With a free weekend in the Drogheda Concentrates Children’s League, Dundalk Girls U10s enjoyed a comfortable 5-1 victory over Walshestown in a friendly at Oriel Park last Saturday.

Three and easy
Following on from their excellent away win last week, the girls were in goalscoring mood once again and soon took the lead with Sarah Cairns rifling home a loose ball from 10-yards. Despite a considerable height difference, the home side held the majority of the possession and soon made it 2-0 when Emily Thompson finished from close range. Dundalk picked up where they left off in the second half with a pass from midfield finding Denim McLoughlin unmarked on the edge of the box. Her easy finish left Dundalk 3-0 and coasting.

Cruise control
They could, and should, have had more but for some smart saves by the Walshestown keeper and a series of near misses. Lorna Moriarty, in particular, seemed destined not to score as shot after shot crept past the post. However, her goal, when it did eventually come, was well worth waiting for as she picked up a loose ball in midfield and struck an unstoppable shot from 20-yards. To their credit, the visitors never gave up and were rewarded with a consolation goal with five minutes left after some good build-up play in midfield. Tara Caraher had the last word, however, as Leagh Reenan fed her on the left wing and, after skipping past the last defender, she slipped the ball home from a narrow angle.

DUNDALK SQUAD: S Cairns, S Carraher, T Carraher, C Connolly, E Curran, S Gaffney, R Hanna, C Kinch, T McGivern, D McLoughlin, V McQuillan, L Moriarty, L Reenan, K Renaghan.

DUNDALK U12S GIRLS 4-0 SAINT JOHN BOSCO
Sunday 6 December 2009: Oriel Park

Dundalk Girls U12s continued their strong start to the season with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Saint John Bosco at Oriel Park last Sunday.

Even opening
With several players unavailable, Dundalk made a number of changes to their starting nine, including some U10 players in the matchday squad. The opening ten minutes saw plenty of enterprising play, but little goalmouth action as both sides sought weaknesses in the opposition. Victoria Prendergast was a rock at the centre of defence, as usual, enabling the home full backs – twins Alicia & Courtney Kinch – to push on into midfield at will. It wasn't long before the first clear chance arrived, with Denim McLoughlin shooting narrowly wide from a good position. This proved the turning point as the Bosco defence was unable to make any distance from their kick-outs, even with the aid of a strong breeze.

Dundalk double
With Dundalk now camped in the opposition third of the field and forcing a succession of corners, it was only a matter of time before they scored. Sophie Watters’ corner was met on the full by a visiting defender, but her clearance was charged down by the inrushing Lorna Moriarty and the ball flew into the net. With Shauni Carraher anchoring midfield, Moriarty and Watters raided up and down the wings at will, supplying a succession of crosses into the box. Watters nearly scored a second, heading narrowly wide as her fierce shot rebounded off the post. Dundalk did increase their lead almost immediately as Moriarty's pass found Chloe Connolly inside the box. Her shot was well saved by the Bosco ‘keeper but she was unable to hold on to the ball and Connolly finished the rebound to the net.

Fab four
The build-up and finish for the third goal shows just how much this team has progressed in just a few short months. Pushing on from defence, Prendergast won the ball in midfield and found Moriarty in the inside-right position with an inch-perfect pass. Skipping past two defenders, she crossed hard and low into the box where McLoughlin volleyed home from five-yards. Goal number four arrived just before half-time as the home side continued to press. Winning another Bosco kick-out in midfield, Leagh Reenan found the hard-working Moriarty on the wing. She cut inside and, with the home side expecting a pass, made straight for goal and slipped the ball under the ‘keeper.

Lennon experiment
With the game over as a contest, coach Andy Lennon used the second half to experiment with various formations. Both Tara Carraher and Saoirse Kelly showed good touches up front and might have got on the score-sheet but for some excellent saves by the visiting ‘keeper. Although they came more into the game, Bosco were still unable to pierce the home defence with Kelly Renaghan in control at centre-half and Vanessa McQuillan catching the eye with some darting runs down the wing. Dundalk did come close to adding to their score near the end as Roisin Hanna won the ball in midfield and fed Leia McDonnell. Once again the visiting ‘keeper got down well to block her shot in what proved to be the last action of the game.

DUNDALK SQUAD: S Carraher, T Carraher, C Connolly, A Fergus, R Hanna, S Kelly, A Kinch, C Kinch, L McDonnell, D McLoughlin, V McQuillan, L Moriarty, V Prendergast, L Reenan, K Renaghan, S Watters.