NDSL strike late to see off brave Wicklow challenge
NDSL 3 WDSL 0
AFTER all the training, waiting and fundraising, it’s finally underway.
The Kennedy Cup has at last come around again. Every schoolboy football fan and every aspiring player of the age of fourteen and just below will have made their way to Limerick or at least have their attention trained on Limerick to keep abreast of Europe’s biggest soccer competition for this age group.
The Wicklow team were drawn with the NDSL (North Dublin Schoolboy League) in their opening game, with Roscommon and South Tipperary making the other teams in the group.
North Dublin, who are previous winners and most definitely one of the fancied teams of this competition, began at a very brisk pace declaring early their intention to win the game.
Wicklow, who have not had the greatest success at this tournament over recent years, would not have been considered any massive threat to powerful North Dublin. So, with the result in little doubt, it was just a matter of formality for North Dublin to pick up the points.
There was just one very small fly in the ointment, nobody told Wicklow and they failed to read the script.
While North Dublin pushed forward, Wicklow dug in, and the more North Dublin pushed the more resilient Wicklow became. North Dublin threatened early but Wicklow were immense. And then it happened, Wicklow got this crazy notion that they should go and attack the North Dublin goal putting paid to any idea of this game being a formality.
With the task being as difficult as it was the last thing Wicklow needed was the serious blow of Josh Odlum sustaining a match ending injury removing him from the field of play.
Josh was replaced by Ross Quinn who got to grips with the pace of the game immediately.
The game developed into a tight tactical battle with both teams transitioning quickly going from goal to goal with chances at both ends.
North Dublin were the stronger side but this didn’t seem to register with team captain Adam Farrell, Conor Leonard, Ryan Delamere-Hanlon, Eoin Doyle, Dylan Cummins or in fact the whole team.
They kept breaking down attack after attack, punching well above their weight and launching their own counter attacks in the process.
And just as the Wicklow sup- porters began to believe that they may have a chance with the finish line in sight, their defences were finally breached when seven minutes from the final whistle North Dublin scored.
It was a mammoth effort from the Wicklow team who were now out on their feet they had given everything they had.
North Dublin went to show why they are one of the fancied teams of the tournament by adding another two goals in quick succession to finish 3-0 winners.
Wicklow were disconsolate, seven minutes from what would have been the biggest shock of the opening round matches to sustaining a 3-0 loss.
But with two games on Tuesday versus South Tipperary and Roscommon the team are far from beat at this stage of the competition.