Mixed results for Limerick sides on opening day of Kennedy Cup

The opening day of the SFAI Kennedy Cup provided many goals and mixed results for the three Limerick schoolboy sides representing the county on the U-14 inter-county stage.

Limerick District League got ‘home’ proceedings under way when they entertained Roscommon District League on pitch 4 in what turned out to be a thrilling encounter.

Noel O’Connor’s Limerick team were victorious on a 3-2 score with two goals from Aisling Annacotty’s Nathan O’Shea either side of a Jay McNamara strike. Limerick will now face West Cork on pitch 5 (All Weather) looking to cement a place in the Kennedy Cup quarter-final.

The evening games saw both Limerick Desmond and County Schoolboy Leagues in action against Sligo/Leitrim and Kerry respectively.

Limerick Desmond League took a second half lead through Ciaran McMahon of Kildimo United before being pegged back by a goal from Michael Clifford.

The Desmond League now face Carlow on pitch 4 at 12.30 pm. In their second game of the day, Limerick Desmond will take on Donegal on pitch 8 (All Weather) at 6pm.

Our feature game was the match between Kerry District Schoolboy League and Limerick County on pitch 2. Timmy Rainsford’s side were taking on one of the reported strongest sides in the competition and fell behind early on due to a fantastic curling effort from Cormac Dillon.

Dillon added to Kerry’s lead when he blocked down Limerick County goalkeeper Luiz De Freitas Almeida’s clearance before rolling the ball into an empty net despite best efforts of Cathal Kearns on the goal-line.

As both benches were emptied, Limerick County pushed for a goal with ten minutes remaining and came close when Patrick Downey’s cross was headed wide by Cody Kok. However, Kerry held on for victory and now Limerick County face an uphill task to remain in the Cup competition.

On Wednesday, they will face Kildare District League who defeated Clare 2-1 on pitch eight (12.30). County will lock horns with neighbours Clare later in the evening on pitch three (6pm).

Limerick County: Luiz De Freitas Almeida, Cathal Kearns, Sean Carroll, Bailey Ryan, Tadgh Hourigan, Michael Ryan, Tristan Stokes, Aaron Moffat, Shane Ryan, David Moloney, Jake McNamara-Leamy.

Substitutes used: Patrick Downey, Donncha Hogan, James O’Sullivan, Cody Kok,