RCC 1-1 Tullamore College
On Friday 15th November RCC welcomed Tullamore College in their opening West Leinster Junior Division 2 league game. With many players on both teams involved in last year’s U15 Minor final, which RCC won, there was always going to be an extra competitive edge to this game. RCC raced out of the traps early when Tiernan found himself with time and space in the Tullamore box and struck a well-placed volley past the diving goalkeeper into the left-hand corner of the net.
RCC continued to create chances with captain Luke Shally going close with a header that just sailed wide after a terrific delivery from a Rory Connolly corner. Shally had a few more half chances with shots from outside the box, but the Tullamore goalkeeper held them comfortably. Tullamore grew into the game halfway through the first half and came close to equalising several times through corners and set pieces as the RCC defence struggled to pick up their opponents. RCC had right back Harry McDermott to thank for the scoreline remaining 1-0 as he cleared the ball off the line from a dangerous Tullamore corner in the 30th minute. RCC saw out the remainder of the first half and went into the break with a crucial lead.
The second half saw Tullamore raise their game as they began to dominate possession, soon converting the ball past RCC goalkeeper Nathan Flynn with a low shot to the centre of the goal. RCC nearly retook the lead immediately from the kick-off when striker Luke Hayes rushed onto a through ball from Luke Shally. However, just as Hayes was about to pull the trigger in the penalty box, the Tullamore centre back number 4 did just enough to get a block on the shot, putting the ball out for a corner. Once again, from the RCC corner, Luke Shally went close when his header, but it went over the bar. Tullamore were close to taking the lead when they got a freekick on the edge of the box and their number 10 hit a fantastic strike, which skimmed the top of the RCC crossbar, and went out for a goal kick.
Despite their dominance, Tullamore failed to create any further clear-cut chances as RCC centre backs Thomas Hanley and Pierce Fannon continued to frustrate them by making clearance after clearance. RCC finished the game stronger as Tullamore were reduced to ten men in the 75th minute when their midfielder received a second yellow card for a foul on RCC midfielder Jack Lally. The resulting freekick led to a scramble in the Tullamore box but they managed to get the ball clear, marking the last kick of the game and ending 1-1.
There were numerous standout performances from the RCC team with goalkeeper Nathan Flynn, defenders Harry McDermott and Pierce Fannon, alongside midfielders Luke Shally and Jack Lally, all putting in strong performances. Ultimately, Man of the Match had to go to centre back Thomas Hanley who was very impressive with his excellent reading of the game and standout clearances.
RCC Squad: Nathan Flynn, Harry McDermott, Pierce Fannon, Thomas Hanley, Lewis Smyth, Jack Lally, Eli Okamabawa, Luke Shally, John Tiernan, Rory Connolly, Luke Hayes, Ruairi Kerr, Fabian Kompus, Daniel Hanmore, Tiago Lemos, James Bolger, Mark Naughton, William Staunton, Sean Fannon, Daniel Monaghan, Ihnat Taraskin.
