Under-18s recover to draw with Cork City
Our Under-18s battled back from a 2-0 half-time deficit to draw 2-2 with Cork City Under-19s in Ireland on Wednesday afternoon.
In a training ground friendly at the Fota Island resort in Cork, where our youngsters are spending the week on a pre-season camp, we struggled to get to grips with the Irish side – who are in the midst of their league campaign – in the first period but produced a much-improved second-half display with goals in the final 12 minutes from Ronny Moncur and Under-16s striker Frankie Day ensuring honours ended even.
There were valuable match minutes for a number of first and second-year scholars in addition to several Under-16s players in what was a fiercely-contested rematch from two years ago, when our Under-18s previously crossed the water to take on their counterparts from the League of Ireland outfit.
The first half belonged largely to Cork. Goalkeeper Dylan Thompson produced a smart stop to deny Cillian Murphy after Finn Dalton’s drive was blocked early on, but it took our opponents less than 10 minutes to find a breakthrough as Jordan McCarthy converted Brody Lee’s cut-back from the left with a low drive across goal into the far corner. Five minutes later, it was 2-0 as Murphy collected the ball and drilled inside the near post on his left foot.
Our best attempt of the initial 45 minutes came just before the break as Cameron Thomas saw his goalbound effort charged down in a crowded penalty area but with a raft of changes made by both teams at the break, we took greater control of the game in the second half and went close to reducing the arrears mid-way through that period when Miracle Adewole accelerated beyond his marker down the left and teed up substitute Day for a fine shot that was tipped wide at the near post.
You sensed a goal was coming for us and we duly made the breakthrough on 78 minutes when impressive right-back Oscar Sandiford delivered a low centre which Moncur arrived onto and blasted through a crowded penalty area to find the net. Sandiford was involved again as we deservedly restored parity four minutes from time, picking out Moncur who duly played Day in to produce an emphatic finish from the left angle inside the box. That’s how it stayed, with the match serving as further preparation for the new Under-18 Premier League campaign following a pair of training ground friendlies against Leyton Orient (0-0) and Charlton Athletic (0-2) over the last two weekends.
‘It looked like it was coming in the second half’
“It was a really competitive game,” reflected Interim Under-18s Coach Joe Staunton. “Both teams were at different stages in their seasons – Cork were really strong in the first half and we struggled to break them down as effectively as we needed to but it was a better performance from our lads in the second period. It looked like it was coming in the second half and a couple of the boys who came into the game were able to affect the scoreline and be effective in the penalty box. They were two well-taken goals and two deserved goals based on the second-half performance.”
On the inclusion of the Under-16s players, who have also had a part to play throughout pre-season so far, Joe added: “Pre-season is always a brilliant opportunity for some of the younger players to get exposure to the Under-18s and to play against perhaps more physical opposition. All round, it’s an eye-opening opportunity for them to see what it could be like in the next year or so for them.”
