Carrigtwohill United hosted St. Francis from Dublin in the Last 16 of the SFAI U16 National Trophy. The game was played in poor conditions at the Stephen Ireland Astro in Cobh, with both teams having to contend with strong wind and rain.

 

Carrigtwohill had the advantage of the wind in the first half. St. Francis were strong through the middle, but Jack L, Bryan, and Michael worked hard to keep them at bay. Up front Owen, Aaron, and Nathan were a constant threat to the Dublin side's defense.

 

Carrig came close to scoring when Bryan saw an effort toward the top left corner saved by the keeper following a well-worked corner with Owen. Nathan also went close with an effort from the right, and Michael had a good chance to score coming in from the left, but his shot was saved. 

 

 

The back four of Karol, Sam, Isaac, and Jack B handled any threats well, with Sean having a quiet first half. 

 

The breakthrough eventually came when Bryan switched the play from left to right to release Aaron, who finished with power from an angle to put Carrig 1–0 up. It was a great finish to give the home side the lead at the break.

 

The second half started much better for St. Francis with the wind at their backs. They had a massive chance to equalize with a free header in the 6-yard box from their big number 6, but Carrig were happy to see the ball fly over the bar. Sean was then called into action, pulling off a great save to his left to keep the score at 1–0.

 

Carrig made changes to steady the ship. Jamie came on to shore up the central defense, while Bailey and Dylan had a great impact in the middle of the park. Up front, Rafael worked his socks off for the team to keep the St. Francis backline under pressure.

 

With about 10 minutes remaining, and during a battle for the ball in the middle, Dylan played a lovely ball over the top down the right channel to release Michael. Michael’s shot was well saved by the keeper, but the rebound sent the ball bouncing in the 6-yard box, Nathan arriving late into the box reacted the quickest to finish into an empty net and make it 2–0 to seal the win.

 

Thanks to St. Francis (Dublin) for a sporting game, and best of luck to them for the rest of the season. 

 

We now look forward to the Quarter-Final draw, which will be made during the week.