What a difference a year makes! A year older and a year wiser. The nerves and apprehension were replaced by excitement and anticipation on Saturday when Cappry hosted Nenagh in the SFAI U13 Cup.
Within the 1st 5 minutes a tone was set that not alone give the players confidence but also give huge belief to all the supporters who lined the touchline to cheer the boys on. Straight from the kick off the Cappry players pressed their Tipperary opponents and pinned them into their own half. The pressure was constant and it seemed only a matter of time before their pressure would turn to goals.
The deadlock was broke in the 7th minute after Luke McGlynn’s shot hit the bar and Shaun Ward got the rebound which he drilled onto the post. The ball came back into the 6 yard box and Kevin McCormack was on hand to knock the ball over the line.
Cappry continued pressing and were unlucky moments later when Mark Mbuli, breaking in from the right, chipped the keeper and saw his shot hit the post and go out for a goal kick.
Cappry were so dominant that it took Nenagh until the 25th minute before they got a break of their own, it was in fact the 1st time that they actually broke into the Cappry half. The Cappry defence dealt well with the Nenagh threat and went in at the break 1-0 up. On reflection Cappry could have been 3 or 4 nil up at half time.
The 2nd half was to be a more balanced affair with Nenagh coming into the game a bit more and getting a few more attacks of their own. With the game swinging from end to end, the next goal was always going to be vital and thankfully it was Cappry who scored when Shaun Ward scored from wide on the right when his shot beat the wrong footed keeper on his near post in the 40th minute. Nenagh showed how good a team they are when in the 47th minute they pulled a goal back through Sam Rosney.
With the game tightly poised at 2-1 Nenagh had a couple of chances to draw level and only for good defending by Daniel Marley, Andrew Murray, Josh McMenamin and the excellent Evan Long in goals, things could have been different.
The Nenagh comeback was to be killed off in the 52nd minute when Mark Mbuli was put through 1 on 1 with the keeper and he made no mistake in sliding the ball low past the keeper to the bottom right hand side of the net and in turn restored the 2 goal advantage with just 8 minute of normal time remaining. The Cappry lads were to hold out for a famous victory and every player who donned the Cappry jersey should be very proud of themselves for a very well deserved win.
Evan Long, Josh McMenamin, Andrew Murray, Daniel Marley, Shaun Ward, Oisin McGlinchey, Sean McMenamin, Luke McGlynn, Jack Long, Kevin McCormack, Mark Mbuli, Conor McGinty, Eoin McGonagle, Martin Mbuli and Joseph Gillespie all had a very important role to play and the club are very proud of each and every one of them.
Congratulations to Martin and Shorty on the victory and continued good luck in the competition.
Credit to a very good Nenagh team who won the Tipperary title and showed battling qualities that would be a lesson to a lot of teams. A massive thanks also to their management who had very kind words for our team in the clubhouse afterwards and wished our players the best of luck with their upcoming games.
The numbers drawn in the Cappry lotto were 4, 6, 16, 24. There was no jackpot winner. The winner of the €50 lucky ticket was Joe McGlynn, Glenfin. Next weeks jackpot is €6950. Remember, if you’re not in, you can’t win.
Seniors: Cappry Rovers 1 Keadue Rovers 0
This game was played in perfect conditions in Cappry Park. It was a tight and tense first half with both sides cancelling each other out.
It was the home side that had the first clear cut chance of the game when Brendan McLaughlin’s quick free found Calvin Bradley but his effort went just wide. McLaughlin had a fine effort saved by the Keadue keeper in the 38th minute.
The away side came out strong in the second half and pushed the home side back but the Cappry defence held strong.
In the 56th minute Cappry took the lead following a scramble in the box Brendan McLaughlin made room for himself on the edge of the six yard box and fired into the top corner. Calvin Bradley played McLaughlin through and he skipped past the keeper but saw his effort cleared off the line.
Keadue piled on the pressure in the last 10 minutes but the home team defended well and held on for the valuable three points in their push for promotion. Two team efforts.
Congratulations to Luke McGlynn who won the Primary School Sports Boy at the Donegal Sports Stars of the Year 2016 awards which took place last Friday evening. Luke attend An Choimin National School and he also captains our U13 team who have qualified for the last 16 in Ireland. Well done Luke, not a bad weekend!
We would like to invite any player born in 2005 who would like to take part in trials for the U12 A team for the upcoming season to come up to Cappry Park on Friday 3rd Feb at 6.30pm sharp. The session will be over at 7.45pm. All newcomers welcome. We will have 3 teams at under 12 level this year. Anyone who would like to play will have to be registered on Friday evening also if you haven’t already done so.
