Cork Schoolboys League: Midleton climb to second in U14 table with solid win over Watergrasshill

Midleton 4 Watergrasshill 0

MIDLETON continued their impressive start to the U14 Premier season when they defeated Watergrasshill 4-0 at a cold and wet Midleton College Cricket Pitch on Sunday morning.

They climb into second place in the table with 16 points from seven games.

Three second-half goals in18 minutes put the game beyond Watergrasshill’s reach and they drop to midtable with the gap between themselves and the leaders widened.

Watergrasshill had the first attempt on goal in the first few minutes when Finn O’Driscoll’s free kick on the edge of the area was punched away by Midleton keeper Jack Mills, while at the other end Midleton almost opened the scoring, but Shay Forde’s effort inside the area was cleared off the line at the expense of a corner.

The home side took the lead in the 11th minute when Ben Dumigan fought his way into the area and found the unmarked Alex Wilson who slotted the ball home from 12 yards.

ACTION

Moments later, Watergrasshill keeper Harry Wain was called into action; he brilliantly tipped Dumigan’s shot away and moments later he breathed a sigh of relief as Edward Pidoyma’s cross went across the face of the goal as the home side pressed for a second.

Three minutes into the second half Dumigan’s long-range effort was deflected for a corner by Wain; that was followed by two chances from Watergrasshill with Mills doing well to gather the ball from Wilson and Nikolai Van Ascheraben’s free kick going over the bar as the home side went in at the break 1-0 to the good.

Midleton increased their lead in the 42nd minute when Dumigan’s 25-yard effort sailed over Wain despite the keeper getting a touch to it.

The home side added a third three minutes later when Wilson turned his marker at the far post and drove the ball into the far corner of the net.

The rain was coming down heavier, as additional chances fell to Midleton’s Forde and Wilson as the hosts broke forward with ease, although Watergrasshill were still making a game of it and were playing exceptionally well.

They restricted Midleton’s chances but could not find their touch in front of goal; their best chances fell to Deane O’Mahony whose long-range free kicks midway through the half went over the Midleton crossbar.

Midleton completed their scoring 10 minutes from time when Wilson ran into the area at the far side and despite being tackled, he managed to find the far corner of the net for Midleton’s fourth of the morning to maintain their good start to the season.

MIDLETON: Jack Mills, Ronan Mackessy, Nikolai Van Ascheraben, Ciaran Kelly, Charlie McCarthy, Artan Iliukovic, Alex Wilson, Ben Dumigan, Shay Forde, Eoin McCarthy, Edward Piboyma, Alex Molumby, Conor O’Brien, Ryan Cremin, Caleb Murray

WATERGRASSHILL: Harry Wain, James Buckley, Stephen Dignam, Josh Madden, Cathal Barry, Scott O’Mahony, Finn O’Driscoll, Michael Walsh, Dylan Joyce, Joshua Ahern, Fionn O’Neill, Michael Lemey, Colm Murphy, Deane O’Mahony

Referee: Richard Bond.