Bit of Magic settles Little Wembley tie
IT’S been a tough week for our Dublin neighbours as the FAI has had to cease all amateur and underage football matches in Dublin in line with Level 3 Covid-19 restrictions.
The Dublin leagues had just got going again, so the news was a hard pill to swallow, but for the Louth School Girls League it’s business as usual and the latest developments makes us appreciate the weekend matches even more.
Credit is due to the FAI North East region and the LSGL for getting competitive football in the county back so quickly in August.
For the Under-12s this was match day eight of 10 in the league schedule and the two runaway conference leaders both kept up their 100% records.
Rock Celtic took on second-placed Albion Rovers in the Northern Conference and put in a clinical display to secure all three points.
Emma Gaughran was player of the match, getting a hatful of goals from both the left and right wing. Emma recently cemented her starting position in the Louth ETP Under-13 team and will hope to bring this good form to next weekend’s inter-county game away to Wexford which should be a cracking game.
In the Southern Conference Glen Magic took on Walshestown at Little Wembley in another first versus second clash.
This was a tighter affair on a windy day at the Glen and both teams did well to keep the ball on the ground and pass it about.
It was 2-1 at half-time and at that stage the match could have gone either way, but a great strike from Beatrice Silickaite gave Glen Magic some breathing room and Robyn Shanley scored a well-worked team goal to secure all three points in the end.
With only a couple of games left, the other conference positions are also firming up.
The east Meath derby game finished with the Rebels again taking the spoils. That result should secure third place, but if the Villains can hang on to fourth spot then it’s possible that they might play out one last derby game in the Major 1 League final in late October.
Elsewhere, Termonfeckin took revenge on Boyne Rovers and claimed their first win of the season - 1-0 - with a classy display at home. Eliza Dolan netted the all-important goal.
Bellurgan did their best to muscle into the Northern Conference Major 1 spots but just came up short against Quay Celtic, losing 4-2 on the day.
It’s been a great debut season so far for Bellurgan in the league and they’ll close out the league with matches against Rock Celtic and Albion Rovers over the next two weekends.
The Under-10s are taking a leaf out of the Sky Sports marketing book and had both Friday and Monday night football last week.
Glen Magic took on EMU Belles on Friday evening at The Glen, with EMU taking the victory by a single goal. Quay Celtic and Rock Celtic also had a long weekend in mind, with a floodlit Monday night clash at Clancy Park.
Termonfeckin Celtic will join the Under-10 ladder from this week on, bringing the number of clubs involved to eight, and they enjoyed a remarkable 9-7 victory over Donacarney in a friendly played last Friday night.
That game was notable for the contribution of Eliza Dolan who netted all nine of their goals!
This week is European Week of Sport, being celebrated from tomorrow (Wednesday) until the 30th, so you can expect to see the #BeActive tag popping up in lots of places.
The FAI Grassroots team are hoping to
continue with as many of their scheduled events for the week as possible, despite the Dublin restrictions.
Indeed, the LSGL is looking to host one of those events this coming weekend for the Under-8s, working with the FAI and the MoreThanFootball movement.
Fixtures Saturday September 26th
Under-12
Northern Conference: Albion Rovers v Castletown Belles, Albion Rovers 12:30; Quay Celtic v Ardee, Clancy Park 2:30; Rock Celtic v Bellurgan FC, Sandy Lane 4:00.
Southern Conference: Termonfeckin v Glen Magic, Drogheda 11:30; Boyne Rovers v EMU Rebels, Drogheda 12:00; EMU Villains v Walshestown, EMU 2:00.
Under-10
Albion Rovers vs Bellurgan, Albion Rovers 12:30; Castletown Belles v Quay Celtic, Dundalk Sports Centre 14:30; Rock Celtic vs Glen Magic, Sandy Lane 2:30.