U12 | McNamara clinches the league title for Rock Celtic

U12 Premier | Rock Celtic 1–0 Shamrocks

A goal from Thomas McNamara, 24 minutes into the first half, saw Rock Celtic complete a hat-trick of Premier Division titles thanks to this one-nil win over Shamrocks at Sandy Lane on Tuesday night.

The victory means that The Seasiders have now won Dundalk Schoolboys League Premier Division titles at U12, U13 and U17 level this season.

A nervous Rock team knew that victory on the night would give them the title but they had to overcome a spirited challenge against a stern Shamrocks side.

Rock played with great commitment and determination and controlled most of the opening 20 minutes but they came up against a Fatima side which fought for every ball, limiting scoring chances in the process.

DD Reilly was always a threat for the Fatima outfit and he almost scored direct from a corner in the 12th minute but the ball missed everyone and crept narrowly wide.

The home side’s Francis Lynch and Ryan Doran had early efforts saved while Doran also saw his header cleared off the line by Shamrocks defender Oisin Nash.

At the other end, another precise corner kick from Reilly was headed off the line by Rock defender Evan Kearney with goalkeeper Shane O’Connor beaten.

The deadlock was finally broken when McNamara got on the end of a Doran pass just inside the penalty area before steering the ball into the bottom corner past Shamrocks ‘keeper Ryan Rice Martin.

Shamrocks almost equalised on the stroke of half time when DD Reilly’s free kick was parried by O’Connor and the rebound fell to Matthew McArdle who saw his shot go straight into the grateful hands of O’Connor.

Rock continued to press for that all important second insurance goal but a stubborn well organised Shamrocks defence made it very difficult for them.

Lynch created the best chance of the second half for the hosts when he skipped past his marker at the edge of the box but Martin produced a terrific save.

Tom Cunliffe nearly sealed the win in the last minute but his shot from Sean McKeever’s cross struck the upright. However, it mattered little as the hosts held on to set up a title party in their final fixture of the season.

ROCK CELTIC: Shane O’Connor, Lee O’Donoghue, Cian Loy, Liam McNamara, Sam Twibill, Sean McKeever, Ben Cahill, Daniel Cartwright, Tom Cunliffe, Evan Kearney, Eoin O’Donnell, Ryan Doran, Thomas McNamara, Adam O’Donoghue, Francis Lynch, Jack McGeough.

SHAMROCKS: Ryan Rice Martin, Sean Michael Connolly, David Casey, Sean Connolly, Conor Callan, Jack O’Shaughnessy, Farouq Ibrahim, Joel Sebastian, Ben Wall, Matthew McArdle, DD Reilly, Oisin Nash, Andrew McKay.

REFEREE: Paddy White.