An AJ Long hatrick saw our U13's deservedly take the spoils in a 3-1 win over Kill Celtic in the second round of the National Cup at Whitegates this afternoon. 

The opener came in the ninth minute when Will Carey teed up Long on the edge of the box to cooly place past the Kill Celtic keeper. 

Just before the half ended, a quick corner routine between Long and Daniel Clarke created another opening for Long to find the roof before the Kill Celtic defense could  set themselves up for this set piece. 

The solid performances of keeper Ben Morrissey, defenders Jack Collins, James Carroll and Kyrylo Geleveria ensured Rovers went into the break with a two goal advantage. 

Rovers started the second half well with our midfield of Simon Lynch and Will Carey dictating the play. On the wings, Eoghan Daye and Finn Murphy were tormenting their opposing numbers while Eoghan Quinn was making a nuisance of himself against the Kill Celtic defense. 

The introduction of Cian Foley, Casey Brennan and Charlie Lawler saw Rovers pushing on for a third with each of the boys playing a important role in the final result. 

Kill gave themselves a life line with ten minutes to play when they scored from a well struck free kick.

But Long popped up in their box minutes later to cooly slot home his third after Kill Celtic failed to clear their lines. 

A solid performance from our boys in green now takes them into Round 3 of the National Cup. A huge thanks to Kill Celtic for the game and we wish them very best of luck for their season ahead.