Rearcross U13s finished their 09/10 season with a heart breaking cup defeat to local rivals Birdhill in Rearcross last Thursday evening. It was a lively opening half as the home side gave as good as they got against their Premier Division opponents. Birdhill took the lead after 10 minutes when the Rearcross defence struggled to clear the ball and when the ball broke loose in the penalty area, the Birdhill striker reacted quickest to blast the ball to roof of the net. Rearcross drew level almost immediately when they won a penalty after a fine passing move. Gary O’Brien stepped up to find the back of the net despite the keepers best efforts. Birdhill took the lead once more 10 minutes later as they played their way through the hosts and left Shane Quigley with little chance. Again, to their credit, Rearcross reactly well to this setback and drew level 5 minutes before the break. They won a free kick at the edge of the area. Patrick struck a fine effort and when the Birdhill keeper failed to hold the ball, Thomas Lyons was on hand to poke the ball home to leave the sides all square at the break. Birdhill in truth dominated the ball throughout their second half. However despite this, they struggled to create hardly any chances against a determined and hard working Rearcross team.  Shane Quigley made an excellent save with his feet midway through the half to deny the visitors. And after the high scoring first half both sides failed to find the net in the 2^nd half and the game went into extra time. Again Birdhill had the majority of possession to but failed to create anything meaningful during the extra time. The sides seemed destined for penalties when with only 2 minutes remaining Birdhill grabbed the victory. A corner kick was deflected at the front post and it was the Birdhill striker who reacted quickly to poke the ball home and break Rearcross hearts. To add insult to injury Birdhill added a fourth from the penalty spot with the last kick of the game to knock Rearcross out of the cup.

 

Rearcross U-13's: Shane Quigley, Paul Ryan, Darragh Kennedy, Brian Carey, Martin Nolan, Thomas Lyons, Gary O’Brien, Patrick Deegan, Jamie Russell, Dylan Ryan, Patrick Carey

Subs : Gary McMahon, Darragh Murphy, John Nolan, Mikey Hayes,  Jack Lenihan

 

Birdhill: Paul O'Halloran, Conor Hickey, Harry Reid, Robert Houlihan, Pa Ryan, Evan Gleeson, Liam Duffy, Brendan Tormey, Shane Griffin, Killian Harvey

Conor Floyd

 

Referee:            Jim Lees

 

Report Compiled by Tommy Ryan Luke