Castle Villa made the long journey from Kildare this morning to take on our boys in green in the 3rd round of the U14 National Cup at Whitegates.
Both teams started well and canceled each other out for the majority of the first half with neither keeper being really tested until Rovers were awarded a corner in the 29th minute. AJ Long whipped in a lovely cross which was only half cleared to the on coming Eoghan Quinn who wrapped his right foot around the ball and drove it into the back of the Castle Villa net. Will Carey came close to doubling the lead just before the break when he linked brilliantly with Daniel Clarke down the left only to see but his effort just clear the cross bar.
The solid performances of keeper Ben Morrissey, defenders Jack Collins, James Carroll, Eoghan Daye and Finn Murphy ensured Rovers went into the break with a one goal advantage.
The second half started in similar fashion to the first but the Rovers midfield of Simon Lynch, Carey and Chris Delahunt were starting to find space in midfield. The introduction of Kyrylo Geleveria, Cian Foley, and Jamie McGowan brought great energy and saw Rovers pushing hard for a second.
And it was McGowan's pressing that caused confusion been the Castle Villa defender and keeper that lead to the ball landing at the feet of Long, who excellently half vollyed the ball into the net to secure a deserved 2-0 victory.
Another solid performance from our boys in green now takes them into Round 4 of the National Cup. A huge thanks to Castle Villa for the game and we wish them very best of luck for their season ahead.
Both teams started well and canceled each other out for the majority of the first half with neither keeper being really tested until Rovers were awarded a corner in the 29th minute. AJ Long whipped in a lovely cross which was only half cleared to the on coming Eoghan Quinn who wrapped his right foot around the ball and drove it into the back of the Castle Villa net. Will Carey came close to doubling the lead just before the break when he linked brilliantly with Daniel Clarke down the left only to see but his effort just clear the cross bar.
The solid performances of keeper Ben Morrissey, defenders Jack Collins, James Carroll, Eoghan Daye and Finn Murphy ensured Rovers went into the break with a one goal advantage.
The second half started in similar fashion to the first but the Rovers midfield of Simon Lynch, Carey and Chris Delahunt were starting to find space in midfield. The introduction of Kyrylo Geleveria, Cian Foley, and Jamie McGowan brought great energy and saw Rovers pushing hard for a second.
And it was McGowan's pressing that caused confusion been the Castle Villa defender and keeper that lead to the ball landing at the feet of Long, who excellently half vollyed the ball into the net to secure a deserved 2-0 victory.
Another solid performance from our boys in green now takes them into Round 4 of the National Cup. A huge thanks to Castle Villa for the game and we wish them very best of luck for their season ahead.
