13/12/2011: UCFL 4-0 UCD

The UCFL played a UCD XI in the Dr. Tony O'Neill Memorial match on Monday (12/12/2011) night at the Westmanstown Sport & Conference Centre.

The UCFL made a number of changes to their starting lineup for this game and led 1-0 after an evenly contested first half. The UCFL then took control in the second half and, after going 2-0 up 15 minutes from the end, they added 2 further goals in the last 5 minutes to bring the final score to 4-0.

16/11/2011: UCFL 0-3 AUL

The AUL’s qualification for the quarter-finals of the Oscar Traynor Trophy and the UCFL’s elimination were duly confirmed at Frank Cooke Park tonight (16/11/2011) after the AUL scored an emphatic 3-0 victory over the UCFL.

The AUL were quickly into their stride and took the lead after 12 minutes when a low centre across the six-yard box was turned in by their left winger.  They almost made it two a couple of minutes later when one of their centre-halves headed a corner narrowly over.  However, this proved a temporary reprieve for the UCFL and, after right back Andy Cullen was penalised for a foul 20 yards out, the AUL went 2-0 ahead with a fine goal direct from the resultant free-kick.  The scorer was Mark O’Neill, who himself is a former UCFL inter-league player, having played with Orchard Celtic for a number of seasons until their departure from the UCFL just over a year ago.

The UCFL came more into the game after that, but failed to break the AUL’s control.  The AUL went close, shooting narrowly over on 21 minutes and then UCFL keeper Mark Lynam had to parry away a dangerously inswinging corner on 35 minutes.

After the break, Kenny Hills’ header for the UCFL was forced onto the crossbar, but the AUL continued to create the better chances and were only denied on 55 minutes when Lynam blocked a shot by one of the AUL midfielders after he had broken through the UCFL defence and then on 64 minutes the UCFL defence had to scramble the ball away after a cross to the far post caused havoc in the six-yard box.  The third goal arrived on 66 minutes when the AUL left back advanced and shot home from an acute angle.

That ended the scoring, though the UCFL almost grabbed a consolation goal with 8 minutes left when first Anthony Walsh’s effort was parried by the keeper and Robert Shorten followed up but drove the rebound wide of goal.

UCFL team v AUL:

Mark Lynam (Amber Celtic), Andy Cullen (Trinity Corinthians), Ger Barry (Terenure FC), David Holt Trinity Corinthians), Niall Butler (Clontarf Athletic), Aaron Cameron (Trinity Corinthians), Neil Hade (Lazio), Nigel O’Hara (Terenure FC), Kenny Hills Trinity Corinthians), Eoin Bennis (FC Ailesbury), David Hempenstall (Clontarf Athletic).  Subs – Anthony Walsh (Amber Celtic) for Cullen (45 mins), Robert Shorten (Brookfield Celtic) for Hills (66 mins), Tommy Cooney (Amber Celtic) for O’Hara (83 mins).  Subs not used - Beratt Turkio (Schalke Rovers), Ross Dawson (Terenure FC), Chris Smith (Amber Celtic).

14/11/2011: UCFL v AUL 16/11/2011

As outlined below, the UCFL representative team will play the final match in their 3-team group in the Oscar Traynor Trophy competition this Wednesday (16/11/2011) evening in Frank Cooke Park at 8pm.  Frank Cooke Park is Tolka Rovers’ home ground and is situated on Griffith Avenue.

The results to date, which have seen the Meath & District League beat the UCFL 6-2 and then lose 1-6 to the AUL, mean that the MDL have been eliminated and the AUL’s qualification for the quarter-finals depends on them avoiding a defeat by more than 4 goals to the UCFL on Wednesday night.  The appointed match officials for the game are Karl Nolan, Gilbert Smart and Elton O’Duffy and it is hoped that a report on the action will be available on this website on Thursday.

08/11/2011: UCFL win High Park Challenge; AUL v UCFL set for Nov 16

The UCFL representative played the Amateur League in the rearranged High Park Trophy match last Wednesday (02/11/2011) night in the AFL’s grounds in Coolock.  The game finished 1-1 and was decided on a penalty shootout, with the UCFL emerging victorious 6-5.

Meanwhile, in the UCFL’s Oscar Traynor group, the AUL have defeated the Meath & District League by 6-1.  This result means Meath are eliminated and the AUL will now progress unless they manage to lose by more than 4 goals to the UCFL in the remaining game.  This latter game has now been arranged for Wednesday, 16/11/2011, kick-off 8pm.  The venue will be Tolka Rovers’s ground, Frank Cooke Park, which is situated on Griffith Avenue.

10/10/2010: Meath League 6-2 UCFL

The UCFL League Team opened their 2011/12 Oscar Traynor Trophy campaign in very disappointing fashion when they suffered a 2-6 defeat to the Meath & District League in Navan on Sunday afternoon (08/10/2011).

The Meath League played with the aid of a very strong wind in the first half.  There was little to separate the sides in the opening minutes and indeed it was the UCFL who threatened first when they worked an opening down the left hand side after 14 minutes which ended with a Kenny Hills cross evading everyone in the Meath 6-yard box.

However, this only sparked the MDL into action and 2 minutes later, David Ward broke through before being thwarted; fellow striker Mickey O’Kane followed up only to be denied by an outstanding save by UCFL keeper Beratt Turkio.  However, the resultant corner from Seamus McCabe caused confusion in the UCFL 6-yard box and the keeper was unable to prevent the ball going into the net via a deflection.

Turkio came to the UCFL’s rescue again after 22 minutes when he came out to block winger Tony Andrews at the expense of a corner.  However, the MDL’s second goal was not long in coming and, after the UCFL defence failed to clear, David Ward volleyed decisively to the net to put the MDL 2-0 ahead after 27 minutes.

The UCFL went close after 30 minutes but Odhran Leneghan’s near post header from a corner was blocked away by the MDL keeper.  A minute later the UCFL gave the ball away in midfield, Meath swept downfield and Ward was only denied a second goal when Beratt Turkio at full stretch managed to deflect his header around the post.

However, Turkio was at fault after 38 minutes when he left his goal in an attempt to deal with a long ball towards the left hand side of the penalty area but failed to make it, leaving the MDL’s Mickey O’Kane with the chance to lob the ball into the unguarded net for a 3-0 lead.  A disastrous first half for the UCFL was complete when Ward cut in along the end line and his cross was swept into the net a minute from the interval.

Meath began the second half with another attack, striker Ward stretching to head narrowly wide.  But finally, with the wind at their backs, the UCFL began to make inroads and they received a boost when right back Aaron Cameron latched on to a pass to lash a shot from the corner of the area low and hard to the net to bring the score back to 1-4 on 48 minutes.

There followed a period of sustained UCFL pressure.  John Cosgrove shot over from a narrow angle and then after 55 minutes, the UCFL had the ball in the net again but the goal was ruled out for offside.  However, they continued to press and 3 minutes later, Eoin Bennis, just on as a substitute, ran onto a pass from Sean Kane to hammer home a left footed drive from the left edge of the area to bring the UCFL back to 2-4.

With the wind at their backs, the UCFL were now playing with renewed confidence, but their hopes of getting back into the game were dashed on 69 minutes when Meath centre half Sean Doyle got on the end of a back post cross to head his team 5-2 in front.  The MDL’s final goal arrived just 4 minutes later when they broke down the right hand side and O’Kane controlled the cross to steer home his second and the MDL’s sixth goal.

There was little further incident of note in the final minutes, save for UCFL substitute David Duffin’s last minute lob which bounced off the top of the crossbar and over in the last minute.

UCFL team v Meath League:

Beratt Turkio (Schalke Rovers), Aaron Cameron (Trinity Corinthians), David Holt Trinity Corinthians), David Battigan (Trinity Corinthians), Jeff Taylor (Stedfast Utd.), Odhran Leneghan (Trinity Corinthians), Neil Hade (Lazio), Sean Kane (Amber Celtic), Nigel O’Hara (Terenure FC), Kenny Hills Trinity Corinthians), John Cosgrove (Glasnaoin).  Subs –David Duffin (Brayzil) for Leneghan (45 mins), Eoin Bennis (FC Ailesbury) for Cosgrove (53 mins), Stephen Bury (Schalke Rovers) for Kane (77 mins).

06/10/2011: UCFL v Meath League, Sunday Oct 9, 2.30pm; Meath & District League Grounds, Trim Road, Navan

The UCFL Representative Team will play its opening match in the national inter-league competition, the Oscar Traynor Trophy, against the Meath and District League next Sunday in Navan.  Kick-off is at 2.30pm and the venue is the Meath and District League’s grounds, which are situated about 2½ miles from the centre of Navan on the Trim Road.

This year’s competition has 26 teams from across the country, divided into 8 groups of 3 and one group of two teams.  The UCFL are in Group 8 along with Meath and the (Dublin) AUL.  Next Sunday’s game is the first in the UCFL’s group and the second will see Meath travelling to play the AUL at a date yet to be decided.  The UCFL will then play at home to the AUL in the third and final match in the group.  After the group stages are complete, there will be a play-off between two of the 9 group winners to reduce the teams to 8 quarter-finalists, which will take place later in the season.

Under the management of Eoin Bennis and his assistants, the UCFL team has undertaken a very comprehensive preparation programme, consisting of trials, training and friendly matches over the last two months.  The UCFL would like to again thank all the clubs and players who participated in this process and have supported the management and we look forward to their continued support.   While the squad for Sunday is more or less finalised, we would like to add that the management are still on the lookout for good players who may yet force their way into contention for subsequent matches.  We would encourage anyone who knows of a player with the potential to represent the League to alert the Hon Sec, Paraic Treanor, or the team manager, Eoin Bennis.

Details of the squad for Sunday are not yet available, but we hope to be in a position to publish the details here later in the week.

Finally, we would like to stress that all support from members and friends of the UCFL on Sunday will be most welcome.

03/10/2011: League Team News; Opening match to take place next Sunday (Oct 9)

As most members of the UCFL are already aware, Eoin Bennis was appointed in August as manager of the League representative team for the coming season.  Eoin has played with FC Ailesbury for most of the last 10 years and has been one of the leading players in the UCFL during that period.  He has been a regular on the League Team, captaining the side for most of his time in the UCFL and has won a number of junior international caps for Ireland.  Eoin was one of 3 players nominated for the FAI’s national Junior Player of the Year award in 2009, a considerable honour for the player himself and indeed for the UCFL.  Prior to joining Ailesbury, Eoin played in the League of Ireland with UCD.

Eoin has appointed Stephen Ledwith, also of FC Ailesbury, as his assistant and they will be running the UCFL Representative Team this year.

Immediately following his appointment in early August, Eoin wrote to all clubs in the UCFL setting out why he believes the League Team can be extremely beneficial to the leading players in the League and their clubs and what he hopes to achieve with the team.  The following are some extracts from his email:

“The UCFL League season kicks off on the 27 August and I have no doubt that at this stage your club’s preparations for the new season are well under way.  In August managers and players alike are excited about the new season and the prospect of representing their club in all competitions. The thoughts of all, as they should be, are about winning leagues, achieving promotion, winning the Challenge Cup and, in some cases, having good runs in the Leinster Junior and FAI Junior Cups.

The UCFL League Representative Team is another team to which your players can aspire and where your club can be represented.  It is a great opportunity and honour for both player and club to be involved.  It is a chance for your club’s players to play and challenge themselves against the country’s best junior players.  It is an opportunity for players to push on and perhaps get the chance to ultimately represent their country at junior international level.  The UCFL has seen a number of its players in the Irish shirt and it has been their efforts for both club and the UCFL team that has made this possible.

However, the UCFL League Representative Team, for whatever reason, seems to have been regarded not so much as an honour but more of a hindrance, in recent years.  It is the real hope of the management team and myself to see a change in this view.

We all play and represent a club within the UCFL; we all want to play for our club and we all want our club and our league to push on and improve year in year out, to be something we can all be proud of. We may think otherwise but the reality is that this cannot be done in isolation.  This can only be achieved with everyone helping as much as possible.  Clubs and players need to recognise that the UCFL League Representative Team is the perfect platform to show other leagues and more importantly ourselves what our League is all about.”

Eoin went on to ask all clubs to let him know of any players they considered good enough to represent the League, indicating that he would be holding a programme of trials, training and friendly games in preparation for the national inter-league competition, the Oscar Traynor Trophy, which is due to begin in early October.

The draw for the national inter-league competition, the Oscar Traynor Trophy is the same as last year, but with fixtures reversed for home advantage.  Thus, this year, the UCFL will travel to play the Meath League in the opening game.  The FAI Junior Council has confirmed that this match will take place next Sunday, October 9^th in Navan.  The second game in this 3-team group will feature the AUL hosting Meath.  In the final game, the UCFL will play at home to the AUL.

Regardless of progress in the Oscar Traynor competition, there will be a number of other matches during the year.  The League Team usually plays a challenge match against the Amateur League for the High Park Trophy and the UCD Superleague for the Dr. Tony O’Neill Cup.

Eoin has been pleased with the response so far, and, after the programme of trials, has now established the majority of his squad, with which preparations are currently continuing.  Eoin and the UCFL would like to thank all those who participated in the preparations so far and we look forward to their continuing support.