Five-star Klub Kildare give Waterford the blues
Rhys Jones celebrates one of his goals against Waterford
Klub Kildare turned on a majestic performance on Sunday to defeat Waterford 5-0 in the League of Ireland Under 17 fixture played at FBD Hotels and Resorts Park.
While all games across the League of Ireland due to be played on Saturday were postponed due to the fuel protests across the country, Sunday’s games went ahead and it turned out to be a very enjoyable day for the Klub Kildare team.
Klub Kildare took the initiative from the off and in the first minute of the game when Cian Reilly got down the wing and centred for Jayden Parsons and he arrived with perfect timing at the back post but his header was wide of the target.
It was proving to be an entertaining game as Callum Slattery broke through the Klub Kildare defence but Natan Powell was alive and came to Klub Kildare’s rescue as he blocked Slattery’s effort out for a corner which was eventually cleared by the tall centre half Rhys Jones.
Klub Kildare were beginning to take control of midfield with Cian Reilly and Ethan Deegan linking up well to serve Parsons and Abankwah up front.
Parsons opened the scoring for Klub Kildare after 14 minutes when he received the ball at least 40 yards out from goal and noticing Waterford keeper Jayden Maher off his line he took his opportunity and his shot sailed over Maher’s head into the net for the opening score.
Klub Kildare were dominating now, and soon doubled their lead when Rhys Jones headed in Lorcan Cronin's corner.
Referee Chris Ryan stopped the game for five minutes to allow a sleet shower to pass over but the stoppage did not give Waterford any respite and Klub Kildare went further ahead when Parsons got his second goal from a cross by Cian Downey.
Klub Kildare continued in the same vein for the second half and Waterford keeper Jayden Maher came to Waterford’s rescue as he made a great save from Paul Abankwah but it did not take long for Jones to score his second and Klub Kildare’s fourth goal.
Cian Downey finished off the scoring as he glided in at the back post to slot home a cross from Cian Downey.
Manager Geordan Lamber was delighted with the win when he spoke after the game.
“Yes, the overall performance was good. We were strong at the back and it allowed us to play the ball through midfield and with Parsons and Abankwah up front we have a pair who can score and will put defences under a lot of pressure,” he said.
Klub Kildare look forward to their next match at home against Bray Wanders at 2pm in FBD Hotels and Resorts Park next Sunday.
Nathan Powell, Jayden Bradley, Carlsen Sadilua, Oisin Earley, Rhys Jones, Lorcan Cronin, Padraig Gleeson, Ethan Deegan, Paul Abankwah, Jayden Parsons, Cian Reilly.
Nikodem Szlufik, Fionn Kirby, Beau Byrne, Cian Downey, Zain Ali , Adam Whelan ,Luca Smith, Adam Maher, Daniel Adamolekun.
Jayden Maher, Aaron Brennan, Jack Ryan, Okechukwu Joel Obiesie, Conor Dempsey, Ryan Butler, Keelan Brennan, Alex Capocci, Nathan Power, Harry Farrell, Callum Slattery.
Conor Murphy, Daire Cummins, Evan Lonergan, Tiernan O'Brien, Kian Renwick, William Carney, Jack Barden.
Waterford 2 Klub Kildare 1
