The U14 league campaign kicked off for Longwood on a bright and sunny Sunday morning, with the pitch in excellent condition and ideal for football. Trim were the visitors for this opening fixture, and both sides served up an entertaining and competitive encounter.

The game started brightly for Longwood, with early points from Tyler Mulligan and Conor Baldwin getting the scoreboard moving. Trim responded with sustained attacking pressure, but the Longwood full‑back line of William Birmingham and Dylan Dixon stood firm, producing multiple interceptions to keep the Trim forwards scoreless.

In attack, Patrick Maguire was a constant livewire, with his mazy and tricky running causing repeated problems for the Trim defence. At the midpoint of the first half, Aidan Sharkey won an excellent ball in the half‑back line and moved it quickly to the pacy Lochlan Rowley. After a sharp exchange of passes with Patrick Maguire, Lochlan buried the ball low into the corner of the Trim net for Longwood’s opening goal.

Longwood continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over, with Thomas Maguire landing an excellent point from distance. Trim again applied pressure, but Longwood’s half‑back line and midfield showed great commitment and discipline, with Emmet Collins, Tadhg Shram and Lucas Hennessy all producing fine tackles to halt the opposition’s momentum.

Towards the end of the first half, Trim missed a couple of excellent chances (including from close in frees) with goalkeeper Aodhan Freeman making a number of timely clearances. Just before the interval, Longwood broke quickly up-field and Tyler Mulligan pointed from a difficult acute angle to cap a strong half. At the break, it was a competitive contest but

Longwood held the advantage on a scoreline of Longwood 1‑4, Trim 0‑2.

The second half began with a major moment as Trim created a clear goal chance, only for goalkeeper Aodhan Freeman to produce an incredible save and preserve Longwood’s lead. Trim followed up with a point, but Longwood responded immediately. Bobby Barron fired over two quick points, the second coming after a lightning‑quick pickup and superb turn.

A flowing Longwood move followed, with clever passing between Lochlan Rowley, Thomas Murray, Dylan Dixon and Erikas Petkus. Bobby Barron’s initial effort was saved by the Trim goalkeeper, but he coolly slotted the rebound into the net to extend Longwood’s lead.
Trim tried to rally, but once again the Longwood defence proved difficult to breach. Thomas Maguire, William Birmingham, Emmet Collins and Aidan Sharkey continued to hold their men scoreless and fed quality ball into midfield. From there, Lochlan Rowley’s pace and direct running repeatedly drove Longwood forward.

As the game entered the final quarter, Longwood really raised their intensity. Luka Farrell delivered two excellent passes to set up Tyler Mulligan and Bobby Barron for well‑taken points. This was followed by a fine solo run and point from Lochlan Rowley, after Caedan Connor showed great awareness to win possession in the forward line.
Luka Farrell then added Longwood’s third goal after showing great composure to round both his marker and the goalkeeper. Late points followed from Tyler Mulligan and a cleverly fisted effort from Luka Farrell right on the stroke of full time.

The final whistle confirmed a strong opening result: Longwood 3‑11, Trim 0‑4

While the scoreline looks convincing, the game was far tighter and more competitive than the scoreline suggests. With 15 minutes remaining, the contest was still very much in the balance, and Longwood’s scoring burst in the final 10 minutes ultimately put the game to bed.

There were many positives for Longwood to take from the performance.  Aodhan Freeman’s goalkeeping was a real stand out. His saves as well as his accurate, long kick‑outs consistently helped Longwood retain vital possession. In defence, the tenacious tackling and ability to win ball was evident throughout. The pace and excellent hands of Dylan Dixon and William Birmingham were key features in the full‑back line.

Across the half‑back line, Lucas Hennessy delivered a terrific all‑round performance, carrying ball forward with confidence and accurately supplying the forward line, while Aidan Sharkey, Emmet Collins and Thomas Maguire were aggressive and decisive in shutting down the Trim attack.

At midfield, Lochlan Rowley’s pace and fielding ability were well complemented by the relentless work rate, tackling and running of Tadhg Shram and Erikas Petkus. In the half‑forward line, Thomas Murray and Bobby Barron showed great ability to win possession and link defence to attack, while Patrick Maguire’s tricky running constantly challenged the Trim defence, who resorted to fouling on multiple occasions.

In the full‑forward line, Conor Baldwin (who also contributed in midfield), Tyler Mulligan, Caedan Connor and Luka Farrell posed a consistent scoring and goal threat throughout.

Overall, this was a very encouraging start to the season for the Longwood U14s. The team’s fitness and energy levels were particularly noticeable late in the game, a clear reflection of the work being done on the training field by coaches Jim, Jacob and Dean, whose preparation ensured Longwood had the legs to finish the match with pace, intensity and confidence.

A really great start to the league and this group of talented young players can look forward to the season ahead.

Team.
Goalkeeper – Aodhan Freeman
Backs – Dylan Dixon, William Birmingham, Lucas Hennessy, Aidan Sharkey, Emmet Collins, Thomas Maguire.
Midfield – Lochlan Rowley, Tadhg Shram, Erikas Petkus.
Forwards – Conor Baldwin, Thomas Murray, Patrick Maguire, Caeden Connor, Bobby Barron, Tyler Mulligan, Luka Farrell.
Scorers –
Bobby Barron (1-3), Tyler Mulligan (0-4), Lochlan Rowley (1-1), Luka Farrell (1-1), Thomas Maguire (0-1), Conor Baldwin (0-1).

Match report - Sean Farrell