U15B Leixlip 4 Ballybrack 0
Great performance against stubborn opposition. We knocked on the door for a while before Cara Moriarty scored from a free kick on the edge of the box. It wasn’t all one way though - Evie McNaughton had a couple of important saves to make in the first half.
In the second half the girls stepped it up & we put the game to bed. Sophie Dalton was put through after good battling from Isabelle Moloney and Lucy Morris. Sophie showed great composure to give their keeper no chance. It was Lucy’s turn to make her own goal as she went on an unstoppable run, driving through midfield she did it all herself & scored from close range.
To cap it off Sophie got a second pouncing on the slightest of spills from their keeper. Another good result for the girls & a deserved clean sheet for our defence.

U14 B Boys Greystones 1 – Leixlip United 1
A 1 pm kick-off suited us better against the division leaders today than an early start which hindered some of the boys last week. We knew our home game win (6-1) against Greystones was not in line with their current streak of results. Although the sun was shining, there was a strong sea breeze blowing from one end of the pitch to the other and we played with it for the first half. Despite the ball making seldom appearances in our half we couldn’t find a way to hit the net. A clean sheet for Freddie Wasson at the halftime whistle as we changed keepers. The halftime talk brought a change in formation and responsibilities for the boys and the difference was almost immediate. 8 minutes into the half, Ryan Good took a chance on goal from way out into the wind which made the ball seem to hover in the air finally beating the keeper into the top corner to a loud roar of cheers from the spectators and the sideline. It wasn’t surprising that 12 minutes later, from one of the many free kicks Greystones were awarded, we offered them a tap-in with an error in defence which they took. The boys kept their focus and confidence right to the end with Kyle Hutton making a very important block just before Greystones sent a sitter into orbit. We played the better football today but the whistle went against us more times than not. A first for the season today, not one attacker got caught offside for the full 70 minutes. Eoghan Lyons captained the team today and Ronan Silke won man of the match for an excellent performance out of his usual position. We would have loved the 6 points but the 4 will do. We are the only team to take this many from them.

U11C Leixlip United 3-2 Granada.
It was a much closer game than it should have been. We had a few chances in the first half but got caught on the break to trail 1-0 at half time. We completely dominated the second half but couldn't score and then conceded again against the run of play. We hit the post and the crossbar before Alan Maly scored a superb free kick with just over 5 minutes left, he got his second a minute later after winning the ball in midfield and lashing it in off the underside of the crossbar. With a minute to go Alan won the ball off the Granada defender and completed his hat-trick with a low shot into the corner to win the game.

U14 Friendly Dingle Utd 1 Leixlip 7
Thanks to Dingle Utd for the invite to play a friendly considering we were both idle this week. Another excellent performance from all the lads with 5 different scorers (Fiachra x 2 Aaron x 2, Paul, Jessie and Tom B all on the scoresheet). We are now on another run with 3 wins on the bounce. The hard work at training is paying off.

U13 D Leixlip 1 Harold’s Cross 2
Disappointing result today for the lads.
Harold’s Cross went one nil up before halftime and we were chasing the game from there. 2 nil down early in the second half before Patrick Kelly scored a great goal to the bottom corner with 15 minutes to go.
We created chances but were unable to get the equaliser unfortunately.
We go again next week.

13B leixlip United 3-2 Greystones United (Photo above)
Fantastic performance from the lads today to get back to winning ways in the league. Time and again we cut through them but couldn't find the finish we needed. Greystones then scored with their first shot after 20 minutes with a fine strike. The lads kept their heads and we equalised through a Conor Watkins header from a corner. The lads kept turning the screw and playing great football and James mcgee won the ball in his own half before beating 2 and playing it through to max farnan who chipped the keeper to put us 2-1 up at half time.
Second half was more of the same but a collective lapse in concentration allowed Greystones to equalise. Despite this the lads continued to play all the football and after a great ball in from Zach Fitzpatrick, Rian Fahey was able to poke the ball home at the back post. The lads could have had 2 or 3 more after but all in all the teams best performance this year.

U13P Leixlip 0 Portmarnock 1
We had targeted this game as a 6 pointer and so it proved nothing between the sides, we were on top for the first 20 mins and had a guilt edged 1v1 chance at 15 mins and striker hit it straight at the keeper with 2 men positioned in the middle for a tap in. First goal at this level is key and they got one chance at 25mins a ball through the middle and we stepped up too quickly and the striker finished in the corner. Second half we pushed and pushed getting plenty of half chances but as with our season to date we could not get the ball across the line. We had injuries to key players today so was delighted with how some lads stepped up so we just go again next week.

MGL u17 League Cup Semi Final
Maynooth 0 Leixlip United 2
A superb performance from Leixlip today saw them deservedly reach their first final as a group!

The team was led out by Ava Carey at right back, captaining the side in the absence of Isabelle Braescu. The defence were really solid throughout the 90 minutes, marshalled brilliantly by Fiona Shields and Sophie O’Connor in the centre - with Hanna Anderson putting in a great shift at left back in the first half before Niamh McClean took on the role and kept us steady in the 2nd half. Ava played very well early on but unfortunately got a knock, so Lara Putar came on at right back to mark the Maynooth left winger, who was a flyer, and did a great job keeping her in check. Maynooth had good possession around midfield but the Leixlip defence were well organised and composed throughout in front of Alison O’Connor, whose handling was excellent and put in a commanding performance in goals.

During the first half our midfield engine of Abbie Creevy and Aine Murphy imposed themselves excellently, with Aine taking on the captains armband second half and really leading by example with a dynamic, player of the match performance. In front, Katie Allen buzzed around the park and it was her attacking ability that led to our first goal around the half hour mark, as Katie took the ball on outside the box and swerved in a fast cross/shot which Emily Lynch took a gamble on - stepped in front of her marker and turned it home for 1-0. On the wings Emily and Saoirse O’Hara were busy attacking and defending, doing both jobs strongly.

Second half we got our 2nd goal as we broke quickly down the right hand side, Aliana Buisman cut infield and clipped a cross towards the back post but the keeper was unsighted and the ball ended up hitting the back of the net for 2-0! Maryam Abdul came on on the left wing and kept the Maynooth full back occupied with great attacking movement. Emily O’Boyle joined the fray, slotting in very well in midfield alongside Aine. Although (in what’s an extremely rare occurrence!) Jae Howard didn’t get a goal today,  their leading of the line was excellent throughout and kept the two Maynooth centre halves occupied from start to finish.

All 16 players contributed brilliantly today - the management team of Paul, Sandra and Shauna are blessed to have such a strong, versatile panel of players, who have shown great ability and maturity in this cup run. Fully deserving of our place in the Cup Final!

Other News

U12 Girls into the last 16 in SFAI Cup
Our under 12 girls travel to Cork this weekend to play Passage in the last 16 of the SFAI trophy competition. Supporters welcome!

Our Academy is back
We had a great first day back at our Academy on Sunday. Children born 2016, 2017 and 2018 are welcome to attend on Sundays from 10 -11am. Register online https://www.leixlipunited.com/membership_signup or email leixlipunitedacademy@gmail.com. We are also looking to hire a Director for the Academy. Please email info@leixlipunited.com for more information.

Request to parents to remind children to stay off the new Astro.
Unfortunately, some young lads entered onto our new astro pitch outside of training hours. Anyone who is identified as a Leixlip Utd player will be suspended from playing initially for the first offence and will suffer an increased suspension for any further incursions. We have already identified the young lads who play for us thanks to our increased CCTV cameras. We are spending a huge sum of money to improve our facilities for all our members so please ask your children to show some respect and stay off the astro.