Weekly Review 01-04-12

The Under 8C1 team travelled to Hermitage Park to face Esker Celtic and came home with 3 points after a 2-0 win.

Esker Celtic v Shankill U8C1. 

The lads were up against a big and talented Esker Celtic side on Sunday, but as with every other game this season it didn't phase them.

The first half was tough and the lads battled to play ball around a group of big, strong Esker players, but battle they did with great performances from Gavin and Brandan in midfield and Tadgh pulling off a couple of great saves in net. They were rewarded with a one goal lead at half time with a long range shot into the bottom corner from Brandan.

Second half we changed it around a bit which brought great defensive performances from Tadgh,Liam,Eoghan and Alex in net.

They lads continued to counter attack after our defense broke down the esker attacks and got a second from Cian. We were unlucky not to get a couple more especially Harry who after he showed great skill with a high ball take down only for his shot to be saved.

Again another great performance from the lads even with a lot of them playing in positions they hadn't played before, but it just proved how talented this group is that they adapted and produced a win.

Well done Cian,Tadgh,Brandan,Eoghan,Harry,Liam,Calum,Gavin and Alex. Owen.

The Under 8D team were beaten 8-0 at home to Cabinteely at Shanganagh Park.

Glenn Byrne brought his Cabinteely Under 8D team to Shangangh Park and they dominated the game with Hat Tricks from D. Duffy & L. Brian with S. Joyce bagging a brace with a score line to match their dominance of the game.


D. Fanning looked lively for Shankill  when they did break forward in the game but with only 7 players turning up for the game tiredness showed in the Shankill players but they kept going until the final whistle.

The Under 9C1 took on table toppers Killester at Shangangh Park.

Shankill Under 9C1 team welcomed Fionna Doyle and her Table Topping team to Shanganagh Park. In the early exchanges there was no way of telling which team was top and which team was bottom of this league. Shankill looked really good going forward with some lovely passing and moving but unfortunately they couldnt score the goal that their overall play deserved.

The opening goal of the game came from Man of the Match S. Mc Cann after Shankill were caught on the break and some tidy football from Killester ended with the ball in the back of the net.


Shankill continued to play some very good football after the goal went in but Killester were coming more and more into the game.

The main difference between the 2 teams was that Killester took their chances and converted good football into goals. S Mc Cann scored another 4 for Killester with T. Highland adding a goal to make it 6-0 to Killester.

With the type of football Killester play it is easy to understand why they are unbeaten and top of the table but full credit to the Shankill players even at 6-0 down they played football and tried to get themselves back into the game.

The Under 10A1 Team brought their unbeaten run to Cherry Orchard

Cherry Orchard 0 - 0 Shankill
Sunday 1st April 2012

This was a great game, very evenly matched teams but Shankill were probably the better side. It was a fast game on a great pitch.

The Shankill lads had some great passing moves and Ruaidhrí's kick-outs cleared any danger and gave the midfield and forwards plenty of running to do.

The best chance of the game probably fell to Cherry Orchard late in the second half. Cherry Orchard broke through the midfield and, just as he was about to shoot, Hughie (who had tracked back from a Shankill attack at the other end) put in a goal-saving tackle on the edge of Shankill's box. An incredible run and brilliant defensive work which earned him this week's man of the match award and a banjaxed knee. Shankill's goalie, having had a great game himself, subsequently expressed an element of doubt as to whether he would have been able to stop it if Hughie hadn't been there.

So, at the Easter break, the lads are the only unbeaten team in their league, which is a great achievement for this division.

Having played each team at least once, its clear they are more than capable of getting out of this division and more play like the last two games should seal promotion. Roll on the last four games.......

The coach's are so proud of the players, their attitude and commitment to the team cause is just brilliant, we couldn't ask for a better bunch of players. they are a real credit to the club and their parents.
Fearghal

The Under 12 Premier team took on Firhouse at home

Shankill went in front with the first goal which was formed by an excellent tunnelled ball through by K Quinn to N Coussay who finished in skillful style by lobbing the goal keeper to put shankill 1-0 ahead.

But only 5 minutes later Firhouse equalised a convincing strike from A Woods with a good assist from C Coates.

With the match pretty even with some end to end challenges from both sides it went into the break 1-1 at half time.

Firhouse go 2-1 up within the first minute of the 2nd half coming straight off the mark from the kick off to go in front 2-1 with Woods scoring his 2nd goal of the game from an over the top ball from K Roberts.

Firhouse go 3-1 up with Woods completing his hat trick and taking the man of the match slot for him self with a rally of goals in the game with Roberts assisting again showing a good pairing of these to players in the Firhouse team.

Outstanding Workrate noted from young K quinn from Shankill Fc gave 125 per cent all through the game as focus and ability shined through for him today .

Match finished 3-1 Firhouse
Shane.

The Under 16's were home against Templeogue

Shankill pushing hard from the start having most the possesion in templeogue's half for the first 10 minutes.. The pressure continued from Shankill but Templeogue nearly nipping in front from a counter attack only for the ball to clip a players hand at the last minute preventing a final shot from the counter attack given shankill a free out and a chance to calm it down and start again.

Shankill go 1-0 ahead with A Kinsella taking an impressive first touch setting himself up for a half volley which he drove into the bottom right corner beating the keeper.

Red card for templeogue No 2 A Meany for a 2 footed challenge leaving his team down to 10 men.

After the player was sent off templeogue seemed to pick it up creating chances for themselves even hitting the crossbar from a free kick which was inspiring as their team where down to 10 men.

Shankill came out in the 2nd half with some heavy convincing pressure which led to another goal from Kinsella to bring Shankill 2-0 in front making the game more comfortable in there favour.

Penalty awarded  to Templeogue but was sadly put wide and chances narrowing the scoreline was put on hold by the templogue side.

Shankill pushed forward again after penalty applying the pressure  and it paid off with the 3rd goal awarded to S Brennan and no doubts securing the victory for shankill . Match ended 4-1

Shane.

The Under 17's took on Cabinteely at home.

Jack Brennan opened up the scoring for Shankill with a finely taken goal clinically finishing from 12 yards out.

Cabinteely equalised after 20 mins after being under sustained pressure and against the run of play due to some errors on the lead up to their goal.

Shankill continued to press ahead and regained a deserved lead at the half hour mark through a thunderous volley from Steven Keely . The floodgates looked as though they were going to open when Jack Brennan doubled his tally for the game (and for the season) to make it 3-1 with a deft little finish to send the boys in green into a halftime with a healthy lead.

On the hour mark Cabinteely got another breakaway goal to pull it back to 3-2 . Then after 67 mins Steven Byrne eased the nerves of the 3 amigos on the line with his comeback goal after being out for a few months with a knee injury . In the midst of all that Liam Bermingham tried an audacious chip from the half way line but alas it ended up in Row Z .

Best for Shankill were Dillon o Neill with an assured performance at centre back and another selfless performance up front from Billy kavanagh.

So Shankill stay top of the table with 4 games to go and management are hoping for maximum points to keep the pressure on their nearest rivals.

Result : Shankill FC 4 Cabinteely 2

Ray Davis


Weekly Review 19-02-12

Cambridge Boys FC v Shankill FC Under 8C1
An away game played in ringsend park on a great small sided games astro pitch was one to remember. We were up against a strong Cambridge side and after the first ten minutes I thought we had met our match, then the lads started to shine, after weathering the storm with some great defensive play from a back three of Ronan, Gavin, Brandon and great goalkeeping from Alex they started to play ball. Cian made a run down the left wing, played in a lovely cross to edge of the six yard box for it to be met by a cheeky back heeled volley by Liam, what a goal!

Towards the end of the first half the opposition profitted from a unlucky bounce from our kick out and equalised.

The second half saw our midfield and forward players Tadgh, Brandon, Cian and Calum take control, only for some great goalkeeping from the Cambridge keeper we could have got one or two early on.

The last ten minutes saw Cambridge come back into game and they were awarded a penalty, but with max in net giving the taker the eyes he failed to covert his chance. We were then disallowed a goal which was the right decision from the ref.

It looked like it was heading for a draw but then with a couple of minutes to go Cian made a strong run towards their goal, had his shot saved but the keeper couldn't hold it, Cian had continued his run to slot the free ball in the back of the net. Finished 2-1 to Shankill and was a brilliant, entertaining game of football between two good teams.

The lads Alex,Brandon,Gavin,Ronan,Tadgh,Calum,Max,Liam and Cian made me and their parents very proud with their excellent display.

Owen

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The Under 10F team eventually got their first game since the Christmas break today and came out 4-0 winners against Broadford Rovers.

Shankill FC 10 Fs open with a win.

Shankill FC 10 had their long awaited opening match of the second half of the Season away to Broadford Rovers on Sunday 19^th February and started with an impressive 4 – 0 win. A depleted squad, missing the injured Conor MacGinley and Jude O’Neil were captained on the day by Birthday Boy Fionn O’Loan.

The team, resplendent in their new jerseys got off to the perfect start when Jack Cullen scored with a screamer of a shot from outside the box. After 10 minutes Shankill went 2-0 up when the ball was worked out to Conor Round on the right wing who cut inside to fire in a shot that crept inside the post.

Shankill pressed forward again and Fionn O’Loan was narrowly wide with a powerful shot after a strong run from midfield. As half time approached Paul Murnane took a quick throw in to Jack Cullen who pulled the ball back for Conor Round to score his second and Shankill’s third of the game. Broadford tried hard to get back into the game before half time but excellent goalkeeping from Josh Bradshaw kept them at bay. When they did eventually get through Daniel Heeney, solid at the back all day, got back to clear off the line and preserve Shankill’s 3 – 0 half time lead.

The Second half began with Ben Plunkett leading the line for Shankill and making life difficult for the Broadford defence. Midway through the second half a loose clearance was pounced upon by Tariq Horan who calmly found the corner of the net to give the Shankill boys an unassailable 4 – 0 lead.

Broadford’s efforts to get a consolation goal were thwarted by Philip Madden who made some great interceptions and dealt with anything the Broadford attack had to offer. Paul Murnane took over in goal and gave a commanding performance to keep a blank score sheet.

In the end a comfortable 4 – 0 win for Shankill FC and a great start to the new league for the team. Let’s hope the good form continues. Tony

The Under 8D team were beaten 3-0 at home against Templeogue United. the under 8 team had a hard battle against Templeogue today in shanganagh park.They gave away two goals in the first half and the ref gave a peno against them in the second half for a shirt pull. that put templeogue 3 up and the game finished with that score. Terry Whelan

The Under 9C1 also got the first game since Christmas a played out a 1-1 draw against Shamrock Rovers. The under 9 c1 team played Shamrock Rovers today in Shanganagh Park while playing very good they were unlucky to go a goal down but with a great goal from Shankill number 8 lorcan the game ended Shankill 1 Shamock Rovers 1. Terry Whelan

The Under 10E played at home today in another first for the second half of the season and came out 3-2 winners against Willows F.C. at Shanganagh Park well done to Daniel who saved a penalty.

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 The Under 13 Div  2 team continued their fine form with a 2-0 home win versus Rathcoole. The team have also drawn twice with league leaders Parkvale in the previous 4 weeks.Well done guys keep up the good work.

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U14 Div 1A
 
Lakeland 4 - 2 Shankill A
 
Shankill were the better team at the start of this match with the first 20 minutes played in the oppositions half. We just could not seem to put the ball in the back of the net. Then lakeland broke and an excellent ball over the top caught our defence ball watching, while the lakeland's striker put the ball in the back of the net. This excellent player was to score a further 3 goals with great pace and the ability to take his chances.

At times we were brilliant, and at times just sloppy, the basics of kicking the ball left some of us as air shots came into our play. I don't want to seem hard on you lads but at u14 you should be able to kick a non moving ball!!

 
The two chances we did take were taken well, the first from a blocked shot by Oisin, taken first time by Gavin, this made up for the disallowed goal he had scored earlier. The second was from Kevin who took on 3 defenders to slot home to the keepers left. Kevin was our player of the game coming close on 4 occasions, and if he took some of his shots with his instep instead of his favoured outside of the foot he could possibly have scored all of them. It was a disappointing outcome as we all, players, coaches and parents felt that we were by far the better team. Saying that progress has been made and some great football was played today. Brendan
 
 
U14 Div 1B
 
Shankill B 4 - 4 Park Celtic
 
This was a very entertaining game with chances galore for both sides. JJ was again in the thick of it, pulling off some great saves. As with last week the Shankill midfield forgot their responsibility and did not defend. They paid the price, as they were winning 4 - 2 with 10 minutes to go and let the Park Celtic side get two goals to equalize. It has on the other hand saved me a few quid as i will not have to buy the McDonalds i promised if you guys won. The offer still stands lads win a game this season and I'll take you all out for a mcDonalds. Brendan

Review 23-10-11

The Under 8A1 team took on Knocklyon United at Delaford Park and after a very tight game Knocklyon took the points with a 1-0 win.

The Under 8C team played host to Broadford Rovers and in a very entertaining and close game the visitors went home with the points after a 1-0 win.

The Under 8D1 team continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 5-1 win against Ballybrack at Coolevin.

The Under 9B team who are looking for their first points of the season took on Shelbourne at Shanganagh Park and the home team were narrowly beaten 2-1 and judging by this performance it wont be long until the first points are on the table.

The Under 10B team travelled to Sundrive Park to take on league leaders Lourdes Celtic and Shankill took the points home with a 4-1 win.

Shankill turn on the Style

An away game to unbeaten league leaders Lourdes Celtic was what faced the under 10s today, we were narrowly beaten 1:0 in the reverse fixture in Shankill, in what was a fabulous game of football, keenly contended by both teams. Onto  today's game we headed out out without our goalkeeper Ruaidhri (safe hands) who along with our normal match day correspondent Fearghal were enjoying a weekend away in sunny Scotland.The lads were bursting with confidence when we arrived at the hill and when Neil and Adam seen the pitch they announced they were going to do a victory roll down the side of the hill after the match, Over confidence? To say the managers were a bit nervous before the game was an understatement and to top off Ruaidhri being away Ultan arrived and announced he was sick, but he bravely went into nets and boy did he do a great job. the game started at a hundred mile and hour and went on like that for the whole game, it was a real end to end game with outstanding football being played by both teams. the early exchanges were tight and few chances were being created, but eventually Sean broke free and Corey used his tremendous pace to get in behind the defence and he didn't miss 1:0 Shankill, Lourdes bounced back quickly and equalised with a shot from outside the box which sneaked in at the post past Ultan. But our lads weren't to bothered and restored the lead before half time another clinical finish from Corey. Neil and Adam must have covered every blade of grass on the pitch working so hard for the team, Ciaran, Luke and Hugh were rock solid at the back and Sean was showing some dazzling footwork on the wing, but it was only half time, we had to calm the lads and send them out for the second half and ask to put in an even greater effort. The second half started at the same pace as the first and we worried could the players keep up the same level of play? they were working so hard and playing some of the best football i have ever seen from this team. Shankill played cleverly in the second half and used the ball brilliantly, Adam in the middle distributed the ball to Sean and Neil on the wings and we strecthed the play and used our pace to cause all sorts of problems for the opposition, Hugh, Cuiaran and Luke at the back were so calm they passed the ball out from the back like professionals. eventually the pressure payed off and Adam finished off a fine piece of team work with a great half volley into the corner of the net, 3:1 and room to breath at last, Lourdes to their credit kept coming but Ultan wasn't going to be beaten again and mopped up at the back when needed. Shankill finally made it safe with a decisive break and fine finish from hat trick hero Corey. This was a real team performance so much so that we couldn't pick a single man of the match out of them, it just wouldn't have been fair, so we awarded the accolade to all of them. I could go on and on about every one of the players after this game, each and every one of them was superb and after a few scrappy performances in the last couple of games it was nice to see the real Shankill under 10B team turn up and show us what they are capable of.

Lourdes are a fantastic footballing team and they like to play the game on the ground with lots of passing and movement. Shankill also like to play the game with quick passing, movement and lots of speed, so we knew we were in for a very entertaining game and we were not disappointed. The large amount of spectators watching from the sidelines witnessed a level of football that would be hard to beat any where.

Well done lads you have made your Club, Managers and Parents very proud today, (and by the way the players did do that victory roll down the hill over confidence? not today)

Derek
(only standing in for Fearghal who will hopefully be back next week)

Both the Under 10E and 10F games were called off late in the day as the rain poured down on Shanganagh Park.

The Under 11 Div 3 team entertained Tymon Celtic at Shanganagh Park in the Saturday Morning kick off and they remained unbeaten as both sides took a point in a closely fought 0-0 draw.

The Under 12 Premier team travelled Meadowvale to face Granada and after starting very brightly for the first 5 minutes Shankill fell behind to a Granada strike. After the goal went in Granada showed their dominance and were 4 goals up at half time. Nathan M was injured during the first half and was replaced in goal by Ben who pulled off some good saves as Granada continually threatened the Shankill goal. Shankill started the second half brightly again but were soon 5 behind after Granada scored on the break and after this Granada dominated the game with Ben pulling off save after save. The game ended with Granada scoring 8 goals with no reply from Shankill.

The Under 13 Div 2 team travelled to Newtown Rangers and Shankill were narrowly beaten 2-1 in the James Lee Cup.

The Under 14 Div 1A team took on Lakelands A team at home and the away team went home with the points in a 3-1 win.

Shankill U14 A 1 -  Lakeland's 3

A great game of football was played in Shanganagh park on Sunday, with the home team on the wrong end of the result. Again Shankill had the majority of the possession but could not put the ball in net. We hit the post three times and the crossbar once, had plenty of goal scoring chances but could not convert them. On the other hand Lakeland's took theirs and because of that deserved their victory. Our boys played exceptionally well and when we start to convert our chances we will certainly be on the right side of the results.

The Under 14 Div 1B trvelled to Leopardstown Park t take on Lakelands B team and the home team took the points with a comprehensive 10-0 win.

The Under 16 Div 1 team were Narrowly Beaten 1-0 when they played Broadford Rovers.

The Under 17 Division 1 team travelled the short distance to Kilboggett Park and came home with 3 points beating Cabinteely 5-3.

The Under 18 Premier teams game against Blessington also fell victim to the weather with the game being called off due to heavy rain in Shanganagh Park.

The Under 20 team enjoyed a lie in this morning as they were Idle this weekend.

Review 16-10-11 

The Under 8A1 team played host to St. Josephs at Shanganagh Park and Joeys took the points in a 6-4 win.

The Under 8C team wre beaten 6-1 at home against a very strong Ballybrack side.

The Under 8D1 team were idle this week.

The Under 9B team were on the road to Leopardstown Park and were beaten 3-0 against Lakelands.

The Under 10B team were back to winning ways after last weeks defeat to Cherry Orchard with a 2-0 home win against Drumfin Celtic.

The Under 10E team travelled to Leixlip and came home with the points in a 3-2 win against Leixlip United.

The Under 10F team made it a great day for the Under 10's with a 5-3 win at the Ring Road against Kilnamanagh.

The Under 11 Div 3 team played out a 1-1 home draw against Belmont.

The Under 12 Premier team travelled to Andy Moore Park and were beaten 2-1 by Postal Aylesbury.

The Under 13 Div 2 team put the disappointment of last weeks 2-1 defeat behind them with a comprehensive 4-1 home win against Granada.

The Under 14 Div 1A also entertained Granada at Shanganagh Park and both teams played out a very credible 1-1 draw.

The Under 14 Div 1B team were on the road to Park Avenue and were on the wrong end of a 15-2 defeat against Railway Union.

The Under 16 Div 1 team travelled to Herbert Park and were narrowly beaten 2-1 against Beechwood.

The Under 17 Div 1  team also played away from home and were beaten 5-4 in a 9 goal thriller against AFC Belgrave.

The Under 18 Premier team took on Terenure at Shanganagh Park and the home team were beaten 5-3.

The Under 20 team played out a 1-1 draw against Newtown at Newtown Community Fields.

Review 02-10-11 

The weather played a major part in this weeks fixtures with all the small sided games being cancelled due to the heavy rain over the weekend. The Girls under 11,s and the under 13 Div 3 team also fell foul of the weather.

The Under 11 Div 3 team made it 4 wins in 4 games when they continued thier suberb start to the season with a 5-3 win against Granada at Holly Park.

The Under 12 Premier team played host to Knockmitten at Shanganagh Park in the Pat White Cup. Knockmitten took the lead in this one and after the first goal Shankill piled the pressure on Knockmitten with some good attacking football but Shankill were unable to put the ball into the Knockmitten net.

Knockmitten continued to be a threat as they hit on the counter with their number 8 pulling the strings in midfield. With the game finely poised at 1-0 at half time it looked like it might be one of those days as Shankill missed chance after chance in front of the Knockmitten goal.

After a foul on a Shankill player just outside the Knockmitten box Dean stepped up and put the ball into the back of the Knockmitten goal.

The game continued end to end and Taighe was introduced to play in an unfamiliar strikers role along side Davy and the pairing reaped immediate rewards as Taighe burst down the right hand wing and sent the ball into the Knockmitten box which Davy gathered and took on a Knockmitten defender before cooly putting the ball into the Knockmitten net with his weaker left foot.

After the restart the Knockmitten number 8 hit the ball high from almost the half way line and what looked like a fantastic goal was saved brilliantly by Nathan who watched the ball come in and waited until he could jump high enough to just get his fingers to the ball and push it away from the net a superb save.

With 3 Minutes to go there was an altercation between the Referee and someone from the Knockmitten side line and then the Referee abandoned the game.

The Under 13 Girls team played their first game of the season at Shanganagh Cliffs against Jobstown Celtic and the Shankill team earned their first win of the season with a great performance in a 9-1 win.

The Under 14 Div 1A team played away from home against Granada at Meadowvale in the Blessington Cup and Granada won the tie with a 3-1 win.

Granada A 3  -  Shankill A 1
 
 
Another great display by our boys. They played with pride against this top Premier team. Granada are an excellent ball playing team, who match skill with strength. Shankill were second to the ball most of the game and this is what lost them the game in the end.
 
Granada went 1 nil up after 10 minutes with a great combination movement by their winger and forward, our players ball watched as the forward moved off to space and slotted home a great goal. They put us under pressure for the next 10 minutes and great defending and the safe hands of Jani kept them out.

We put some great attacks together after this pressure, as we grew into the game with Oisin coming close, and Kevin making there keeper work hard.
Granada scored before half time when we defended a corner poorly and stood off players to allow the shot.

Second half was ours for the first 15 minutes and shot after shot came close, but eventually James scored with a composed shot to the bottm left hand corner.

Kevin hit the crossbar and Hubbie made the keeper work with his inswinging freekick. Granada scored with 5 to go from another poorly defended corner.
The result sees Granada win but Shankill made them work hard for that win. We were by no means out classed and should take pride in this result from a premier team. Well done lads we are going in the right direction. Brendan

The Under 16 Div 1 team took on Broadford Rovers at Shanganagh Park and the home team went down 6-3 in a very enteraining game of football.

The Under 17 Div 1 team travelled to Saints & Soldiers totake on Carriglea and Shankill took the points winning 4-3.

The Under 18's took on Greystones at Woodlawns and the spolis were shared in a 3-3 draw.

The Under 20 team entertained Enniskerry at Shanganagh Park and visitors left with the points in an 8-2 win


Review 25-09-11

The Under 8A1 team travelled to Killbogget Park and played out a 1-1 with Cabinteely F.C.

The Under 8C team enterained Lakelands at Shanganagh Park and were beaten 6-0 by the visitors.

The Under 8D1 team remain unbeaten so far this season and played out a highly entertaining 2-2 against Shamrock Rovers at Shanganagh Park.

The Under 9B are still searching for their first points of the season and were on the wrong end of a 4-2 game at Shanganagh Park against Dundrum F.C. and on the evidence of this game it wont be long untilthe points start coming.

This was the lads third game of the season for the Under 9B team and their best so far, Cian started in net and as usual had another great game, just in front of him defending strongly were Laurance,Callum and Lorcan, midfeild consisted of Eoghan,Adam and man of the match Kai, up front was Evan with Cillian coming of the bench to have a fine game. A very good Dundrum team got of the mark first with a fine strike outside the box, the lads replyed straight away and a goal mouth scramble lead to a penalty calmly put away by Adam.  Half time.Shankill pushed on and were unlucky to concede two quick goals both scored from distance,but they didn't give up and Adam found himself on the score sheet again with a fine strike, Shankill pushed for the equaliser and were unlucky to be caught on the break  by Dundrum, final score 2-4. This was a great performance , keep up the good work lads. Barry

The Under 10B team got back to winning ways after last weeks defeat to Lourdes Celtic with a 6-0 win against last years bogey team Stella Maris.

The Gloves were off against Stella, literally.......
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Stella Maris 0 Shankill FC 6

Sunday 25th September 2011

The day didn't start well when the goalkeeper forgot to pack his
gloves and you can't exactly do a u-turn on the M50, can you? We
decided to continue to the game and wing it. Instructions were then
given to drive to Lifestyle in Finglas, but another problem soon
arose.....0kms left on the petrol gauge. Running on fumes, I
eventually found a petrol station and made it back to the ground. What
about the gloves? Oh yea, I never actually did get to Lifestyle, but
don't tell the manager that.....

So, to the game: after last week's narrow defeat to Lourdes, the lads
were looking to get back to winning ways against Stella. Stella has
been Shankill's bogey team over the last few years and it was
important that the team weren't beaten before they even walked onto
the pitch.

Shankill started very strongely and after a good midfield move, Ultan
put Shankill one nil up. Very shortly afterwards, Adam put Shankill
two nil up.

At this very early stage, it was clear that Shankill were going to
have a good day but Stella couldn't be written off so early. Hughie
and Ciarán had another great day in defence and quick passes from
Ruaidhrí set up a couple of chances.

After a lull in the middle of the first half, Ultan knocked in his
second of the day and shortly after that, Adam also got his second of
the day to bring it to four nil.

A confident shot by Sean makes it five nil at half time.

At half time, Adam pulled on the yellow jersey to give Ruaidhrí his
first opportunity outfield of the year. Ruaidhrí was keen to impress
and, after a great pass from Neil, Ruaidhrí struck hard to make it six
nil.

Stella played a lot better in the second half and Shankill were only
able to score the one during this period. While Stella didn't create
too many opportunities, their defence was a bit more solid which meant
that Shankill weren't able to convert as many opportunities as they
did in the first half.

Luke had to be carried off the pitch after coming out the worst of a
mid-field clash but he should be back to full fitness next week.

At full time, Shankill win 6-0 and the monkey is definitely off the back.

Speaking to reporters after the game, the manager was full of praise
for his team stating that "they were great, all of them. Now, all I
want to do is go home, pull on my hiking boots and do what I love
best, go hillwalking". Em, don't forget your gloves. Ferghal

The Under 10F team faced Lakelands F.C. at Shanganagh Park and the away team went home with the points after a 4-1 Tariq Horan netted for Shankill.

The Under 11 Div 3 team made it 3 wins out of 3 with a last minute penalty against Tymon Bawn at Brady's field in a 4-3 win.

The Under 12 Premier team were beaten 6-1 away from home against Ashwood F.C. at Corkagh Park. The Shankill team are not putting away their chances this season and for the first 15 minutes had Ashwood on the back foot with Ashwood taking the lead after a mix up in the Shankill defence after a fine corner kick from Ashwood. The home team grew in confidence after the goal and pushed forward after the opening goal netting another 3 before half time. The lads responded well at the start of the second half and were awarded a penalty early in the half, however Shankill hit the bar with the penalty and then missed an open net which on another day would have hit the back of the net. Shankill were then punished for their misses as Ashwood hit 2 more to make it 6-0. In fairness to the Shankill team they never gave up and were rewarded with another penalty which the Ashwood keeper saved but this time Shankill were first to respond and and put the rebounding ball into the back of the net. Ashwood 6 Shankill 1.

The Under 12 Div 2 team travelled to Bushy Park to face Rangers AFC and the home team took the points with  4-2 win.

The Under 13 Div 3 team travelled to Bearna Park and came home with the points beating Lakelands F.C. 5-1.

The Under 14 Div 1A team took on Firhouse at Shanganagh Park and shared the points in a 2-2 draw.

This was a very entertaining game with both sides playing attrative football. Shankill scored first with an excellent move started from the back by Tiernan who played Hubbie on the wing. Hubbie ran the length of the wing and combined a one two with Kevin, getting back on the ball to finish with a classy left footed shot
.
Firhouse started the second half the better of the two sides, coming close twice and bringing out the best of Jani in goal. Conor made some vital interceptions from their full forward who was growing into the game. He eventually got the better of our defense and scored twice within five minutes.

Having given his all, Oisin, who came close on three occassions was replaced by Jack who fought hard and made himself available for plenty of balls that just were to high, long or short. eventually the perfect ball was put in and he finished with composure, grace and class.

Sam and Gavin have slotted into the team quickly and were outstanding combining well with James and the returned from injury Fionn.

Joe halted many an attack and is great player, who has nailed down the fullback position due to his consistency. Kyle was introduced for a tired Hubbie and gave an excellent display.

Both sides had more chances, most of them finding keepers in good positions, all in all a draw was a fair result and both managers felt each side could have nicked it. Brendan.

The Under 16 Div 1 team played out a 3-0 win at Shanganagh Park versus Cabinteely F.C.

The Under 17 Div 1 were home this week and went down 2-1 against Greenhills.

The Under 18 Premier team travelled to Crosschapel and came home with 3 points against Blessington F.C.

The Under 20 team played out a 2-1 away win against Liffey Valley Rangers at Ballyowen.

Review 18-09-11 

The Under 8A1 team took on Knocklyon United at Shanganagh Park and the home team made it 2 wins out of two with a 5-3 win. The Under 8C team travelled to Bushy Park to play against a very strong Rangers AFC team.The game was 1-0 to Rangers at half time and as the Shankill team started to tire in the second half Rangers scored another 4 goals without reply. The Under 8D1 team made it 2 wins in 2 games maintaining their 100% start to the season with an 8-0 win at Shanganagh Park. 

Shankill fc u8 d1 v ballybrack fc. Another fantastic result for the u8 d1 team on sunday morning in shanganagh park. Straight from from the tip off the shankill side never let the ballybrack side settle,  they showed great determination and teamwork to constantly win the ball and attack the ballybrack net. their hard work soon started to pay off as goals from cian, eoin, max, gavin and branden started to flow. It was a great team  preformance as again they all showed great skill in their tackling, passing and shooting for such a young side. Cian, eoin, max, gavin, branden, harry, darragh, ronan and james should be very proud of their preformance's that resulted in an 8-0 victory.Owen

The Under 10B were beaten 1-0 against Lourdes Celtic in what was a fantastic game of football played in Shanganagh Park.

No Miracle against Lourdes
------------------------------
---------

Shankill FC 0 Lourdes Celtic 1

Shankill were looking for their third win in a row this season against
today's opponents, Lourdes Celtic.

What a game of football, it was end to end for most of the game with Lourdes
probably shading the first half and Shankill the second. It was clear from the beginning that this top of the table clash was going to be a lot tougher than the lads' two earlier games.

Lourdes mostly controlled the first half and they went ahead about
mid-way through the first half after a high shot from the edge of the
box was too high for Ruaidhrí to push over the bar.Ruadhri commanded the goal
like a veteran he is really blossoming into a fantastic goalkeeper.

Other than the goal, Shankill were well able to deal with Lourdes
pressure and when the half-time whistle blew, the lads probably felt
that they should have got something out of the first half.

From the start of the second half, it was clear that Shankill were not
going to let Lourdes have the same control as they had in the first.
Shankill yet again showed that they never give up and they will always
chase the game.

Despite some great runs from Seán and Cory and a particularly good
shot from Adam, Shankill were never able to get the equaliser; at the
other end of the pitch, due to some great defence, especially by
Hughie, Shankill kept the score at one-nil.

All the lads played their hearts out today and we couldn't ask anymore from them,
Neil and Adam were tireless in midfield, Poor Ultan was carring an injury but still did his best up front as did luke who was fantastic at the back, Ciaran also did very well at the back

It was just one of those days! the ball just didn't run for them and lady luck deserted us on the day.
Sometimes that just how a game goes, to their credit they never gave up and
the opposing manager agreed that we probably deserved at least a point from the game.

So, despite some great play, Shankill were not in a position to make
it three great victories at the weekend after Ireland beat Australia
and the Dubs beat Kerry. However, the lads probably learned a lot from
this game and they are in a better position to deal with the return
fixture and with the remaining games.

Fearghal

The Under 10E team travelled the short distance to Kilbogget Park to take on local rivals Cabinteely F.C. in midday kick off. Shankill got their first points of the season with  5-3 win.

The Under 11 Div 3 team scored 7 goals for the second week running against AFC Belgrave however Shankill didnt have it all their own way as Belgrave scored 6 in this thrilling encounter. Shankill made it 2 wins in 2 and are settling nicely into the SDFL.

The Under 12 Div 3 team got their first point of the season with a 3-3 draw at home to Harolds Cross. The Shankill team showed great courage to pull this back from 3-1 down.

The under 13 Div 2 team made it 2 wins in a row and 2 wins from their first 3 games as the overcame Knockmitten 2-1 at Knockmitten Park.

The Under 14's added a second team to the Div 1 league this week and as luck would have it both Shankill teams were drawn to play each other in the B teams first game. In a close game Shankill Under 14 Div 1 A team ran out 5-3 winners.

The Under 16's travelled to Killbogget Park and it was a good day at the office in Kilbogget this week for Shankill as Donals team came with the points with a 1-0 win.

The Under 17's played out an enteraining 3-3 draw at Meadowvale against Granada.

The Under 18's scored 2 against Ardmore at Shanganagh Park but it wasnt enough to take anything from the game as Ardmore sored 4 in a very good game.

The Under 20' were beaten 3-1 at Woodlawns Park against Greystones United.

Review 11-09-11 

Shankill F.C.'s Under 8A1 team nothed up their first win with a 9-1 win against Lakelands F.C. at Leopardstown Park. The Under 8D1 team had their game called off as St. Josephs had pulled their team from the league. The Under 8C team had their first loss of the season going down 6-1 at home to Lourdes Celtic.

We had a tough match against Lourdes Celtic at the weekend and lost 6-1. The guys put in a great effort but we couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net, unfortunately it looked like every time Lourdes Celtic got in our box the ball went in.
Duncan

The Under 9 B team were beaten 6-2 at home to Lakelands.

The Under 10B team scored 8 for the second week running as the beat Drumfin Celtic 8-1 at Markievicz Park.

Travelling to the match it looked as if it was going to lash down rain
on everyone, a sign that winter soccer was really and truely upon us
again.

With Ciarán captaining the side this week, the lads were looking to
consolidate their excellent result against Cherry Orchard with two
wins out of two against Drumfin Celtic.

It took a while for the team to settle into the game, which was
probably down to the long, wet grass and the blustery conditions.
While they were trying to settle into the game, Drumfin scored to go
one nil ahead.

However, due to a well taken goal by Hughie, Shankill were back in the
game within a couple of minutes. After that, Shankill settled into the
game, took control and there was no real chance of Drumfin getting
back into the game.

Shankill extended their lead after Ultan took control of the ball in
midfield and struck the ball well past the Drumfin Celtic goalkeeper
to make it 2-1 to Shankill.

Drumfin Celtic's last real chance of the game resulted in Ruaidhrí
driving to his right to save a low shot. Drumfiin kept up the pressure
on the approach to half time but Ciarán's and Luke's strong defence
made sure the score stood at 2-1 when the half time whistle blew.

Shankill started well in the second half and it wasn't long before
Shankill went 3-1 ahead after Neil scored.

Further pressure from Shankill resulted in a corner kick taken by Adam
- a great cross from Adam was headed home by Seán to make it 4-1.

From here on, Neil and Seán took turns in scoring - Neil made it 5-1,
Seán made it 6-1 and Neil then topped off a great day with a hat trick
to make it 8-1.

The team's usual characteristics were shown again today: coming back
from being behind, plenty of goal scorers and never giving up.

So, with two wins out of two games, Shankill are in the driving seat
in the group. With convincing wins against two strong sides and a
great goal difference, Shankill are the team to beat in the group.
Fergal

The Under 10E team played out an entertaining game against Lexilip United at Shanganagh Park and finished on the wrong end of a 3-2 score line.

The Under 10F team played their first game of the new season away at Pearse Park against St. Josephs Boys and Shankill ran out 13-1 winners.

The Under 11 Div 3 team also played their first game of the new season away from home and returned home from Kilboggett Park with all 3 points having beaten Cabinteely 7-0.

The Under 12 Premier team lost their second game in a row against a very tidy Greenhills.The visitors went ahead 3 times in the first half with the home team equalising each time before the break with the game 3-3 at half time. In the second half Greenhills put Shankill under pressure from the start and the home team began to lose their shape. Greenhills finished the game 5-3 winners and showed Shankill the importance of keeping your concentration in the Premier League. A Man of the Match performance from Shankill's goalkeeper Nathan Martin who pulled off some fantastic saves throughout the game.

The Under 12 Div 3 team were also beaten this week as they travelled Hermitage Park to take on Esker Celtic. Shankill were 5-1 down at half time and also conceded some early goals in the second half but finished strongly with the game ending 8-4 to the home side.

The Under 13 Div 2 team gottheir first win of the new campaign with a 4-2 win at Griffeen Valley against Ballyowen. A wonder strike from Chelsea Rigley sealed the points for the away team.

The Under 14 Div 1 team tavelled to Leopardstown Park and were beaten 4-1 against Lakelands F.C.

Shankill played against a very strong wind in the first half. They started brightly with Beppi's shot just going wide after ten minutes. The boys found it hard going against a bigger, physical side, but seemed to cope well until the defence did not play to the whistle and lakeland's scored from a cross that had gone a yard over the end line. The ref just could not see it from the halfway line. This is the second time our team has done this and the lesson has not been learnt. Joe was linking well with MAN OF THE MATCH Sam and Jordan got on the ball well when introduced. A great move was started by Andy with a clever ball into Gavin in midfield, some nice passing resulted in a shot that just went over.
             Lakeland's scored a great goal just before half time from a through ball that split our defence, the forward also split our keeper Jani's back as he went high to catch the ball, which the ref did not see from his position on the half way line and the goal stood.
              With the wind behind us in the second half, we felt we were still in this game and attacked from the start, but we got too many forward and got caught cheaply from a break, and went 3-0 down. A deliberate hand ball got us a free kick just outside the box which Kevin converted. James hit the crossbar as did Jack. Kyle and David were introduced and played well, starting some great attacking moves that we just could not finish. Hubbie came close on 4 occasions but found a keeper in great form. Michael and Paul came on with 20 mins to go and combined well upfront, but the ball just would not go in the net for any of the team.
We were caught late again at the back as we risked all to get a result. Final result does not show the effort our boys gave, Lakeland's had 8 chances, scored 4. Shankill had 23 chances scored 1. We have to look at taking our chances, being more composed in front of goal and that is what we will work on this week.
           Not taking away from Lakeland's they defended their lead by putting their bodies on the line and got the reward for the effort and commitment, well done to them. We would like to thank the injured Fionn who turned up to support his team and the great response we get from the boys parents.
 
Kieran and Brendan.

The Under 16 Div 1 team were beaten 4-0 at home against Blessington.

The Under 17's made it 2 wins out of 2 with a fine 5-1 win at home against Newtown.

The Under 18 premier team traveled to Whitegates to take on Wicklow Rovers and were beaten 3-1

Review 04-09-11 

It was great start for our under 8 teams in their first games for Shankill F.C. The under 8D1 team beat Cabinteely 5-4 at Shanganagh Park. The under 8C team beat Broadford Rovers 4-2 away from home at Broadford Park, and the under 8A1 team were narrowly beaten 3-2 at the DNG against Joeys.

Under 8A1
The U8A team played a terrific match on Sunday 4 September narrowly loosing to St Josephs 3 - 2. Ossie McKenna had a hum dinger of a match covering many miles on the field and scoring both goals for Shankill and one of them from a short corner that we practised in training smashing the ball into the top left hand corner of the net from 30 yards, the Shankill supporters and players went bananas as it brought the game to 2 - 2 on the whistle of the first half. Conor Hopkins sustained a heavy knock on an existing injury and bravely volunteered to do nets otherwise we would have been down to 6 men. Michael Martin continues to impress with his ambidextrous footwork and shear determination in the tackle covering the back when there is such temptation to float forward. Jordan Jennings impressed on his début and almost sneaked a goal from a fumbling goalie. Jake McShanes put his usual work like and skilful performance in and Bryn Cotter Ellis had some mighty fine tackles and passes. Rory O'Kane almost got on the scoreboard dribbling by the goalie with a shot on goal only to be cleared off the line by an alert defender. So well done men, a great performance and we look forward to the home match. Interestingly as Manager Pat Martin pointed out to one and all including the opposition that all the goals came from Shankill men, interesting conundrum.
Paul

Under 8C
Shankill FC U8C team had a successful start to the U8C DDSL league with a win away at Broadford Rovers. Shankill started well with good possession and some good runs down both wings and some excellent efforts on goal. Broadford had some chances but where held off with some excellent defending and it wasn’t until late in the first half when Shankill scored two goals, (the second goal from a well hit free kick on the stroke of half time). Broadford started the second half strongly with 2 unanswered goals but Shankill finished the game with another 2 goals of their own. A great team effort!
Duncan

Under 8D1
The shankill under 8 D1 team started of the first game of their first league campaign in spectacular fashion, after coming in at half time 4-1 down to a good cabinteely team they went out in the second half and showed great determination, teamwork and some very good football to score 4 goals without reply to finish 5-4 winners.
Owen

The Under 9B team had a tough game away from home against Knocklyon at Delaford Park going down 9-0.

The Under 10B team beat Cherry Orchard 8-2 at Shanganagh Park, the under 10E team were beaten 5-4 in a highly entertaining game at Johnstown Park, the under 10F team had their game called of as Harolds Cross Boys couldnt field a team.


Under 10B
U10's Shankill FC v Cherry Orchard:
 
Shankill FC 8 Cherry Orchard 2
 
After promotion to a higher league for 2011 / 2012, the U10's couldn't have drawn a tougher first game for the year. Things got worse when Neil was ruled out of the game having picked up an injury in training the day before. But following on from their good pre-season training and friendlies (v. Cabinteely, Joey's, Ardmore and Kilcoole), the lads had the prefect attitude coming into the first game of the season.
 
Cherry Orchard went ahead after only a few minutes. But that really was the end of their dominance of the game. Very shortly afterwards Cory scored with a diving header and that was followed up quickly after with another goal which put Shankill ahead.
 
From that point on, Shankill couldn't stop scoring! Both Cory and Ultan got a hat-trick each and Seán also got two. But the final 8-2 scoreline came from excellent team play in the midfield and forward line and hard defensive tackles. The lads are understanding how to use the space on the pitch and are able to put the ball into the empty spaces with forwards running on and scoring more often than not. As well as that, they are not being pushed off the ball as easily as previous seasons and that also contributed to their success today.
 
With one of the harder games of the season out of the way, the lads should have the confidence to face any team in the league now, home or away.
 
2011 / 2012 Squad: Ruaidhrí O Hanlon, Ciarán Pidgeon, Luke Weir, Hughie MacNeill, Adam Moore, Seán Schutte, Neil Langan, Ultan Byrne and Cory Hayes
Fergal

Both under 12 teams were beaten 3-1 at home. The under 12 div 2 team were beaten 3-1 against Blessington after going 1 goal down Shankill fought their way back into the game with a fine goal from Shane Devlin however tiredness kicked in for the Shankill team and Blessington took advantage with 2 second half strikes to seal the points.Adam Coakley put in a Man of the Match performance for Shankill.

The under 12 premier team got off to a very slow start and went 3-0 down inside the first 15 minutes to a fine Postal Aylesbury team who flew out of the traps. Shankill got more into the game with about 10 minutes to go in the first half however the game remained 3-0 at half time. The game was very envenly contested at the start of the second half and on another day Shankill could have got right back into the game with a few one on one's with the Postal goalie not going our way. Postal were still very strong and looked very lively on the break. With 10 minutes to go Davy Stone was brought down in the box and he stepped up to covert the penalty. Postal remained strong at the back and the game ended 3-1. Thomas Keogh was Man of the Match for Shankill.

The Under 13 div 2 team entertained Blessington at Shanganagh Park and it was a good day for Blessington at Shankill as the visitors ran out 4-1 winners.

The Under 14 Div 1 team were scheduled to play Beechwood and when no referee turned up the 2 sides played a friendly game with Shankill running out 4-0 winners.

The referee for the U14 game veruses Beechwood did not turn up. The managers agreed to play a friendly. We had a squad of 16 who all played well and have given Kieran and Brendan plenty to think about for future team place selection. Each and everyone of the lads played well and came out winners 4-0. Our new captain for the season Conor Louth lead by example and was the stand out player from both sides, and deserved the accolade of his team mates as man of the match.
Brendan

The under 17 team took on Greystones at Woodlawns Park on Saturday 03-09-11 and came away with all the points putting in a fine performance in a 7-1 win.

The Under 18 team took on Arklow Rovers in Shanganagh Park and the visitors took the spoils in a closely contested game going home 1-0 winners.

The Under 20 team playing in the development league took on Liffey Valley at Shanganagh Park and the home team took the points with a 2-1 win.