Nenagh AFC Club Notes – November 16th

Come Dine With Me

Nenagh AFC are delighted to announce that we will once again hold a “Come Dine With Me” in the Hibernian Inn, Nenagh, on Friday December 5th. FAI Chief Executive John Delaney will once again make the trip to Nenagh and be Chef for the night. Full details can be found on www.nenaghafc.ie and tickets are limited so book soon not to be disappointed

Football For All

Nenagh AFC are currently planning the launch of the Football For All for this season. We need to hear from a few more coaches who are willing to put 1 hour per week into the programme, Full training will be given and a pool of coaches will work with the squad. Please contact Aidan at 087 8224 140 if you are willing to assist. It is hoped to start in the next few weeks on Saturdays at 2pm. Watch these notes for start date

Junior “A” Team

Nenagh AFC Junior “A” defeated Thurles Town away last Sunday with a convincing 6-0 victory. Mark Cahill and Dan Dalton scored a goal each while Thomas Sheppard and Ryan Gilmartin grabbed two goals each to cap off a fine win for the Blues

Junior “C” Team

Nenagh AFC Junior “C” produced a gutsy display against Premier Division side Cloughjordan in the Munster Junior Cup but lost out narrowly on a 3-2 scoreline. Dean Morrissey scored from the spot and a great team move was finished off brilliantly by Stevie Daly but it is Clough who advance to the next round and we wish them well. Also, well wishes are extended to our teammate Conor Kirwan who came off injured and hopefully he will be back playing shortly

Youths

Nenagh AFC Youths defeated a much fancied BT Harps side at the weekend to advance to the next round of the Munster Youths Cup. Nenagh were underdogs as BT Harps had pipped them to the under 16 league title last season but the Blues rose to the challenge to record an impressive 1-0 victory. Nenagh enjoyed large amounts of possession with Dylan Sheahan, Oisin O Sullivan and Stevie Daly excelling in a team of fine performers. Nenagh worked hard all over the pitch and were a solid defensive unit when defending. Stevie Daly hit the bar and came close on other occasions as Nenagh enjoyed the better chances in the game. The only goal of the game came in the sixty fifth minute when Jake Morris hit a long range screamer leaving the BT Harps keeper with no chance. Jake had dominated the game from start to finish in midfield and was far and away the man of the match and the goal added to his imperious display. Well done to everyone on a great group effort

Under 15 “A”

15s (Small)

Nenagh AFC Under 15 “A” played hosts to top Kerry league side St Brendan’s Park in the National Cup at the weekend. This Tralee side hadn’t conceded a single goal in all competitions prior to their visit to Nenagh and disposed of Aisling Annacotty 5-0 in Limerick in the previous round. Park started the game in typically determined fashion forcing a series of dangerous corners. Centre backs Josh Glennon and Jack Daly were repeatedly required to perform heroics to keep us in the game when it looked like the visitors must score. Keeper Callan Scully was equally busy, somehow managing to frustrate the opposition when the opening goal seemed inevitable. Callan can be particularly proud of one spectacular moment, getting a hand to a goal bound shot that squirted low across the box. Fortunately for Nenagh, Saeed Ryan was perfectly positioned to complete the clearance. Several scares later, Tralee finally made the breakthrough when Sertutxa rose highest in the box to force the ball over the line. Going behind brought new energy to the home side. Captain Conal Moran, Barry Coffey and Stephen Kirwan thundered into the game imposing our passing game on the opposition at every opportunity. Kirwan found Daniel Burke out wide and Daniel’s awesome pace took him to the end line before crossing for Diarmuid Fitzpatrick to finish in style. Nenagh redoubled their efforts and took the lead at the stroke of half time. Ross Glennon won a vital challenge in midfield before playing a beautiful pass for Bryan McLoughney to finish from close range. Unused to going behind, Brendan’s Park made several changes for the second half but failed to wrestle the initiative back from Nenagh. The introduction of Neil Conneally and Ronan Costello added strength and pace to the home challenge. Confident defending combined with clever play in midfield created several more Nenagh chances which the Park keeper did very well to stop. Deep into injury time, the impressive Ross Glennon made the game safe for Nenagh setting up Daniel Burke for a tap in at the far post. Special thanks to Nenagh’s hard working field committee for having the pitch in perfect condition despite recent heavy rain

Under 14 “A”

Nenagh AFC under 14 “A” team took on high flyers of the Limerick County league Charleville FC away in Charleville last Saturday week ago with the winners reaching the last 32 of the National Cup. With a lot at stake, Nenagh started the game very nervously, missing a few tackles and allowed the very big physical Charleville side to score within three minutes of kick off. Things weren’t looking good for Nenagh up until full back Adam Ryan put in two hard Tackles, won the ball and set Barry Coffey off to score his first goal of the day. That seemed to settle Nenagh who started playing some nice passing football. Craig Gleeson was instrumental in setting up Nenagh’s and Barry Coffey’s second of the day, when he won a good ball on the wing, worked it to captain Colm Hayden who chipped a lovely ball over the defence on to Barry Coffey who majestically lobed  the keeper into the net. Nenagh’s third goal of the day came from a delightful pass from man of the match Gavin Dooley on to the super fast Michael Harold who slotted it coolly past the keeper to give Nenagh a deserved 3-1 lead. At this stage Nenagh were in total control but the home side were given a life line just on the stroke of half time when they were awarded a penalty. Even though keeper Callan Scully saved the penalty he couldn’t do anything about the follow up. The score was 3-2 at half time. The start of the second half saw Charleville throw everything at Nenagh and the should have equalised but from some tenacious defending done by Josh Glennon, Manus Heenan and the superb Sean Phelan. Keeper Callan Scully pulled of a number of top class saves to torment the home side again and again. Sean McInerney had a strong performance breaking up the Charleville attack and ran himself into the ground. The introduction of Josh Keller and Stephen Mulvihill brought the stability and energy that were lacking as the second half wore on. Sean Phelan switch to midfield was also instrumental in Nenagh’s fourth and Barry Coffey’s hat-trick goal that gave the Nenagh side a two goal cushion going into the final ten minutes. Further subs were brought on for the final minutes in the form of Darragh Tinkler, Daniel Mossi and the ever talented Aaron Walsh who almost got a fifth goal for Nenagh when linking well with Barry Coffey and Colm Hayden. Nenagh’s fantastic victory can be put down to a great panel effort. With the introduction of key subs at vital moments in the second half proving the eventual difference between the two sides. Nenagh now await the open draw to see who they face after Christmas in the next round of the National Cup

Under 12s

12s (Small)

Nenagh AFC under 12 team one headed into Limerick recently to face a fine Aishling Annacotty side for a place in the National Cup last thirty two open draw. It proved to be a titanic battle, Aishling winning by the thinnest of margins, one nil. It was a pulsating encounter that left supporters wondering how players so young could produce such a tough, skilful game. The Nenagh players were disappointed when the final whistle went but their managers and supporters were very proud, we must not forget Nenagh play in a nine a side league and only play eleven a side for the National Cup whilst their opponents play in an eleven a side league, on the day you wouldn’t have noticed, all credit must go to the full squad of players who gave everything they had on their National Cup debut

Under 8s

8s (Small)

Nenagh AFC under 8s played their first away Futsal matches when both teams Nenagh United (The Blues) and Nenagh City (The Whites) visited Borrisokane FC recently. Nenagh were greeted with a warm welcome by Borrisokane FC and the sun continued to shine compared to the heavy rain that fell the night before. Nenagh performed their warms up routines on the exceptional astro turf facilities before the matches began.  Nenagh United and City faced the mighty Black & Reds from Borrisokane before playing each other in a local Derby “Jaffa Cake” Cup Final. Excellent footballing skills were on display by all teams and the coaches could really see the progress made by all the boys and improvements in passing and holding their positions were on display for all to see. Great passages of play by all resulted in very entertaining games of football. The Nenagh teams had their first away wins but City were victorious over United in the local Derby match. They amazed us today with their skill and the future of the club looks bright with these fine young men coming through the ranks. Thanks to Borrisokane FC for hosting an excellent tournament of Futsal and providing the referees for the matches. Nenagh AFC look forward to a visit from Borrisokane FC in the near Future. Thanks again to all the parents who help us out at the weekends it makes it so much more enjoyable for everyone