News

UL Belfast Bound for '23 Collingwood Cup News: results

Posted On 25th Jan 2023
Posted By Men's Soccer
Author Mark Nolan (Fixtures Secretary)
Location College Park, Dublin

Collingwood Cup Preliminary round


Trinity College Dublin 1-2 University of Limerick

UL can begin preparations for the 2023 Collingwood Cup after seeing off Trinity College in a hard fought preliminary round clash in College Park this afternoon.

The Dubliners had come out on top when the sides met at this stage last year and in the CUFL Premier Division South last November. UL were eager to make amends andd the game on the front foot. Eoin Redmond and David McCarthy both saw shots go just wide within the opening five minutes.

It looked as if the deadlock would be broken after nine minutes when a long ball forward saw Adam Foley race through on goal, the Trinity shot stopper Lee Steacy was forced to rush out but his clearance was far from perfect allowing UL to win a corner that was dealt with by the home side.

It felt very much a case of when not if UL would take the lead and they did so in some style. Goalkeeper Josh Coady found his target in midfield, a quick ball into space on the right wing saw Cullen McCabe produce a lung busting run to the end line. The Clareman delivered a perfect cross to the edge of the area where Conor Butler composed himself before hitting a first time volley low into the bottom corner of the Trinity net, leaving Steacy rooted to the spot with 20 minutes played.

Just five minutes later Steacy was called into action, a freekick from Conor Whittle found Redmond in the area, he played the ball back into the danger zone allowing McCarthy to pull the trigger however his effort was smothered by the keeper.


The home side were struggling to get a foothold in the game and were reduced to speculative efforts from range. The men from the Treaty county continued to push forward and would increase their advantage in the 37th minute.


Adam Foley produced a fine run on the left wing taking on his marker before reaching the by-line, the Limerickman looked up and slipped the ball to McCarthy who made no mistake to tap home from close range.

The second half saw the home side switch things and personnel up as they looked to match UL’s intensity. It was a much closer affair but the Shannonsiders were up for the challenge, the battleground of midfield saw no punches pulled as Darren Butler, Redmond, Conor Butler and Tom Kidd did well to disrupt Trinity attacks while continuing to supply balls to their teammates going forward.

Set pieces were crucial for both sides with Trinity looking to exploit their height advantage, on two occasions they came close to reducing the deficit however McCabe and Conor Butler produced goal line clearances to keep UL ahead. UL captain Tom Carney came closest to scoring in the second half, from a freekick he sent a header goalward only to see the ball crash off the crossbar.


Trinity would not go down without a fight and to their credit they fought until the end finding the back of the net from a long throw-in in the 92nd minute. It was however too little too late.


UL will face DCU in the quarter-finals of the Collingwood Cup on Monday February 13th in Belfast in what will be the first traditional Collingwood since 2020. 


 

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