KDFL Under 20 Division
Clane United FC 8 Kildare Town AFC 1
Clane United came into the game with a dip in form, taken a single point from the last two league matches. Kildare Town were looking to build on some good performances. Both teams were eager to kick off 2025 with three points on this cool early January afternoon in Clane.
In the opening exchanges, Clane United settled first and had the better of possession of the middle of the park. Clane grew into the game and Nathan Carr came very close to the opener with long range effort from just outside the box. It wasn’t long before an intelligent through ball from Nathan Carr fed James Ralph who cooly lobbed the keeper to open the scoring in the 13th minute. The next spell of the game saw both teams grappling to get the upper hand with few clear chances in an engaging game of football. Clane came close to doubling the lead in the 26th minute. Excellent linkage play between Andrew Hyland and James Ralph found Shane Henry free, but did not convert. Soon after that, more pressure on the left side led to Liam Deane getting an opportunity which is confidently took from 15 yards on the 32nd minute.
Clane built on the lead and from a throw in on the right, fast passing of the ball presented James Ralph with an opportunity. He made no mistake for his second of the game and Clane’s third. Kildare Town were unlucky not to score after some confusion in the Clane Defense to make in 3-1 and get back into the game. The home side pushed forward towards the end of the first half and good midfield work from Andrew Hyland put Shane Henry clean through and he slotted low to the right past the keeper to make it 4 on the 43rd minute.
The second half saw both teams make changes, but Clane added two more goals by the 60th minute. Andrew Hyland and Eddie O’Loughlin linked up to score on the 55th. Nathan Carr played a surgical 30-yard pass onto the run of Andrew Hyland to passed elegantly to the corner on the 60th minute. A spirited Kildare Town got a well-deserved goal from the left side, when No. 6 found space on the left and fired a strike home on the 62nd minute. Clane substitutes made the difference and enabled the high tempo to be played throughout the second half. A great strike from Nathan Carr was excellently parried by the Kildare Town goalkeeper. The rebound was pounced on by Liam Whittiker from close range to make it seven for Clane on the 75th minute. It wasn’t long before Liam got his second on the 82nd minute. Another rebound where he reacted fastest in the box to close out an excellent performance from the home team. Credit to Kildare Town who battled very strongly in this league fixture.
Key players for Kildare were the goalkeeper and No. 8. Clane had some fine performances, and some key players were Rhys Vaughan, Nathan Carr and Andrew Hyland. A special word of thanks for the referee who allowed the game to flow throughout.
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