22nd Feb 2026 – U13 Girls Albert Johnston Cup
The Clonee Utd. U13 Girls Major team were dealt a tough hand when they drew Clontarf in the Albert Johnston Cup, with them running third in the U13 Premier league a full league above us.
On the day Clonee utd. Led by team Captain Sophia Andrews, showed up ready to bring their best to the pitch and pass onto the next stage. Following a good start, we fell behind to a counterattack goal, having dominated possession and territory. At half time the girls dusted themselves down and faced the first step of their comeback, the equalizer.
Not long after kickoff, Izzy O’Reilly on the left wing came up with a fantastic pass to midfielder Wendy Vinas who had occupied an attacking position, she in turn assisted Sienna Dempsey who shot on goal and after a great save from the Clontarf keeper, Wendy was on hand to slot in the equalizer.
Cloneed utd. Kept on fighting for the winner, always looking to take control of the ball and put the game in Clontarf’s half. On an occasion in which Clonee had stretched themselves, they were caught on a counterattack and conceded the second goal. Not a single head dropped as they were clearly up for the challenge and knew that this match was theirs to win.
Deep into the second half, still looking to equalize and send this game into ET, the Clonee Utd. goalie, Luzaan Botham, pulled an amazing assist out of her bag of tricks and got Sienna Dempsey once again running on goal, having to fight off 2 defenders single handedly and slotting home the equalizer.
A match that had been through 60 minutes of electric and tough play was going into ET, and this did not disappoint, with both teams having their chances to win.
However it was penalties that decided the outcome. Sienna Dempesey once again slotted the first home. After an unfortunate miss by goalie Luzaan, hitting the post and almost creeping in, it was down to the team Captain Sophia Andrews to keep Clonee in the game. Sophia didn’t defraud sending the Clontarf goalie the wrong way and slotting it into the bottom left hand corner. Following a Clontarf miss it was sudden death, vice captain Wendy Vinas had a chance to put immense pressure on the next Clontarf penalty. Wendy blasted the ball into the right hand netting and put Clontarf on the spot with a must score penalty. Luzaan stood on her line as the penalty kick came her way and with a powerful save sent Clonee utd. To the next round of the Albert Johnston Cup!!!!
An immense performance, in windy conditions and with half as many subs as Clontarf. Clonee Utd. U13 girls made the club proud, showing grit, hunger and great passages of football. Whatever the result had been today, they girls were winners, the result just happened to be the cherry on top.
After tending to parents suffering from tachycardic episodes the celebrations continued in the local SuperMacs thanks to the generosity of MJA Flooring, the official U13 Girls team sponsor. 
