Youghal United AFC

MATCHDAY ⚽️

🟣🔵Come up and support the Youghal United AUL team in their second league game of the season.🔵🟣

🗓️ Saturday 29th August
⏰ 2:00pm
📍 Ardrath Park

⚽️ FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL AT ARDRATH PARK! 🔵🟣

Our First Team are back in Munster Senior League Junior Division 3 action tomorrow night as we welcome Passage AFC to Ardrath Park.

🆚 Youghal Utd v Passage AFC
📅 Friday 28th August
⏰ 8:00pm
📍 Ardrath Park

The lads would really appreciate a big home crowd behind them, so come down and support the team! 👏⚽️

A huge thank you as always to our First Team sponsors Youghal Credit Union for their continued support.

Your Club. Your Community. Your Support.
🔵🟣 Together We Are Youghal! 🔵🟣

Youghal United 4–0 Inch United

Cork AUL League | Ardrath Park | Tuesday, 25 August 2026

Our first league game of the season got off to exactly the start we wanted, with the intensity and mindset beginning in the dressing room and carrying through the warm-up and onto the pitch.

From the first touch, every player understood their responsibilities and the role they had to play. It took around 10–15 minutes to properly settle into the game, with the damp and slippery conditions making the first touch and weight of pass difficult at times. Once we found our rhythm, however, we began to control the game through our passing, movement and work rate.

Even during the scrappy patches, nobody gave up. We pressed, tracked back, competed for possession and continued to play football. We created several chances throughout the first half, and while we know we can be more clinical in front of goal, the important thing was that the hard work was creating those opportunities.

First Half Goals

1–0 | Leigh Desmond

After Brian Griffin had taken the first few free-kicks, the management panel decided to change things up and give Leigh Desmond an opportunity, knowing he has a strong strike of the ball. Leigh delivered brilliantly, getting the ball up and down towards the bottom-left corner. The goalkeeper got down to it, but the power of the strike saw the ball hit the post, rebound off the keeper and find the net.

A deserved reward for the pressure, determination and hard work that had gone into the opening stages.

2–0 | Noah

Jack Brennan worked tirelessly to win the ball back before showing excellent vision to play a beautiful pass straight through the opposition defence to Noah. Noah reacted brilliantly, taking the ball with a great first touch before calmly slotting it into the bottom corner.

3–0 | Destiny

Will started the move with an excellent run down the left before playing a great ball through to Noah. Noah produced a clever flick-on into the path of Destiny, who showed excellent composure to take the opportunity and calmly finish into the net.

We went into the break 3–0 ahead, having shown intensity, determination, creativity and a real refusal to stop working for one another.

Second Half

The second half continued in the same confident and creative manner, with battles taking place all over the pitch. There was still plenty of scrappy, physical work to be done, but regardless of mistakes or difficult moments, nobody put their head down. Everyone continued to fight and run for each other.

With the game in a strong position, we made a number of substitutions to rest some hard-worked legs on a physically demanding pitch while giving others the opportunity to contribute. The intensity and standards remained high.

We continued to find pockets of space, play through passing lanes and create attacking opportunities, with the substitutes making a strong impact.

Sean worked extremely hard after coming on, showing great effort despite entering a game with such intensity.

Jaden Long also made a strong impact up front, making himself a nuisance for the opposition, working tirelessly off the ball and creating a great goalscoring opportunity with a strong header that the goalkeeper managed to save.

Vlad made an inspiring impact at centre-back on his first appearance with the team following his return from injury. He showed great confidence and composure, doing the simple things right from the back while also demonstrating excellent leadership qualities. His willingness to carry the ball confidently out of the back line and even find himself inside the opposition box on one or two occasions was a fantastic contribution.

4–0 | Will

The fourth goal came from the penalty spot after an opposition handball inside their own box. Will showed great confidence to step up and take responsibility. The goalkeeper made an excellent save, but Will reacted brilliantly to follow up his own penalty and finish the rebound.

From there, we continued to build momentum, finding space through passing lanes and creating further opportunities right until the final whistle.

Final Thoughts

A 4–0 victory in our opening league game and a hugely positive performance from the entire group.

The result was built on hard work, intensity, discipline, creativity and teamwork. Most importantly, we showed a willingness to keep playing football, keep working for each other and keep fighting regardless of what the game threw at us.

There are areas we can improve, particularly our finishing and making the most of the chances we create, but that is exactly what the early part of the season is about.

Three points. Four goals. Clean sheet. A strong start.

Well done to every player who represented the club. The standards have been set. Now we build on them.

⭐ Standout Stars & Honourable Mentions

⭐ Brian Griffin | Creative Playmaker

A standout performance built on determination, hard work and an excellent fighting spirit. Brian was a constant creative outlet, showing great vision and intent in possession while working tirelessly both on and off the ball. His willingness to compete, create and keep pushing forward was a major positive throughout the game.

🧤 Luke Hennessy | Commanding Goalkeeper

A fantastic first league appearance of the season, capped off with a well-deserved clean sheet. Luke showed excellent confidence and awareness, making the right decisions on when to come and claim the ball and when to trust his back line. His communication and organisation were outstanding, with a strong level of trust and understanding between himself and the defenders. A composed and assured performance from start to finish.

❤️ Jack Dineen | Heart & Determination

A performance full of heart, courage and determination. Jack was fearless in his challenges and never allowed setbacks to affect him. If he was knocked down, he got straight back up, with no moaning and no complaints, simply getting on with the job. He maintained a strong tempo throughout and showed an excellent mindset from beginning to end.

Three very different performances, but one common denominator: commitment to the team. Each player demonstrated qualities that set the standard for the group and contributed significantly to an excellent opening league performance.

The new season is officially underway, and we’re ready to get back out on the pitch! 🏆⚽️

Here are this weekend’s fixtures — best of luck to all our teams representing Youghal United! 🟣🔵

Get out, support the lads, and let’s make it a great start to the season! 👍🏻🏆

Congratulations Lucy keep up the hard work.

⚽️ Onwards and upwards ⚽️

Massive congratulations to Lucy on winning Player of the Tournament and the Plate Final with Dungarvan this weekend in Waterford! 🏆⚽

Lucy was my very first student, and to be honest, she had a lot of work to do to reach the goals she set herself. The difference is that she kept showing up, worked hard in every session, and then went home and practised on her own.

To join a new team just two weeks ago and come away with Player of the Tournament in a competition full of top players says everything about her attitude and commitment.

Lucy thanked me afterwards, but I always tell her the same thing: I'll give you the tools to become a freak player, but it's up to you to use those tools when nobody's watching.

Seeing Lucy succeed gives me even more motivation to keep pushing on with the skills sessions. This is only the beginning of her journey. Keep going, Lucy—the future is bright. 💙👏

⚽ CORK AUL ACTION AT ARDRATH PARK ⚽

Our Youghal United AUL side are in action this Tuesday as we welcome Inch United to Ardrath Park!

🆚 Youghal United v Inch United
📅 Tuesday, 25th August
⏰ Kick-off: 6:30pm
📍 Ardrath Park

The lads would really appreciate a good home crowd behind them, so come down and show your support! 🙌⚽

Best of luck to the team! 💪

Up Youghal! 🔵🔴