15/06/05 - Under 15's go for the double

The U15's are now league champions after a long season. They kept there nerve and lost just four games all season. The team became more confident and reversed all the losses in the return fixtures and enjoyed a remarkable league clinching game away against Duleek after losing 5-1 at home.

They knew they had to win and they won in style and celebrated on the Duleek pitch after winning 3-2. oh the beautiful game was truly beautiful on that day.

Skerries Town can be proud of these lads .

The lads play in the NED BEHAN CUP FINAL on sunday at 2pm at the Oscar Traynor Road where they will try to acheive the double!

YOUR SUPPORT WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED.

11/06/05 - Under 15's Final postponed until next week

The final of the Ned Behan cup has been postponed for a week. The second semi-final took place on Friday with Hartstown winning through to play Skerries. Hartstown felt that they didn't have enough time to prepare for the Final and asked for a postponement which was granted.

New Date:     Final at Oscar Traynor Sunday June 19th. All support welcome.

08/06/05 - Under 15's through to Ned Behan Cup Final

The under 15s reached the final of the Ned Behan cup winning against Duleek 3-0 .

Skerries took the game to Duleek in the first half and were well on top as Sean lynch
continued his good run of form with the first goal and then his well struck corner was latched on to by Ross Keogh for his first goal of the season to make it 2-0 at half time .
Duleek came on strong in the second half and put Skerries under some pressure, Skerries gave away a penalty only for the Duleek player to put it wide .

Duleek continued to put Skerries under pressure but the home side held firm before Sean Lynch got his brace on the break to make it 3-0 and a deserved place in the final.

Final at Oscar Traynor Sunday June 12th at 5pm. All support welcome come and cheer the lads to victory.

08/06/06 - Skerries Town u17s clinch DDSL league title

Congratulaions to the Skerries under 17 team on winning the DDSL A North league title. The team celebrated their success by winning away to Dunboyne last Sunday (5 June). That victory capped a remarkable season in which the team lost only one league match and had only one drawn game. The team scored 64 league goals and conceded only 16 - a very impressive record by any standards. Managed by Martin Burke and captained by Rory Noonan the team is particularly gratified at winning the title in its first season in the DDSL. The players have all committed themselves to staying together for next season and are looking forward to playing in the top flight.

02/06/05 - U9's Win the Frank Shannon Shield

Skerries Town 2 Dunboyne 1 AEET

After a very entertaining final a fortnight ago, Skerries Town and Dunboyne met again last Thursday at Oscar Traynor to battle it out again.

Like the first game, this game did not disappoint the large crowd in attendance and kept them on their feet right down to the last minute.

The 1st quarter began with both teams eager to get an early advantage. The first real chance fell to Skerries when Richard Armstrong, who worked tirelessly throughout the game, weaved his way through the Dunboyne defence and laid the ball back to Shane Dennis who curled a sweet shot inches past the post.

After this chances fell to both sides but the two defences dominated with Sean Quigley (no.3) for Dunboyne and Billy Hess (no.4) for Skerries outstanding.

The game remained scoreless until late in the 3rd quarter when Dunboyne were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. Sean Quigley curled a great fee kick to the top corner giving Daire Grimes in the Skerries goal no chance.

It took Skerries some time to recover from this and Dunboyne dominated the 3rd quarter but failed to add to their tally.

As the clock ticked away it looked like the Shield would be making its way to Meath but Skerries showed great spirit and lifted their game as they sought the equaliser. With two minutes to go, Skerries were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box and Aaron Wynne stepped up to crack home an unstoppable equaliser. Wynne almost won the game in the last minute when he took the ball wide on his left and curled a left footed shot which hit the upright and went wide.

Ten minutes of extra time could not separate the teams and the officials and management of both teams decided to play another ten minutes.
With both teams battling fatigue, Skerries began to get the upper hand and in the last minute of extra, extra time, Skerries were awarded a corner kick. Skerries pushed everyone forward and Wynne’s corner to the back post was met by Billy Hess who powered a header to the back of the net. (straight from the training ground)

It was too late for a gallant Dunboyne to respond, the Shield belonged to Skerries.

And then we had the pitch invasion. The excitement in the stand spilled out on to the pitch.  The normally demure Helen J, mother of Robbie was seen jumping under the barrier and doing her version of a Jig. Mick Bolger, Jimmy Farrell and Paul Walshe were seen jumping, arms around each other singing Champeeoonees. It was great to see such a big crowd at the game and Kevin, Reg and the players would like to thank all the supporters who turned up to cheer us on.

Carlsberg don't do Shield Final Replays, but if they did...................!!

16/05/05 - Cup Final Weekend

Saturday 21st May:  Frank Shannon Shield Final

On Saturday, Skerries Town Under 9B take on Dunboyne in the Final of the Frank Shannon Shield at Oscar Traynor Rd at 12 O’Clock. Why not come along and show your support. Kevin, Reg and the team will meet for breakfast at the clubhouse before departing for the game at 10.30 and will travel to the game by coach courtesy of Greg Reddin.

Good Luck to them.

Sunday 22nd May: Skerries u17s in DDSL Redmond Cup Final

Why not come along to the AUL Complex in Clonshaugh (near the airport) on Sunday next (22nd) at 3.00 pm to support our u17 team in the final of the DDSL Redmond Cup where they face old rivals Dunboyne. Skerries will be hoping to repeat their recent league victory against the Meath men when the odd goal in five favoured Skerries. Top goal scorer Gavin Friel will be trying to maintain his impressive record of scoring at least a hat trick in all three previous rounds (he got 4 in the semi final).

Let's hope Rory Noonan will be lifting the cup aloft at the end of the day!

13/05/05 - Skerries Town launch Summer Camp

Skerries Town Football Club today launched their 2005 Soccer Camp. This is the 8th year of this very successful event and this year will run from Monday 4th July to Friday 8th July.

We are particularly delighted to again welcome Gerry Fagan of Gerry's Fresh Foods as the CAMP's main sponsor. Gerry's Fresh Foods is also the main sponsors of our School Boy / Girl Section. We most sincerely thank Gerry for his commitment to the younger members of Skerries Town Football Club.

For the last 8 year's Skerries Town FC Summer Soccer Camp has offered the children of Skerries and the surrounding areas a week of top summer coaching filled with fun. We aim to make this year's camp even better. The CAMP is staffed by FA Ireland trained coaches and is designed to deliver five football days of skills, games but most important fun. Each participant will receive a Skerries Town Summer Camp Certificate, an Umbro Football and Training Kit consisting of a T-shirt, shorts and socks. Goodies will be distributed daily.

Camp Director Tony McDermott is an FA Ireland coach and is also director of the Colts Academy in the North Dublin Schools League. He was also involved in his local clubs for many years. Tony has a wealth of football knowledge but most importantly many years of experience in coaching children.

The team of coaches working with Tony will be mostly Skerries Town Football Club coaches. Again these coaches are all FA Ireland qualified coaches and have been gaining experience over the last couple of years in coaching the clubs teams from the Kids Academy, under age 7-a-side teams to the under 16 team.
This year we have divided the camp into two sections. Section A will cater for the 5 - 7 year olds and will run from 10.30am to 1.00pm each day with a 20 -minute snack break. While section B will cater for the 8 - 12 year olds and run from 10.30am to 3.00pm each day.

The camp is held in our enclosed ground at the Club House in Park Lane which is safe and secure There will be shop available for sweets, crisps and drinks at the clubhouse and no participant will be permitted to leave the park during the session times.

Section A: 10.30am to 1.00pm with a 20 -minute snack break.
for Boys & Girls age 5 to 7 years. Cost €55

Section B: 10.30am to 3.00pm with a 45 - minute
for Boys & Girls age 8 to 12 years's Cost €80

What to bring!             Application form

08/05/05 - Skerries qualify for Yazoo Cup Final

Skerries Town under 16’s qualified for the Yazoo Cup final on May 29th with a dramatic 3-2 penalty win over Huntstown Villa at Hartstown Park last Sunday.

Skerries started the brighter and in the opening 20 minutes created four clear openings but were unable to find the net. Villa must thank keeper Chris Baker for keeping them in the game during this period when he made three super saves. First when on 10 minutes he somehow saved a Robert Hughes shot from 10 yards. Then on 15 minutes he turned a Rory O’Connor shot over the bar when it looked like he would give Skerries the lead. Two minutes later Danker denied Andy Mulvany when he collected his shot from 20 yards. With 30 minutes gone Skerries got the break through. It started with good work down the right by Mulvany, he crossed into the box where Hughes knocked it on the O’Connor who slammed the ball past Baker.

The Skerries goal only seemed to spur on The Villa. Chances fell to Keith Doyle and Dean Holmes but solid Skerries defending by Brennan and Bolger kept the score 1 nil at half time.

Whatever was said to the Huntstown team at half time had an immediate effect. Within 3 minutes of the resumption the sides were level. Hesitation in the Skerries defence allowed the speedy Dean Homes run clear on goal and he smashed the ball past Farrell in the Skerries goal.

Skerries were finding it difficult to get any type of passing going and Villa was getting more and more of the ball in midfield. On 20 minutes good work by Colm Doyle and Alan Darcy created another opening for Holmes who scored with another tremendous drive.

The large travelling Skerries support was now willing their team on and Skerries responded with attack after attack. Chances fell to Mulvany but he lost his footing at a critical moment. Villa conceded a free on the edge of the box and Bolger smashed it into the wall. Baker brilliantly saved his follow up effort after it was deflected of a defender. Derek O’Brien went close with a header and Kevin Cashman saw his effort clear the angle of post and crossbar.

On 27 minute a high ball into the box by Garrett caused the Villa defence all sorts of problems. Baker came to punch as Armstrong headed clear. The ball fell to O’Brien 30 yards out who hit as sweet a volley you’ll ever see into the top left hand corner of the Villa net. Two all.

Skerries now on top were pressing forward for the winner. Efforts by Cashman, Hughes Mulvany were all repelled by desperate defending by the Villa defence. With only 3 minutes remaining Skerries finally went into the lead when a Bolger corner flew directly into the net. His third such goal this season.

Huntstown however went straight onto the attack. Skerries conceded a number a frees in dangerous positions in the final few minutes of normal time but a combination of some poor shooting and good defending kept the score 3-2. The referee then indicated 4 minutes of added time. Skerries conceded 2 more corners but brave headers by Jenkinson and Garrett cleared the danger. Then with 3 minutes of added time played a rather harsh free was given against Paul Brennan on the edge of the box. The Huntstown keeper Baker who had come forward for the previous corner tied up the ball and released an unstoppable shot past the wall and John Farrell for the equaliser to the delight of the growing Huntstown crowd.

The final whistle went a few seconds later to bring the game to extra time. The 10 minutes each way failed to live up the excitement of the game itself and no team could find the net again so it was onto the dreaded penalties.

While Baker may have been the hero of the game, John Farrell was certainly the hero of the penalty shoot out saving Huntstown Villa’s first two efforts while Mulvany and Martin both scored for Skerries. Not happy to save penalties Farrell then took the Skerries third penalty but Baker saved low down to his right. Dean Hughes of Huntstown and Johnny Garrett of Skerries exchanged penalties before Farrell again showed his penalty saving skills by dived full length to his right to save the final Huntstown effort. Skerries 3, Huntstown 2.

"I don’t think my heart can take any more of this" was the comment from Assistant Kevin Walsh. While No 2 Darragh O’Reilly said he was looking forward to a day out in the final.

So Skerries go into the final against Willow FC on Sunday 29th May at the Oscar Traynor Road Complex.

08/05/05 - Skerries duo off to Paris

Next weekend two players from Skerries Town Under 12 team fly out to Paris to represent the Brenfer League in the “Paris Tournament” in Saint Soupplets. The pair, midfielder Kevin Lumsden and centre half Paul O’Carroll have been training with the representitive team since the beginning of the season.

Good Luck to them both, enjoy the experience.

07/05/05 - Skerries Under 8’s clinch the title

Skerries Town 2       Glebe North 2

This crucial Under 8B1 title decider provided much entertainment and high drama for the large crowd in attendance.

Skerries had to play without their star goalkeeper, Shane Rice, who was unavailable. Skerries started brightly and had their nerves settled by an early well taken goal by Sean Rocks. Glebe pushed forward, being driven by Gregory Sloggett and were unlucky on a number of occasions with Joe O’Brien saving well.

Glebe forced a well deserved equaliser through Conor Garvey. Skerries re-organised their team and again took the lead through Jack Fitzpatrick.
Glebe then took control and it required heroic performances from Robbie Broderick and Tom McDonald in defence for Skerries.

Glebe key player Owen Mooney put in a great performance in spite of being injured. Glebe continued to press and scored a deserved equaliser when Ken Costello forced in from a corner.

Both teams pressed forward in search of the winner but ace marksman Alan King Swift found Glebe’s Keith Purdue in fine form.
Skerries had a chance right at the end when Cianan Simpson put Alan King Swift through but his shot went wide.
A draw was a fair result on the day. This result means that Skerries are crowned League Champions with Glebe North securing the runners-up spot.

Both teams are a credit to their clubs.

02/05/05 - Senior Sunday Report

Newbridge Town 2     Skerries Town 2

On Thurs last the Seniors travelled to Newbridge to take on the locals in a bid to remain in contention for a promotion spot.

However, a share of the points means that we’ll have to wait another year before attempting to move into the top flight, even though this was a game that should have been won but also could have been lost.

After a bright start, we were rocked by two goals in a five minute spell mid way through the half and in fact were happy to hear the half-time whistle.

The interval break gave manager Alan Sweeney an opportunity to sort out the problems that had got us into this situation. Changing the formation from a 4-4-2 set-up to a 3-5-2 attack based shape brought immediate results, as eleven minutes after the re-start Skerries had drawn level with two goals from Brendan Moore.

Now, Newbridge were on the rack and although they struggled to keep the status quo, they somehow held out to gain a vital home point in their bid to avoid relegation.

Leixlip Utd. 2 Skerries Town 3

On Sunday, we travelled to Leixlip for our last away game of the season. Leixlip, embedded in the bottom four relegation spots, were fighting for their survival and anything other than a committed performance would have meant that our journey would be pointless.

Although the attitude in the dressing room was right, we again found ourselves 2-0 as we approached the half-time whistle – Leixlip belying their position in the table with a spirited attacking performance that had the Skerries defence under continuous pressure for much of the half. Then with probably the last play of the half, we were awarded a free kick on the left and Chris Costello’s perfectly flighted kick was met by a Martin Beggs header that gave us some hope for the 2nd half.

Now for the 2nd time in four days manager Sweeney had to perform half-time surgery with the introduction of Rory McCaffrey and Trevor Langan and a rearrangement of the shape of the team.

These changes had the desired effect as within ten minutes we were level when a Cathal Hurley / Rory O’Dowd combination down the left let O’Dowd into the box and although being fouled, managed to stay on his feet to deliver a perfect cross that Brendan Moore hammered home from six yards. Now it was all Skerries and ten minutes later, from a corner on the right Trevor Langan was at the near post to head home the winner.

As Leixlip could now see the trap door opening they threw everything at the visitors but after four minutes of added time, the final whistle signalled the end of the game and possibly, Leixlip’s chances of staying up.

“We now face into two home games against promotion contenders Pegasus next Sunday and Dublin Bus on Wednesday week.” said Alan Sweeney afterwards. “It’s our aim to take six points from these games and finish in the Top Four. So I’m hoping for a good crowd in Park Lane as we finish our season”

01/05/05 - U15s play host s to Cliftonville

The under 15s enjoyed a friendly against Cliftonville from the north in a well contested game. Skerries had their work cut out but battled well and showed against good opposition. They are very capable and they almost took the lead in the second half as Shane Langan crashed the ball aginst the bar from a free kick, Skerries again hit the bar soon after & were getting on top before cliftonville saw their best chance cannon of the bar Colm McGurty playing his first game for Skerries in goal kept Cliftonville at bay near the end & the 0-0 draw was a fair result as the game was evenly matched & played in good spirit.
The team would like to thank Frankie Davidson & Paul Kenny for arranging the fixture & the curry & chips !

30/04/05 - Soccerthon held this weekend

The Annual Skerries Town Sponsored SoccerThon is being held this weekend to raise funds for the Schoolboy/girl section. It is confined to boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 12 years old. Teams are selected from the current league and Kids Academy players.

Saturday 30th April: Under 6 Tournament for 5 and 6 year olds.  First game 10.20am

Monday 2nd May: Under 7 and 8 year olds.  First game 10.20am

Monday 2nd May: Under 9 and 10 year olds.  First game 12.20am

Monday 2nd May: Under 11 and 12 year olds.  First game 2.20am

24/04/05 - Senior Sunday Report

Comfortable Home Win

It was as expected on Sunday when relegated Ballyfermot Utd. were our guests, as at the end of ninety minutes our Senior team had a comfortable 3-0 victory and another three points.

However, it was a very tentative first 20 minutes before we eventually clicked into gear and while we had 90% of possession and played all the pretty football, goal chances were in short supply.

Then, on 25 minutes, from a partially cleared corner, the ball broke to the edge of the area where left full Niall Bolger met it on the half volley and his sweetly struck shot sailed all the way to the top corner to give Skerries a 1-0 interval lead.

Five minutes into the 2nd half Rory Kerr was introduced and the tempo increased and suddenly it was all one way traffic. A long clearance by keeper Eamon Byrne beat the opposing defence and Martin Beggs won the race to tuck away goal number two in the 65th minute. Five minutes later, Brendan Moore eventually converted one of the many chances that fell his way when he made no mistake from eight yards having being left unmarked in the box.

In fairness to Ballyfermot, they never gave up the fight and were still pressing when referee George Young blew the final whistle.

“We’re back on a good run now” said Manager Alan Sweeney after, the game. “We’ve a midweek fixture next Thursday under lights in Newbridge, and it’ll be a tough one as they are just above the relegation zone and from our home game with them in Skerries, I know they’re a decent side and it won’t be easy”.

24/04/05 - Under 15 match Report

Skerries continued their league campaign with a good win on Sunday. After a fine first half display, the midfield pairing of Chris Brannigan & Sean Lynch caused all sorts of problems and throughout the the first half combining with Kevin Dalton and Stephen O’Leary they created plenty of chances for the two strikers who took three to put skerries 3-1 up at half time with goals from Shane Langan 2 and Danny Cripps .
The second half was backs against the wall for 20 minutes with Colm Mcgurty, Bren Carberry working wonders to keep Casino at bay. However they did make it 3-2 before Sean Lynch scored from play and then added a penalty . Skerries still have an outside chance of league honours, they have a good team spirit and it just might see them through!     mom : Colm Mcgurty

23/04/05 - U9B Through to Liam Shannon shield final

Skerries Town 2 Willows 0

Skerries Town U9B and Willows U9B1 played their part in a very exciting shield semi-final in sunny Skerries on Saturday.
With both teams on top of their respective leagues and after Willows had already knocked out U9B Howth Celtic in the previous round, this was always going to be a tight game.
Skerries captain, Shane Brassington chose well, at the toss, to play against the breeze in the first quarter. This was a good move as there was a slight breeze blowing from end to end.

Skerries started well and let Willows know that they were in for a game. The first quarter was tight with both defenses coming out on top.

The second quarter started well for Skerries with the home side creating the better chances. Midway through the quarter, Aaron Wynne, the Skerries no.10, broke thro’ the Willows defence and was forced to his “weaker” left side. Aaron looked up and with his left foot, struck a great looping shot which dipped over the Willows keeper and found the top corner of the net, a well deserved lead for Skerries.

In the third Quarter, Willows pushed forward looking for the equaliser but found the Skerries defensive duo of Billy Hess and Shane Brassington too strong. The ever alert Daire Grimes in the Skerries goal expertly handled anything that reached him.
Just before the end of the quarter, Kian Coleman weaved his way in to the box and was up-ended by the willows number five. Skerries were awarded a penalty and Kian dusted himself off and stepped up to take the kick himself.
The well struck penalty came back of the up-right and a Willows defender was first to react and cleared the ball out for a corner.
Aaron Wynne crossed over an inswinging corner which was met by Kian Coleman who powered a great header past the Willows keeper. The penalty miss was forgotten as the Skerries Team swamped Kian with their celebrations.

In the final quarter, Willows tried to get back into the game and when they did finally get the ball past the Skerries keeper, Hess was there to clear the ball off the line.
It finished 2-0 to Skerries but credit must go to Willows who played their part in entertaining the crowd in an exciting and good spirited semi-final.

21/04/05 - Ballyfermot come to town

On Sunday next, bottom of the table, Ballyfermot Utd. are the Senior Team’s opponents in Park Lane.

Presently sitting in the chasing bunch for runners-up, we were idle last week, being in the unusual position of having to call Sunday’s game against Pegasus off due to our ground being unplayable. From memory, it must be at least six years since we had a similar occurrence, but the quarter inch of rain that fell was the only winner last Sunday.

This game should be a guaranteed three points, but after what happened in our corresponding away fixture – when we were beaten 2-3 - nobody will take anything for granted!!

Having got back into the winning habit with good wins against Drogheda Town, St. James Gate and Trinity Sports, the attitude is right and confidence is high again, so come on down the Lane on Sunday and cheer on Sweeney’s Men as the push fro the second promotion spot.

18/04/05 - Skerries Town offer condolences

Skerries Town FC wish to offer our deepest condolences to Local referee Gerry Newman on the death of his brother Thomas.

May he Rest In Peace.

10/04/05 - Saturday Senior Report

Skerries Town 4 Glenville 3

Another result to test the frayed nerves of management. Although Glenville had beaten Skerries 1 Nil at home Skerries had played disappointing that day and were eager for this fixture to put things right. However, Glenville are now putting together a series of fine displays culminating in an excellent win away to Shamrock Rovers last week. Skerries were therefore on notice that this was not going to be an easy fixture.

Although Glenville settled quickly and were bossing the early exchanges Skerries stole into a 2 goal lead when Keith Coleman, with his customary flair, notched 2 goals with a typical poachers eye for the goal. These 2 goals stung Glenville and they upped their game further. They deservedly pulled one back before half time when a long diagonal ball cleared the Skerries defence to allow the Glenville forward to slip the cover and score smartly in the corner.

The second half started at a frantic pace with no quarter being given by either side. Finally, Skerries forces a breakthrough when Kieran O’Brien broke from the left and his shot went low to the corner of the net. Mathew Brady then had to retire injured and Eoghan Fagan was brought into the middle of the park with Kevin Farrell now operating on the right wing. With ten minutes to go Darren Barlow was withdrawn with Davie Downes coming in as a direct replacement. Glenville still kept pressing and a well-taken shot forced a magnificent save from Keith Farrell. Unfortunately from the resultant corner kick Keith lost the flight of the ball in the wind and the corner kick ended up in the net.

Glenville then went chasing for the equaliser and some great defensive work from the back 4 kept the goal intact. With 3 minutes remaining Derek Early was on hand to take advantage of a Glenville error to walk the ball to the net for his 11th goal of the season. However, with a minute to go Glenville got their 3rd goal when a long ball caused confusion and the Glenville forward was left with simple task of finishing to an empty net.

A very good win which keeps the team in contention for honours.

09/04/05 - Under 10's clinch the league title

Congratulations to the the Under 10E1 team and their managment team of Paul Kenny and Frankie Davison. They headed to Maynooth on Saturday for a top of the table clash with both teams needing the points. Skerries came out on top in a tough match and won the game 2-0.  The title is theirs with one game still to play.

Well Done!!

08/04/05 - Skerries u17s in DDSL CUP semi-final

Skerries Town under 17 team face the challenge of Tolka Rovers in the semi-final of the DDSL Redmond cup on Sunday next (10 April) at 11.00 in Park Lane. Why not come along and offer your support to the team. While the team is doing very well in the DDSL A north division it would be a significant achievement for them to reach a cup final in their first season in the DDSL.