Akinbade is on fire Four St Francis
By Hayden Moore
LEIXLIP United were unable to get a handle on St Francis’s Daniel Akinbade as he accounted for four goals in the Baldonnel side’s 5-2 triumph in Sunday’s DDSL Under-17 Premier One showdown.
The homeside took full advantage of their in-form striker to race into an early two-goal lead before United even had a chance to settle into the occasion.
St Francis powered to another three points
In a quick move, David Power broke down the left flank past his marker to deliver a ball to the edge of the box where winger Stephen Smith flicked it on to Akinbade who still had a lot of work to do before converting.
Smith’s ball, played slightly behind him, forced Akinbade to spin before firing into the bottom right corner.
Within moments, Akinbade doubled his side’s lead when he was found by a piercing Jason Power ball through midfield just outside the box before he beat the centre-half to get his shot away.
That second goal lit a fire under Leixlip and they began committing players forward in an effort to work their way back into the game.
But luck appeared to have forsaken the Kildare outfit as they went into the break still 2-0 down after three opportunities, two from striker Michael Ajala and one from Eric Doyle, all crashed against the woodwork.
Their persistence eventually paid off, however, when Ajala latched onto a sublime Joey O’Sullivan ball into the box to tap it home.
Leixlip put up a good fight but lost out
Holding midfielder Sam Newman came out fighting after the interval and broke up a lot of play for Leixlip to provide a nice platform for their rapid counter-attacking style.
Leixlip full-back Conor O’Regan delivered an enticing corner into the box where his full-back partner Oliver Birch caught it on the half-volley to draw parity.
Although they had just thrown away a two-goal lead, the Clondalkin outfit never looked unsettled with midfielders Adam Downes, Joe Fitzmaurice and Jason Power battling tooth and nail for every ball.
In tandem with the clean work of centre-backs Sam McCormack and Devine Ismale, St Francis heaped on the pressure in the hunt for a goal.
St Francis wide-midfielder David Power sent a low-driven ball across goal that took a deflection into the net to make it 3-2 to the hosts.
The drama continued when Akinbade completed his hat-trick with a tap-in after some brilliant work down the left wing by Fitzmaurice and David Power before the on-fire striker made it 5-2 when he slotted home Jason Power’s pass.
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