The 17s travelled to Asdee for an away fixture last weekend. The omens were not good as we were without 5 regulars so we supplemented the ranks with some of our Under 16s. The conditions were wintry with a very strong cold wind coming in off the Shannon blowing straight down the pitch. Our opponents were bigger than us especially as we had so many younger lads playing, but no matter, we dominated the game with some quick accurate moving of the ball, clever switches of play and good technique on the ball. The pitch was in great nick which helped both teams who tried to keep the ball on the ground which made for a good game. We played with the elements at our back for the first half and went 4-3-3 with both left and right backs under instruction to get forward at every opportunity. Chris Murphy and Cormac O’Brien on the wings tormented their opposite numbers. with both scoring as well as creating many chances. Sean Higgins at centre forward finished with 3 goals, no less than he deserved. Behind them in the engine room were Bobby O’Regan and Thomas Lenihan who both had great games when they came to terms with their opponents’ greater size. Both were dangerous in possession but maybe a bit loose in a defensive sense. Behind them Alan McElligott covered the 2 lads giving a top perfomance plugging gaps and moving the ball to great effect, frequently turning defence into attack. Our back 4 of Ciaran Carmody, Kieran Dwyer, Antóin Stanton and Darren Chester were assured against a decent offensive threat from Asdee not giving up too many chances especially against the strong wind. Brian O Regan in goals was very solid for us and was excellent under the high ball in the second half when we needed him. The goals we conceded were all from set pieces (again) late in both halves when we had switched off thinking the game was in the bag. We brought on David Lenihan to give us a push with 20 mins to go and he scored our last goal after a good run into the box to score from a cross. Our other scorers were Sean Higgins (3), Christopher Murphy, Bobby O’Regan and Cormac O’Brien who started the scoring. Well done to all the lads on their display.