This weekend just past saw the commencement of the 2024 EA Sports League of Ireland academy across the country, with our MU14s, MU15s & MU17s all kicking off their campaigns.
MU14 – Waterford FC 1-1 Cobh Ramblers FC
Our U14s kicked off their competitive life with Waterford with a 1-1 draw against Cobh Ramblers at the SETU Arena on Sunday afternoon in their U14 EA Sports League of Ireland Group D clash. The Blues got off to the perfect start when Harry Ferrell fired home inside the opening minute after Charlie Carroll’s shot was parried into the path of Farrell who made no mistake from close-range.
Cobh were level five minutes later after a good move. Surprisingly that was the end of the scoring after two early strikes. Both teams tried to play the right way and can look forward to the weeks ahead.
MU15 – Waterford FC 2-4 Cork City FC
Our MU15s kicked off their new season with a 4-2 home defeat to Cork City FC at the SETU Arena on Saturday. The visitors started strongly and found the lead after 20 minutes when their winger crossed to find his centre forward for a tap in. The Blues grew into the game and had good spells of possession without creating too much.
The second period was ten minutes old when a Cork City midfielder was allowed free to finish well from the edge of the box. The young blues fought back and deserved to pull one back through Ben Fahy. Just a minute before the break Cork scored almost a carbon copy of the first.
The lads pressed hard in the final period but could not breakthrough. Near the end a defensive lapse allowed Cork put a gloss on the score line, before Ben Fahey got second of the game late on. A tough one to start with but a lot of games left for our young Blues.
MU17 – Kerry FC 2-1 Waterford FC
Our U17s faced the long journey to Mounthawk Park for their opening game of the 2024 campaign on Sunday, as they fell to a narrow two-one defeat. A tough place to go, the Blues dominated possession in the opening exchanges before falling behind after thirty minutes to Kerry’s first shot on goal. A long ball wasn’t dealt with the Kerry forward nipped in to score from a tight angle.
Waterford had plenty of the ball for the remainder of the first-half without creating any clear cut opportunities. The Blues fell further behind in the second half when a goal mouth scramble wasn’t properly dealt with and it broke to a Kerry player who finished well. The lads fought back and Matt Barrett scored with a close-range header with twelve minutes remaining.
Just as they built momentum the Blues suffered a set back when Calum Brennan broke his arm. The lads had used all the subs so had to play the final fifteen minutes with ten men. Everyone at Waterford FC wishes Calum a speedy recovery.
