A game of few chances we had with half a chance in the first 5 minutes Brendan Carolan with a long range effort over the bar. Then towards the end of the first half we should have scored after Zach Fitzpatrick corner deflected off the near post however we were slow to react on follow up. Half time and all to play for. Start of the second half Leixlip became more dominant and played the majority of ball in Portmarnock half however we were just missing the end product. The break finally came with 10 minutes remaining after clinical passage of play down the left between Ben Kineavy and Stevie Owens. The ball fell to Dara Neville who from 20 yards placed a looping shot into the far right corner giving their keeper no chance. Leixlip continued to press hard for the 2nd with corner after corner but it never came. With last 2 minutes remaining Portmarnock caught us on the break with one v one only for Steve McLoughlin with last ditch tackle to put out for corner. We saw the game out for a great result. Special mention to the back four today Calum Dodd, Steve McLoughlin, Conor Watkins and Zach Fitzpatrick. Rock solid with keeper Dan O'Reilly having little to do. Brilliant squad performance from all the lads. Onto the semis we go.

Back-to-back two nil away wins for the lads, and against a hard working opposition. Two excellent finishes by Liam White. Despite some late pressure and tired bodies, the lads saw the game out with another clean sheet and the 3 points.

U16.4 Boys Leixlip United 2 Mount Merrion 1.

Excellent team performance by the boys. Avenging a 1-4 defeat against this team earlier in the season. Leixlip started strong and kept a very high level, in all positions, right to the final whistle. Both Leixlip goals clinically despatched by MOTM Gabby Floroiu. The boys denied at least three more by outstanding saves from the Mount Merrion keeper. Leixlip’s defence - Alex Tighe, Ben Stoneham, Craig Commerford, Kyle Sutton and keeper Tom Ryan were in particularly mean form. Only conceding through a penalty call by the referee. Special shout outs for Fionn Egan, Ronan Hanly, Oscar Butler and Jamie McInerney. However, this group of lads collectively enjoying a real purple patch in form right now. The games can’t come quick enough.

We dominated the early exchanges with Jakub Ferdynus taking early control of midfield. Esker weren’t given much time or space despite being pressured they never shirked and gave as good as they got which made for a very competitive and engaging game. We had been causing them trouble down both wings, particularly on the right with Eric Savin and Andrei Ghilan dominating play down their side. Before taking the lead we had worked the ball into the Esker box on several occasions but didn't get the shots away. In the 18th minute Eric Savin broke the deadlock. Though it was from a challenging angle his shot caused chaos on the Esker goal line and the ball ricocheted into the net to give Leixlip a deserved lead. Alas it was a rare Esker attack that we conceded. We had cleared the attack out for a corner however despite having numbers in the box we switched off and the static nature of our defending allowed their number 9 space to fire an excellent first time shot past Will Corscadden who was given no chance on 26 minutes. Leixlip who had been playing all the football up to this point took on a livelier Esker side in the second half and it meant our boys having to adapt. Esker came more in the game, but the lads responded and upped their own performance. The game opened up more which created more space but our superior passing allowed us to stretch the opposition. On one occasion we won the ball deep in our half and the ball broke to Kealan Harpur who quickly beat two Esker players to the ball and carried it deep into their half. Evading several challenges on the way toward the Esker goal Kealan Harpur managed to get a rasping shot away and only a strong hand from the Esker keeper pushed the ball wide of the goal. Seme Mohibbi, Szymon Czekalski and Tirziman Maxim didn’t give their midfield a moment to settle on the ball. With less than 5 minutes to go Esker had a free kick about 25 yards out on the Esker inside left. The subsequent free kick cannoned off the far post and bounced dangerously back into the middle of our box straight to an Esker striker. In the process of getting his shot away he was challenged by our defence and Will Corscadden was able to make an incredible save from point blank range. Overall, the point we won today was fully deserved.