UCFL

The UCFL are out of the 2019/20 Oscar Traynor Trophy after falling to their second loss in the competition on Wednesday night, going down 0-2 to the Kildare & District League on a chilly night in Kilcullen.

Though the UCFL had chances, Kildare undoubtedly deserved their victory, hitting the woodwork on two occasions before half-time, then taking the lead through a brilliant strike from JP McDonagh on 59 minutes, before the same player sealed victory for his team with a tap-in 20 minutes later.

Kildare will now take on Kilkenny at the same venue next Sunday to determine which of these two teams advance to the knockout stages as group winners, while the UCFL are left to reflect on another frustrating night as much good play failed to yield any tangible reward.

The UCFL are out of the 2019/20 Oscar Traynor Trophy after falling to their second loss in the competition on Wednesday night, going down 0-2 to the Kildare & District League on a chilly night in Kilcullen.

Full report will follow due course.

Update Nov 27 - MATCH OFF

The UCFL representative team will play their second match in the 2019/20 national inter-league competition, the Oscar Traynor Trophy, at 7.45pm on Wednesday evening (Nov 27), when they take on the Kildare & District League in the Iveagh Grounds in Crumlin.

Despite a very competitive showing, particularly in the first half, the UCFL’s challenge in their opening 2019/20 Oscar Traynor game was derailed by two rather soft goals conceded around the hour mark and they fell to an ultimately disappointing 0-3 defeat to a strong Kilkenny & District League team in Kilkenny on Saturday evening.

The heavy rain which had been falling in both Dublin and Kilkenny eased before kick-off, making conditions a little easier for the teams as the game went ahead on Evergreen FC’s artificial pitch just outside Kilkenny.

The UCFL’s representative team went down to a 0-3 defeat to the Kilkenny League in their opening game in the 2019/20 Oscar Traynor Trophy competition tonight (Saturday). The UCFL were well in contention for the first hour of the contest and arguably even deserved to lead at that stage based on the run of play and number of chances created, but then the concession two rather soft goals within 5 minutes of each other effectively decided the game in Kilkenny’s favour.

A more detailed report will appear here in the next 24 hours.

The UCFL representative team will play their opening match in this season’s national inter-league competition, the Oscar Traynor Trophy, at 6.30pm on Saturday evening (Nov 2), away to the Kilkenny League. The venue will be Evergreen FC’s astro pitch in Kilkenny.

The UCFL and Kilkenny will be joined by the Kildare League in a 3-team group, from which two teams will qualify for the knockout stages of the competition after Christmas. The UCFL’s game against Kildare will be at home and is due to take place before December, though the details have not yet been finalised.

Paul Hutchinson will again manage the team, repeating his role of recent seasons. Paul has been associated with the team in various management roles in different periods over the last decade or more. The UCFL would like to thank Paul, his management group, in particular David Spring who has agreed to continue his role as Paul’s assistant, the participating players and their clubs for their cooperation and efforts to prepare for the competition and we wish them the best of luck on Saturday.

The UCFL concluded their 2018-19 Oscar Traynor campaign with a 1-2 defeat to the Defence Forces on Wednesday (19/12/2018) night.

Despite the defeat, the UCFL team produced a fine performance against the best team in a difficult group on the Crumlin Utd astroturf, competing well throughout the game, with a number of players particularly prominent. Mick Kinsella, who missed the Carlow game through suspension and Dani Gonzalez were both outstanding in midfield, while Aidan Hyland’s return made a big difference upfront.

Despite a bright and fast-paced start, there were few chances in the opening 20 minutes, with attacking moves breaking down for both sides. However, that changed when the Defence Forces’ Jody Dillon slipped his marker on 18 minutes before attempting to round Austin Hannon, but the UCFL goalkeeper got down quickly to thwart the danger.

The UCFL representative team lost out narrowly to 2017-18 winners, the Carlow & District League in their second game in the Oscar Traynor competition on Saturday (24/11/2018).

In the end, Carlow were deserving winners as they enjoyed slightly more possession in their opponents’ half and created more chances overall, but the UCFL displayed excellent organisation throughout, threatening frequently and remained well in the game right to the end.

The opening 20 minutes were evenly contested, with Ayuba Salaudeen in particular enjoying some moments of prominence on his first start for the UCFL team. The first chance of note fell to Carlow on 10 minutes when Mark Davis cut in from the right and shot over from 25 yards, but the UCFL had a better opportunity after 17 minutes when Conor Blaine played a brilliant ball over the Carlow defence only for Sam Jackson to fire hastily over.