Soccer

Oatlands u16's had a hard fought 2-1 victory over Drimnagh Castle in the South Dublin Final. Goals were scored by Robert Gaughan and Alex Meany. Well done to all the players involved.

Two finals for Oatlands Soccer Teams

The Senior Soccer team almost pulled off a terrific double for Oatlands when their attempt to bring a second Dublin Title to the school within a week when a penalty shoot out saw them lose out  after drawing nil all with Drimnagh Castle in Terenure on Frday, 5th February when o   over Blackrock in the semi-final of the U/19 South Dublin Schools Cup with an epic 4-2 win.

 The start of the game was scrappy due to bad weather conditions, so it took both teams a while to get going. Oatlands took the lead  when Luke McWilliams crossed in an inviting ball for Gio Boccarossa to head home. With Oatlands well in control Blackrock went on a counter attack and took a shot from the edge of the box which Oatlands keeper, Jack Doughan, almost managed to keep out.  Oatlands were solid in defence with Colm Harmon, Jamie Fernandez, Daniel McNamara and Jack Memery all playing  stormers. Just before half time Blackrock had a corner and, when Oatlands cleared the ball, it landed at the feet of Dean Clarke who played it over the top for James Kavanagh to take it in his stride and slot it comfortably into the back of the net for a 2-1 lead.

Mr Kelly gave an inspirational half time speech and Oatlands came out in the second half, all guns blazing. Our third goal came when James Kavanagh played a ball into the box where Luke McWilliams managed to get in front of the keeper and nick the ball over him in to the goal. There was some great play from Oatlands in the middle of the park from Padraic Fitzpatrick, Giovanni Boccarossa, Luke McWilliams and Mark Whelan. Midway through the second half Mr Kelly brought on Charlie Kenna for Mark Whelan and he had an immediate impact when he slid the ball through for James Kavanagh to latch on to and finish off for his second goal of the game and our fourth. Oatlands were playing well until Blackrock got a late consolation goal in the last couple of minutes to make the score 4-2, but, after this, the team never looked like conceding again and ran out comfortable winners. It was a thrilling encounter which entertained all spectators on a dark day. Now we have an U/19 South Dublin Schools Cup Final to look forward to against St. Benildus or Drimnagh Castle. Congratulations to the squad for this great victory.

Report by Billy Smith

 South Dublin Champions

Robbie Gaughan and Alex Meaney got the goals and the whole squad shared in the glory of becoming South Dublin U 16 Champions in a 2-1 extra time defeat of Drimnagh Castle  at Ferrycarraig Park in Wexford on Wednesday, 3rd February. It was another magnificent team performance following the 3-1 semi-final win against a strong Benildus side which featured two tremendous  goals from  Joe Barry-Wallace and Mark Murnaghan, followed by a penalty converted by Iain Goulding.

Oatlands U14 Soccer Review

The U14 soccer team was extremely unlucky not to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Dublin League after losing both of their group games narrowly by 3-2 margins.

The first defeat came at home to a very skilful Drimnagh Castle team who took a two-goal lead early in the second half. Oatlands fought back with two goals from Conall Hunt and Daniel Moynihan. The team showed great character to draw level but, unfortunately, Drimnagh scored the final goal of the game with two minutes to go. The result did not reflect the effort of the team and they deserved to take a point. Excellent performers on the day included Fionn Robinson, Eoin Cotter, David Murphy and Fionn Geoghegan.

In the second game, Oatlands lost out to local rivals, St. Benildus, in what was a closely fought encounter. Dermot O’Kelly came on in the second half to score both goals for the team but it was not enough and Oatlands bowed out of the league for this season. Excellent performers in this game included Sean Tinkler, Daniel Moynihan, Karl Doyle and Donal Lane

South Dublin Futsal Championship

The year started brightly for the first year soccer team, with some noticeable talent entering the school. Many of this year’s students are heavily involved with some of the top clubs around the city from Mount Merrion to St. Josephs. Mr. Beirne began the year by organising soccer matches every Wednesday for the students, giving them the opportunity to show their skills on a weekly basis. This was an immediate hit with huge numbers arriving each week.

Mr. Ellis then took charge of the first year soccer team and was able to begin a training programme with the students, giving each the opportunity to fight for their place on the first year team. Every week large numbers of students came in order to get involved and train hard. Assisted by Mr. Smith, Mr. Ellis ran drills and organised games in order to get the students ready for their first tournament.

The school was invited to play in the South Dublin Futsal Championship, against Holy Child School, in Sallynoggin. It was an FAI organised event where the winners would go on to compete in the Dublin Championships. Oatlands College entered two teams into this tournament and both teams quickly went about showing their abilities, finishing first and second in the competition, with some standout performances from Cillian O’Shea, Jack Burke and Patrick Byrne.

This fine display enabled Oatlands  to compete in the Dublin Championships in Corduff. A strong squad travelled in high hopes and started sharp and fast, going on to beat Larkin Community College 2-1 with goals from Adam O’Kelly and Dermot O’Kelly. Two very unlucky defeats followed but could not take away from the determined performances put in by the team, with fine displays from the O’Kelly brothers and Sean Tinkler, to name but a few.

All the players are now eager to start their eleven-a-side matches for the school after Christmas and can do so in high hopes of competing successfully. Training with Mr. Ellis will recommence in January when, once again, the battle will be on for places on the squad.