Jacob and Farrell the extra time heroes for KDUL
KDUL celebrate their win
Jamie Jacob and Jesse Farrell were the extra time heroes for the Kildare & District Underage League as they defeated North Tipperary in the SFAI U14 Inter League final.
The windy conditions at University Limerick made things difficult for both teams which led to a tight game short on clear cut chances and all the drama came after the game had finished scoreless in normal time.
Although North Tipperary shaded the possession and territory through normal time, it was the KDUL who came closest to a goal when Rily Doran saw his shot blocked on the line by Mikey Carr in the 21st minute after he had been picked out by Ben Fayne. Doran got a second bite of the cherry when he pounced on the rebound but Carr made a second excellent block on the line.
There was just over a minute of extra time played when the KDUL broke the deadlock and it was no surprise that it was captain and man of the match Jacob who came up with the big moment. Dylan Lawler whipped in an excellent right wing free kick with his left foot and when the ball dropped into the goalmouth area, the powerful midfielder was first to react and he smashed the ball into the net.
The second goal came in the last minute of the minute of the first half of extra time and owed all to the perseverance of Farrell. He didn’t give up on the ball when a back pass was played to Tipperary goalkeeper Cillian Coughlan and he got his reward he charged down the clearance the ball flew into the net.
Farrell almost put the game beyond doubt when he fired just over early in the second half and Tipperary were back in the game a minute later when Danny McGuinness’ corner caught on the wind and flew directly into the net.
KDUL had to withstand serious pressure in the remaining minutes and in the last action of the game, Cathal McAuliffe produced a near miraculous goal line clearance to keep their lead and the final whistle blew shortly after to spark great scenes of celebration.
Jacob Browne Larkin (Straffan); David Morgan (Kilcock Celtic), Dylan Lawler (Kilcullen), Denas Bendikas (Sallins Celtic), Riley Middleon (Suncroft), Ben Fayne (Allenwood), Patrick Harrington (Clane Utd), Jamie Jacob (Kilcullen), Cathal McAuliffe (Kilcock Celtic), Riley Doran (Clane Utd), Liam Gould (Monasterevin). Subs: Kian Lawlor (Naas AFC) for Gould, 47; Jesse Farrell (Kilcock Celtic) for Doran, 57; Tuan Lee (Prosperous Utd) for Harrington, 57.
Squad: Alife Aspell (Kilcullen), Zaki Abdollah (Kilcock Celtic), Max Power (Naas AFC), Noah Kinahan (Sallins Celtic), Bobby Donnelly (Kilcock Celtic), Deon Doyle (Kilcullen), Ruairi Murphy (Suncroft AFC), Dara Ó Shea (Sallins Celtic), Cathal Walshe (Clane Utd), Daniel Stepniak (Kilcullen AFC).
