Match Report: Boys U17 (2009) Premier 12:0 Coill Dubh

Boys U17 (2009) Premier 12:0 Coill Dubh

Date: 31 Jan

First Half

Naas AFC 12 – 0 Coill Dubh

Yes, you read that right. And somehow, the scoreline still doesn’t fully reflect Naas’ dominance — in truth, this could have been a cricket score.

Second Half

Right from the first whistle, Naas were on the front foot. Inside the opening minute Conor Fagan thought he had the breakthrough, only for the referee’s whistle to rule him offside. No heads dropped — this side doesn’t do that. Instead, they showed control, composure and relentless energy in pursuit of the opener.

Luca Muthi was a constant threat early on, carving out an opening for himself with a driving run before seeing his low shot saved. Minutes later he won possession and slipped Fagan through, who beat his defender but rattled the crossbar. Coill Dubh had a brief spell where they struck the post from a free kick and again from the rebound, That was as close as they would come.

From there, Liam O’Shea took over. The engine of this Naas side began driving forward at every opportunity. He tested the keeper from distance, then twice put Fagan through, only for more saves to deny the striker. It felt like a matter of time.

The breakthrough finally arrived on 15 minutes. A Dawid Kolter corner found Man of the Match Sean Onwere, whose header deflected off a defender and into the net — 1–0.

Naas kept pushing. Fagan crossed for Huey Phelan, whose thunderous volley flashed just wide, before Phelan himself saw another effort saved. On 25 minutes, Phelan turned provider, delivering a deep cross that Kolter bravely headed home for 2–0. Coill Dubh resorted to long balls, but towering headers from Jake Dooley and Jack Tilly kept returning possession to the Dubh half.

The third came on 30 minutes. A powerful run from Thady Giltrap led to Onwere crossing low, and Fagan controlled before finishing clinically. Minutes later Fagan was brought down in the box and calmly dispatched the penalty for 4–0. Just before half time he completed his hat-trick, converting another O’Shea pass to send Naas in 5–0 up at the break.

Naas were ruthless after the restart. Giltrap forced an early save, and substitute Ryan Murtagh soon tested the keeper too. The sixth goal came on 51 minutes — another O’Shea assist, this time finished superbly by Matthew Greene. Two minutes later Mattias Azzopardi made it 7–0 from a Kolter assist.

The goals kept flowing. Phelan set up O’Shea for a well-deserved goal to make it 8–0. Murtagh then got his reward, his low shot skidding through the keeper’s legs for 9–0. Muthi assisted Azzopardi for the tenth, before Fagan turned provider to send Isaac Cramer through for goal number 11.

Right at the death, Azzopardi completed his hat-trick with a fine solo effort to round off a stunning 12–0 victory.

From Alex Higgins — and later Ollie Curran — in goal, through the defensive strength of Giltrap, Dooley, Tilly and Greene, to the tireless midfield work of O’Shea, Kolter and Muthi, The relentless attacking of Fagan, Phelan, Azzopardi, Onwere and Murtagh — this was a complete team performance.

After the previous result, this display showed the mentality and strength of this squad. To respond by dismantling the only Kildare side to beat them this season was a statement performance in the relentless pursuit of their first league title.