U14 Connacht Cup
Galway Bohs 0 Manulla 0
Bohs won 3-1 on penalties
Bohs U14s made the trip to Mayo on Sunday for a tough assignment away to Manulla in the first round of the Connacht Cup. Despite captain Rian Coffey losing the coin toss, the lads played with the wind in the first half as planned and they had most of the possession and chances in the opening 35 minutes but not many clearcut opportunities were created at either end. Bohs looked like they took the lead when a long range effort seemed to be beat the keeper and shake the net but the ball somehow rebounded back into the keeper's hands and the referee waved play on.
With only 12 players to choose from, the Bohs band of brothers fought hard in the second half but the home side started to get control of the match in the last 20 minutes and the final stages saw a valiant rearguard display from the Bohs back four to maintain a clean sheet for keeper Max Keville. Our lads continued to threaten on the break with their pressure producing a few corners and it was Rian Coffey who came closest to a decisive winner with a decent strike from distance that drew a good save from the Manulla keeper. In a very evenly matched contest, the referee blew the final whistle at 0-0 which was a fair result on the day and both sets of coaches and supporters drew a collective intake of breath as penalties loomed for both sides to decide the contest.
It was left up to the Bohs players themselves to raise a hand to claim one of the 5 penalty taker roles and after Manulla blasted home the first penalty, up stepped a confident Aaron O'Reilly to coolly slot home into the bottom right hand corner. Cometh the moment cometh the man and it was Max Keville who produced a great save to thwart the second Manulla penalty. Even louder cheers were heard from the away contingent when Captain Fantastic Rian gave the keeper no chance to make 2-1 to Bohs and victory was within our grasp when the third Manulla penalty taker blasted the ball over the bar. Next up for Bohs was Lumiere who made no mistake with a powerful spot kick to the keeper's left and Manulla now needed to score to keep the contest alive. Unfortunately for the young Mayo player, he faced an inspired keeper in Max who produced another huge penalty save which sparked wild celebrations from the Bohs lads who deserve great credit for making it through to the next round.
After a tough start to the season, it was a great day out for everyone involved and a real squad effort from all 12 lads who should be immensely proud of getting the all important win on the day. We don't normally like to single out individual players, but as part of a rock solid back 5 performance, new signing Thomas Murphy deserves special mention on his first Bohs start with a confident and assured performance at left back and he hardly put a foot wrong over the course of the 70 minutes. Thanks to all the parents who gave lifts and travelled to support the lads ⚽⚽⚽⚽
Galway Bohs 0 Manulla 0
Bohs won 3-1 on penalties
Bohs U14s made the trip to Mayo on Sunday for a tough assignment away to Manulla in the first round of the Connacht Cup. Despite captain Rian Coffey losing the coin toss, the lads played with the wind in the first half as planned and they had most of the possession and chances in the opening 35 minutes but not many clearcut opportunities were created at either end. Bohs looked like they took the lead when a long range effort seemed to be beat the keeper and shake the net but the ball somehow rebounded back into the keeper's hands and the referee waved play on.
With only 12 players to choose from, the Bohs band of brothers fought hard in the second half but the home side started to get control of the match in the last 20 minutes and the final stages saw a valiant rearguard display from the Bohs back four to maintain a clean sheet for keeper Max Keville. Our lads continued to threaten on the break with their pressure producing a few corners and it was Rian Coffey who came closest to a decisive winner with a decent strike from distance that drew a good save from the Manulla keeper. In a very evenly matched contest, the referee blew the final whistle at 0-0 which was a fair result on the day and both sets of coaches and supporters drew a collective intake of breath as penalties loomed for both sides to decide the contest.
It was left up to the Bohs players themselves to raise a hand to claim one of the 5 penalty taker roles and after Manulla blasted home the first penalty, up stepped a confident Aaron O'Reilly to coolly slot home into the bottom right hand corner. Cometh the moment cometh the man and it was Max Keville who produced a great save to thwart the second Manulla penalty. Even louder cheers were heard from the away contingent when Captain Fantastic Rian gave the keeper no chance to make 2-1 to Bohs and victory was within our grasp when the third Manulla penalty taker blasted the ball over the bar. Next up for Bohs was Lumiere who made no mistake with a powerful spot kick to the keeper's left and Manulla now needed to score to keep the contest alive. Unfortunately for the young Mayo player, he faced an inspired keeper in Max who produced another huge penalty save which sparked wild celebrations from the Bohs lads who deserve great credit for making it through to the next round.
After a tough start to the season, it was a great day out for everyone involved and a real squad effort from all 12 lads who should be immensely proud of getting the all important win on the day. We don't normally like to single out individual players, but as part of a rock solid back 5 performance, new signing Thomas Murphy deserves special mention on his first Bohs start with a confident and assured performance at left back and he hardly put a foot wrong over the course of the 70 minutes. Thanks to all the parents who gave lifts and travelled to support the lads ⚽⚽⚽⚽
