Last night (Tue 9th April) the Devon U14A squad welcomed Knocknacarra to Drum for the local seaside derby match.

While the tempo in the first half was somewhat subdued the second half changed all that. The home side went in at half time one nil after Piotrek Szymanski clinically finished after a nice move. This was a fair reflection on the first half where the Devon lads produced the better flow of football. From the second half off, the pace of the game went up a notch or two and this suited the Devon lads who were soon to be two up Piotrek Szymanski getting his second. With the Devon bench now emptied and five team changes the game was to take a dramatic twist. Following good pressure from a dogged and determined Knocknacarra side they were awarded a handy penalty which they converted. Now 2: 1….the game was back on. After regaining some composure the Devon lads were 3: 1 up after Piotrek Szymanski sealed his hat trick with another fine finish. However, this derby match was far from over and soon after this score Knocknacarra won a corner which was poorly defended off the second ball and Junior from Knocknacarra struck a fantastic half volley to rattle the net………3:2 and the game was back on again. Despite a period of continued Knocknacarra pressure the local lads eventually calmed things down and started to pass the ball again, getting their just rewards when Bright Broderick hit a 30yard screamer which thundered towards the goal and beat the keeper low down. It finally finished 4:2 for the home side. This was a good character test for the Devon lads prior to their big Easter trip to Manchester where they will represent the club in the prestigious Manchester Cup which is played over two days (20th & 21st April).

Man of the Match was that ‘on fire ‘ goal machine Piotrek Szymanski who could have ended the game with a double hat trick. Other notable performers were Evan Ridge, Daniel Hoare and Milo O’Malley. Missing from the squad on the day were Jamie Greaney still recovering from injury, Sean O’Connor who was sick and Darren Darcy who was with the U14 Irish National Academy Squad who are playing the Netherlands this week in Dublin. The coaches and squad are very proud of Darren’s achievement, his hard work, attitude and no mean technical skill are just rewards for his inclusion in the Irish Squad. Well done Darren continued success!