Boys U12 (2013) Premier White - Clane United

Naas Premier Whites took to the field on Saturday morning to take on one of the stronger teams in the Premier Division. Clane United have handed out a number of high scoring defeats to Naas AFC in recent seasons so our lads were a little apprehensive ahead of the game.

It was a great game of football. Both teams kept the ball on the ground and passed the ball well early on. Naas had 2-3 good chances to score in the first half but we couldn't convert. Our Keeper, Finn Dudley, made a couple of great saves to deny Clane but couldn't do anything with a one on one chance just before half time despite good efforts in our defence by Jamie Dunphy and Captain for the day, Matthew Carey. The half time score was 1-0 in a really tightly contested half.

We made a number of changes at half time in order to ensure plenty of playing time for everyone in our squad. This didn't change the effort and attitude shown by our team. Good performances from Sean Hayden, Conor O'Shea, Charlie O'Connor and Conor Hogan meant that we stayed right in the game. The game was a tight encounter with both sides having chances with Rian White twice forcing saves from the Clane keeper. With time running out and Naas pushing to equalise Clane broke away and scored with a low shot to make it difficult for Naas to get back into the game. Clane added a third with the last kick of the game.

While defeats are never easy to take, the Clane manager said after the game that it was great game of football played by two teams trying to play the game the right way and looked forward to the rematch in Clane later in the season.