Confey’s Under 16 side had to swallow the bitter pill of defeat when they left Baldonnel on Sunday the 25/1/09 with no points. This toughly contested match saw two of the leagues unbeaten sides clash with top spot in the league on offer to the winners. Confey began the game well and showed good composure in possession. The deadlock appeared to have been broken after 11 minutes when Confey Striker Daniel Dumitru bagged a goal only to have his effort whipped off the sheet. The official decided to bring the ball back for a foul and award Confey a free outside the box. A difficult one for the visitors to accept as the ref appeared to have allowed play on with Confey in possession and the advantage had resulted in a goal. Despite this set back Confey battled against a well motivated home side and produced several other good scoring chances in the first half. Stephen Galavan, Steven Nicholas and Eoin Spillane all going close to scoring. Just before half time the home side had their best period in the game and Confey relied on keeper Aidan Mc Donnell to bring off two excellent saves.At the break Confey reorganised with vice- captain Jason O Connor moving into midfield to partner the hard working Sean Casey, Eoin Spillane moving up front and David Sterio replacing Aidan Mc Donnell in goal. The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with Confey having the lion’s share of possession and the home side playing on the break. St Francis relied heavily on former Confey player Darragh Mylod who played most of the game as alone striker. Confey craved out further excellent chances from play and set pieces. Steven Nicholas shaving the post with a free and Stephen Galavan missing the chance to score from close range with only the keeper to beat. The visitors got punished for their failure to take the chances created when a long range sky rocket was allowed to bounce in the box and a poorly hit shot was deflected into the bottom corner. This goal was ultimately to decide the tie. Confey showed great fighting qualities and created another excellent chance following great build up between Stephen Doran and Eoin Spillane to release Darragh O Boyle. Darragh again with only the keeper to beat found the side netting. Confey without captain Paul Field (illness) and inform striker Collie May (injured) paid a dear price for their failure to be clinical in front of goal. The overall display from the team still gives plenty of encouragement for the season ahead. This team will definitely be in the shake up when top spots are being secured in this league. This game was well refereed by Brain Vaughan. Team : Aidan Mc Donnell, Jason O Connor, Darragh O Boyle, Conor Mc Loughlin, Rudi Eloma, Steven Nicholas, Sean Casey, Andrew Whelan, Stephen Galavan, Eoin Spillane and Daniel Dumitru, Substitutes : David Michael Sterio,( Half Time) , Graham Smith (50 mins), Stephen Doran (60 Mins), and Jude Kambidica (70 Mins). Substitutes not used: David Daniels Not available for selection : Paddy Kabangu, Collie May and Paul Field Cpt Scorers : Manager : Bracey Daniels
