Class Carter seals victory for Avonmore in U-16 final
Carter bags brace as Avonmore see off Greystones
AVONMORE FC hitman Dean Carter bagged an impressive brace as his side beat Greystones 2-1 in the Wicklow under-16 Cup final at the Carlisle Grounds on Sunday.
Avonmore started the game at lightning speed and looked to open up the Greystones defence with their pacey strikers Dean Carter and Cody Reid; the speed of the two attackers would cause problems for the Greystones side for the remainder of first half.
Avonmore controlled the tempo of the game straight from kick off and almost had the first of the game when Cody Reid was played through by midfielder Ryan Kenny, but the striker’s shot hit the post and went wide.
It wasn’t long before the hard working efforts of Dean Carter and Cody Reid paid off for the Avonmore men. After a long ball from keeper Aidan Murray was taken down on the chest by Reid the striker squared the ball across the box to Carter who coolly flicked the ball past the keeper and into the net on the 12th minute. Great combined play from the Avonmore men.
Greystones started to get into the game after going a goal down. Midfielder James Clark started to pick out Stephen Anderson with many balls over the defence but Anderson’s attempts on goal were met with some wonderful saves from Avonmore keeper Aidan Murray.
Greystones kept tipping away at their opposition and gradually, though, they began to gain a foothold in proceedings and really should have drawn level with a long shot from Drew Campbell but again Murray pulled off another great save and tipped the ball over the bar for a corner.
Just as Greystones gained a foothold back in the game Avonmore’s Dean Carter bagged his second to make it 2-0. The hard-working striker picked up possession just outside his own half and then embarked on a solo run that took him past three Greystones defenders before being taken down inside the penalty area which resulted in the referee pointing to the spot. Carter stepped up and rifled his penalty straight down the middle to make it 2-0 on the day.
The first half ended with that penalty, and left Greystones a lot to do in the second half if they wanted to turn this cup final around.
A different looking Greystones side came out in the second half. Every player chased down their oppositions number and challenged for every ball either on the ground or in in the air. Avonmore’s penalty box was flooded with Greystones players on many occasions with the losing side desperate to score and get themselves back into the game. Only for a last-minute challenge by Cian Ward on Craig Kenny Greystones would be only one goal away from bringing the game into extra time, but Ward made an excellent tackle and out the ball out for a throw in.
Greystones finally got the goal they deserved on the 70th minute from a scrappy on the line tap in from James Clark. The Avonmore box was again flooded with opposition players after a corner wasn’t cleared and fell to James Clark who couldn’t miss. Greystones were one goal away from bringing the final to extra time.
Greystones kept fighting and fighting for that equalising goal up until the last minute but time just ran out for the Greystones side who fought so hard in the second half but the Avonmore side were just too strong on the day and held out for their 2-1 score until the final whistle.
Delight for the Avonmore players and their traveling supporters as they lifted the under-16 Wicklow Cup who were deserved winners at the Carlisle Grounds.
Avonmore FC U16: 1. Aidan Murray, 2. Francho, 3. Andrew Brancato, 4. Zach Cullen, 5. Luke Kearney, 6. Cian Ward, 7. Dean Carter, 8. Ryan Kenny, 9. Liam
Dickenson, 10. Cody Reid, 11. Mark Cullen. Subs: 12. Kevin Kinsella, 13. Conor Nolan, 14. Daniel Duffy, 15. Luke Brown, 16. Craig Wall, 17. Ayyub Azmat, 18. Daniel Morley, 19. Daniel Hagan, 20. Dale Fluskey.
Greystones U16: 1. Charlie Goodwin, 2. James Clark, 3. Michael Gilman, 4. Oscar Noonan, 5. David O’Sullivan, 6. Ciaran Daly, 7. Fionn Brauner, 8. Drew Campbell, 9. Sam Gammell, 10. Craig Kenny, 11. Stephen Anderson. Subs: 12. Neil Mc Nally, 13. Jamie Plant, 14. Kalon Murdiff, 15. Shane Ryan, 16. Charlie Stewart, 17. Stephen Kilduff. Referee: M. Dowling. Assistants: S. Ferguson, L. O’Brien.