Tough away assignment for Rearcross U-16 Boys in season opener

Rearcross U-16’s kicked off their new campaign with a challenging away fixture against Borrisokane, and it was the hosts who seized the early momentum. Ciaran Foote came agonizingly close to opening the scoring, his header crashing off the crossbar and drifting wide. Rearcross keeper Leo Armstrong was quickly called into action, producing a fine save to deny Oisin Scanlon. Borrisokane continued to press, with John Quinn narrowly missing a dangerous delivery from Kyrylo Romanenko. Rearcross keeper Leo Armstrong remained busy, thwarting Kyrylo Romanenko again with another sharp stop. The breakthrough finally came when Oisín Scanlon latched onto a pinpoint cross from Kyrylo Romanenko at the back post to make it 1–0. Rearcross responded with attacking intent. Darragh Reynolds forced a solid save from Borrisokane’s shot-stopper Marty Guest, while Patrick Carr and Ciaran McLoughlin combined well to release the latter, only for Marty Guest to intervene swiftly. Darragh Reynolds remained a threat, testing the keeper with a long-range free kick and later seeing a lobbed effort go just wide after a clever pass from Jack Hickey. Despite the best efforts of the visiting side, Borrisokane doubled their lead before the interval. John Quinn found space on the edge of the six-yard box and made no mistake, slotting home to make it 2–0 at half-time.
The second half saw Leo Armstrong continue his standout performance between the posts, denying Kyrylo Romanenko once more and saving a dangerous free kick. However, Borrisokane extended their lead to 3–0 when Oisín Scanlon capitalized on a defensive lapse to grab his second of the evening. Rearcross showed flashes of attacking promise. Shane Lee’s powerful run and through ball to Leon Wallace was well-read by the home keeper, while Darragh Reynolds came agonizingly close again, his free kick rattling the crossbar and was denied again moments later after getting on the end of Paudie Clifford’s cross. Despite a spirited second-half showing, Rearcross couldn’t find a way past the resolute Borrisokane defence. The match ended 3–0 in favour of the home side.

Borrisokane FC: M Guest, S Carroll, C Coughlan, N Young, J Kelly, H Massey, K Romanenko, J Quinn (Capt), C Foote, O Scanlon, L Donnelly, E Larkin, C Lambe, D Kelly O’Brien, E Crowe, D Kennedy, P Hogan, M Donoghue

Rearcross U-16 Boys: Leo Armstrong, Conor McInerney, Jack Hickey, Liam O'Dwyer, Matthew Ryan (Capt), Patrick Carr, Ciaran McLoughlin, Micheal Collins, Shane Lee, Darragh Reynolds, Sean Guidera, Cathal Hickey, Leon Wallace, Paudie Clifford

Referee: Sabelo Mavuso

Report by Shane Reynolds