SCHOOLBOYS | Cup Semi-Finals Round-Up
U13 | Quay have the last laugh against the Rock
U17 | Glenmuir go goal crazy to book place in U17 final
U14 | Cillian kills off Bellurgan’s double hopes
Quay have the last laugh against the Rock
U13 Dundalk FC Cup semi-final | Rock Celtic 0–2 Quay Celtic
Quay Celtic booked their place in Sunday’s U13 Dundalk FC Cup final with a 2–0 win over Rock Celtic on Tuesday night.
This was the fifth time the sides crossed swords this season with the Seasiders winning the four previous games — three in the league and one in the SFAI National Cup.
It was the Point Road side, however, who claimed a deserved win here thanks to an Oisin Coleman penalty and a Jack Watters free-kick.
Glenmuir go goal crazy to book place in U17 final
U17 Dundalk FC Cup semi-final | Glenmuir Utd 8–1 Redeemer
A sparkling 12-minute spell in the second half propelled Glenmuir United into the U17 Dundalk FC Cup final at the expense of Redeemer on Saturday morning.
Leading 2–0 at the interval, the home side proved too good for an under strength Redeemer. The result was perhaps no surprise, though, as Glenmuir finished the season in impressive fashion, winning their last five games.
The Hoey’s Lane outfit suffered a mid-season melt down after losing three players to League of Ireland U17 team Monaghan/Cavan FB.
However, they regrouped and strengthened their panel by promoting several players from their U16 squad and Conor Waring’s side will now play their second cup final in the space of 12 months.
Jamie Doherty opened the scoring three minutes into the game when he curled a 25-yard shot into the top corner and Abdul Abubakar doubled their advantage just four minutes later when he drilled a low shot beyond the reach of Kieran Dollard into the bottom corner of the Redeemer net.
The home side continued to take the initiative in front of goal in the second-half and three goals in quick succession ended the game as a contest.
Abdul Abubakar scored his second, four minutes after the restart when he slotted home a Ben Kapinga pass and four later it was 5–0 when Rory Phelan’s corner kick was headed home by Ify Kwelele.
Glenmuir were now firing on all cylinders and Abubakar completed his hat-trick after clever work by Ben Kapinga before the visitors were offered a glimmer of hope when Kevin McCormack cut in from the left touch line, skipped past two defenders before firing past ‘keeper Patrick Nicholson to make it 5–1.
It proved to be little more than a tiny blip on Glenmuir’s overall domination and Melvin Onu scored from a tight angle and Daniel Mullen headed home another Rory Phelan corner kick to make it 7–1.
Moments later, number eight arrived when Aaron Fee scored the goal of the game when he latched onto a poor defensive clearance and powered a tremendous shot to the back of the net.
GLENMUIR UNITED: Patrick Nicholson, Aaron Fee, Tolani Animashaun, Ify Kwelele, Luke Murray, Jamie Doherty, Rilwan Ibrahim, JJ Nwabueze, Abdul Abubakar, Ben Kapinga, Rory Phelan, Melvin Onu, Daniel Mullen.
REDEEMER: Kieran Dollard, Anton Donnelly, Jordan Traynor, Sam Ola, James Clinton, Tiernan Moran, Kevin McCormack, Kyle Duffy, Sean Quigley, Brendan Caraher, Leigh Caldwell, Liam Cooney.
REFEREE: Denis Dullaghan.
Cillian kills off Bellurgan’s double hopes
U14 Dundalk FC Cup semi-final | Rock Celtic 1–0 Bellurgan
Bellurgan United’s hopes of a league and cup double were ended at Sandy Lane on Saturday as Rock Celtic edged out a closely fought semi-final.
The goal that won it came from the boot of Cillian Duffy who showed great composure to break clear and side foot the ball calmly past the Bellurgan goalkeeper.
The league champions fought hard for a way back in the game and had an equaliser ruled out by the referee but the Seasiders held on to set up a final meeting with Ardee Celtic on Saturday.