Lucan go top of the division
LUCAN United sit proudly on top of the DDSL Under 14 Major Division after they saw off a gallant Sacred Heart in Airlie Park on Saturday on a 4-1 scoreline, in a game where the home side ticked all the boxes on the day and used the elements to their advantage reports John Mooney.
Playing against a strong wind in the opening half they had hat-trick hero Jatan Khera to thank, as his two goals and winning a penalty had them in control.
Khera was a handful for the opposition defence and he opened his account in the early minutes of this encounter, when he connected with an Ollie Scully centre and slotted home.
But their joy was short lived as the visitors were black on level terms nine minutes later, after a mix-up in the home defence presented Cameron Keogh with an opportunity he wasn’t going to miss.
However, normal service was resumed when Meskey Fitzgerald played the ball long down field, the wind held it up, and Khera crashed home his second.
More chances were to follow for both sides but the finishing was a bit off as neither could find the net, and it looked like we would go into the break at 2-1.
Sacred Heart lost out to Lucan United in Airlie Park
But out of the blue the home side won a penalty after Zion Oulai managed to worm his way into the area, a defender won the ball but Khera followed up and, just as he was about to pull the trigger, he was fouled and the referee pointed to the spot.
Now, penalties can be nerve wracking but Oulai stood up, dusted himself down and cooly slotted home without even thinking about it.
With the strong wind in the second half behind them I thought Lucan would have built on that first half scoreline but they only found the net once, three minutes after the restart, through Khera to complete his hat-trick.
A 4-1 loss to the league leaders is not a bad result when you are at the other end of the table and Sacred Heart gave as good as they got, it was just the final ball that let them down on the day and, really, there was no denying Lucan the points.
LUCAN UNITED: Zion Oulai, Leo Comerford, Ollie Scully, Oliver Charenza, Artur Czarasty, Jatan Khera, David Murphy, Meskey Fitzgerald, Adam Breen, Jake Dobbs, Callum Whitty, Ben Murphy, James Donnelly, Cian Lawlor, Tadgh McDermot, Alex Nolan, Kian Sullivan
SACRED HEART: Jakub Wesolowski, Jake Forster, Alex Kavanagh, Richie Conlon, Bobby Hedderman, Jayden Coady, Kai Malone, Adam Tyndall, Dylan Nolan, Owen Darcy, Cian McDermott, Cameron Edwards, Cameron Keogh,Tyler Cahill
