from a corner.
McAndrew in goal was saving unstoppable shots and 1v1’s, but with 10 minutes to go Rochfortbridge's striker scored a bicycle kick which equalized the game at 2-2 and caused a wild reaction by their supporters.
The game ended at 2-2 and it was going to extra time.
Extra time
The whole 20 minutes of extra time didn’t have much action, the two extra halves were very physical with both teams putting in tackles and being exhausted.
Penalties
Coláiste Choilm took the first penalty. It was taken by S. Lawless who sent the keeper the wrong way. Next up was Rochfortbridge, who missed their first penalty with a fantastic McAndrew save. The next three rounds were stressful but were scored. The last CC penalty was taken by McGinley. If he scored, then CC would win this thrilling game and claim the trophy. He stepped up and scored. Coláiste Choilm’s U15 won the West-Leinster final. The whole team celebrated their hard work and congratulated Rochfortbridge for the tough match they provided.
Players of the Match: McAndrew and Lawless. McAndrew led his team to a good win, saved a penalty and kept CC in the game making world class saves. Lawless however scored a goal, a penalty, assisted a goal and most importantly he chased after every ball in midfield and created attacking opportunities.
Team: McAndrew(C), Evans, Staunton, McGuinness, Murrihy, McGinley, Halloran, Dunne, Holton, Kryzevicius, Lawless. Subs: Burns for Kryzevicius, Keegan for Dunne
Coaches: Mr. Davoren, Mr. Parsons.