Nobber 3-18

St Ultans 4-11

St Ultans took to the pitch for their u21C championship quarter final against Nobber/Kilmainham with a panel of 19. First team player Declan Ball was missing due to holidays. The founder of DB Fitness was a big loss for the men in green and black.

St Ultans went into the game under the guidance of first team management, Padraig Coyle. And selectors Vincent Rennicks and Patrick Kavanagh. The men on the line couldn't have been happier with the teams start.

Ardbraccan hard man Tommy Fitzsimons gave his team the perfect start with a goal in the first minute. Good play from Christian Byrne and Martin Dolan out the field lead to Tommy's second goal when he fisted home from close range.

Nobber opened their account with a point from play but Darren Kavanagh used his soccer skills to scores Ultan's third goal. He slotted home when the ball dropped to his feet. That had Ultans up three goals to a point after 6 minutes.

Nobber grabbed their first goal after 10 minutes. St Ultan's Eoin Kavanagh kicked an excellent free on his wrong side from around the 45 metre mark, to keep the score board ticking over for the Ultans.

Nobber took control for the next 10 minutes scoring four unanswered points. Ultans defender turned attacker Greg McKeever opened his account with a well taken point from play. On the line Kevin McHugh wasn't surprised by Greg's performance as Greg was in McHugh's all weekend telling Kevin about how well he'd play.

Then came the goal of the game. A great team effort including Brian Byrne, Dylan Byrne, Martin Dolan, Christian Byrne and Greg McKeever, lead to a lovely ball being played into Darren Kavanagh. Without catching the ball Darren flicked the ball into the path of an on-rushing Tadhg Ratty. He blasted to the back of the net.

Both sides traded points before the break. Half-time was Ultans 4-03, Nobber 1-08.

Darren Kavanagh gave Ultans a great start to the second half by scoring the first two points. His brother, Eoin, then slotted over his first from play. From that point on Nobber took control, chipping away at the Ultans lead. Scoring 2-03 on the bounce.

Things could have been worse for Ultans only for a super save from goalie Liam Carey. The two Kavanagh brothers dug in though, scoring four points between them. Nobber scored two of their own though, meaning Ultans needed a point in the dying minutes to grab a draw.

The fight never died from the Ultans and they continued to push but the precious point never came. Nobber grabbed the final three points of the game to leave four in it at the end. No one could doubt the effort and energy Ultans had given.

Ultans will be hoping to integrate a lot of these fine footballers into the first team next year, after this fine showing.

Final score Nobber 3-18, Ultans 4-11.

St Ultans team: Liam Carey, Eoin McLoughlin, Eoghan Monaghan, Brian Byrne, Martin Dolan, Dylan Byrne, Christian Byrne, Luke O'Reilly, Lee Hennessy, Greg McKeever, Eoin Kavanagh, Thomas Fitzsimons, Darren Kavanagh. Subs: Tadhg Ratty for Hennessy, Conor Rennicks for O'Reilly, Odhran Murray for D Byrne, Adam Tallon for McKeever.

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