U14 Girls
Raphoe Town 1–1 Letterkenny Rovers
Letterkenny Rovers began strongly, controlling the early exchanges and opening the scoring when Aoise Diver threaded a fine diagonal pass to Aoibhlinn McLaughlin, who fired a powerful strike into the net. Raphoe responded well and came close to equalising before the break, but Rovers goalkeeper Caitlin McBrearty pulled off an excellent save to deny Cara O’Connell.
The second half saw Raphoe Town push higher up the pitch in search of a goal, and their pressure was rewarded with just three minutes left on the clock. Evanna Roulston reacted sharply inside the box and slotted home from close range to secure a equaliser.
Both sides produced strong performances and can take plenty of positives from the game.
U12 United
U12 Division 2Illistrin Allstars 2-0 Letterkenny United
Letterkenny United played their final league match of the season on Tuesday evening on the Aura Astro, aiming to secure a second-place finish. Although the result did not go their way, it was a competitive game and United showed great teamwork and effort from start to finish. Securing third place in their first season of competitive football is a fantastic achievement, and the coaches commend the squad for their commitment throughout the campaign.
With continued hard work over the off season, there is plenty of excitement for the future. Focus now turns to the upcoming league cup fixture against Milford on Saturday morning.
U12 United
Letterkenny United 5–1 Milford
Letterkenny United returned to winning ways this morning at the Aura with a strong 5–1 victory over Milford in the opening round of the League Cup.
United got off to a flying start when Isaac Joel struck a superb effort from the edge of the box after good work from Ryley Harkin. Ryley then doubled the lead shortly after, finishing off some excellent play by Victor Ogunade.
Just before half-time, Victor drove into the box and was fouled, with Evan Price confidently slotting home the resulting penalty to make it 3–0. After the break, United continued to press, with Ryan Carey impressing throughout on the wing. The fourth goal came via an unfortunate Milford own goal, before the visitors pulled one back late on.
United weren’t done, though, and capped off the performance with a brilliant solo goal from Victor Ogunade to seal a 5–1 win and progression to the next round.
There were standout performances across the pitch, particularly from Evan Price, Isaac Joel, Ryley Harkin, Victor Ogunade, and Ryan Carey. However, joint Player of the Match honours went to Isaac Joel and Ryan Carey.
U12 Girls
Letterkenny Rovers 1–5 Kilmacrenan Celtic
It was a tough evening for Letterkenny Rovers as they fell 1–5 to a clinical Kilmacrenan Celtic side. Despite less-than-ideal conditions, Kilmacrenan showed no signs of slowing down, producing a devastating 10-minute spell in the first half that saw them score five well-taken goals.
Letterkenny had a few chances of their own in the opening period but were unable to convert, and went into the break trailing. The second half was a more balanced affair, with both sides making several changes. Letterkenny's persistence was rewarded when Aoibhe Gibson found the net with a well-taken goal to give the home side something to build on.
A special mention must go to Kilmacrenan’s No. 10, A. Hegarty, who was in unstoppable form, netting four of the five goals and proving to be the standout player on the pitch.
While the result wasn’t what Letterkenny were hoping for, the improved second-half display will offer some positives to take into their next outing.
U12 Athletic
3 in a Row in Bushmills
After collecting their League Trophy on Friday, our 2015s travelled to Bushmills yesterday to defend the Liam McCallum Cup, which they had won in the previous two years. This year, 56 teams competed, but the boys were determined to add more silverware to their collection. They topped their group with six wins from six matches before defeating Coleraine FC and Dungannon Swifts to reach the final against Oxford Utd. The boys put on a dazzling display in the final, running out 4-0 winners. Kacper Niewiadomski opened the scoring, followed by a brilliant hat-trick from Shay McLaughlin, securing Rovers their fifth piece of silverware this season. Shay McLaughlin and Kacper Niewiadomski starred throughout the tournament, scoring a combined 30 goals, but all the players contributed excellently on the day. Our Crusaders also competed and were unfortunate to lose in the quarter-final of the shield. Harry McLaughlin and Blake Watson were the standout players on the day.
