O’Reilly hailed for ‘wonderful act of sportsmanship’

It was the first penalty miss of young Adam O’Reilly’s schoolboy soccer career, but it has gained him widespread acclaim.

On Sunday, Adam was on the Ringmahon Rangers side which was losing 1-0 to U14 Premier Division leaders Corinthian Boys when Corinthian goalkeeper Alan Kelleher suffered an injury with the ball in his possession. A defender picked the ball up and threw it out of play, leaving the referee with no option but to award a penalty.

On the instructions of coaches — Kieran Brett and Barry McCarthy — O’Reilly rolled the ball back to the keeper from the spot kick, an act of sportsmanship which spread throughout social media over the last 48 hours.