Christopher Foley

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Christopher James Foley(born 25 January 1988) is an Irish footballer currently playing for Ashgrove United F.C.. He plays as an attacking midfielder or striker and is also known for his tricks.

[edit] Junior career

Chris began his career with Ashgrove United F.C. at the tender age of 6, although only a bit part player for the team he still managed to bag a hat-trick on his debut against hated rivals Lohercannon. Even at such a young age his quality was very apparent. By the age of 7 he was an established first team player forming a lethal paternship with one Peter Kelly. Although the youngest member of the side, he played a key role in achieving Ashgrove's success that year,with an incredible 31 goals with just 10 appearances, 3 of which came from the bench. By 8 he was indespensible for the team and played the part of being in the right place at the right time to finished off scrappy chances.

[edit] Early career

By 10 he was a force within the team, a targetman following the loss of key players Cathal Moriarty and Darren Fitzgearld, and with Connor Burke following shortly after. Although the side was now somewhat weaker, Foley flourished and developed his heading abilities. The arrival of Adam Moss would mean alotless passing for the team and thus less chances for Foley but he still managed to bag a brace every game. Due to a severe lack of quality service from the midfield he had to win his own balls and create his own chances. This was one of the major reasons he still carries such a huge work rate and is so determined. Always a threat at corners opponent defensives struggled to cope with his ariel prescence. Now a more senior figure he had started working with the local youths and managed them to 2 straight victories before the team disbanded due to a lack of competition, these young lads quickly moved up to the senior squad, one in particular Foley's cousin Mitchell Donnelly who is Foley's prodigy flourished.

[edit] The Injury

That Summer disaster sturck for Foley as in a routine training session, in pulling off one of the most spectaculer bicycle kicks ever attempted (although he hit the post) he fell awkwardly and in the process dislocated his right elbow. This injury put Foley out for the enitre summer schedule, and Ashgrove's dominance at the time diminished. Foley returned to training late in October but at such a late stage in the season and with a dispute with the ground staff over grass length all games were postponed.

[edit] Foley And Success Return

The following summer saw Foley return to his best, some say even better, he now became a much deeper striker, with an excellent touch and confidence to run at any defender and most of the time got the better of them. This saw Ashgrove expand their competitive view and for the first time took on teams like Pembroke Square, Caheranne and Cahills Park. Ashgrove's dominance quickly returned going unbeaten throughout the summer months. This was mainly down to the immense team-spirit they showed, with Stephen Higginson in goal and Seán Flanagan in defense the team did not shed many goals, but with Kelly, Wheeler, Moss and Foley the team looked unbeatable. One famous victory is the 32-9 against Pembroke Square and the 10-0 away victory verus Cahills Park which saw Cahills Park throw in the towel with just 25 minutes on the clock, infront of the own fans. The team looked unstopable at this time.

[edit] Later Years

The side after finally securing some great stability and comradery, they were dealt another cruel blow with the departure of Peter Kelly and Stephen Higginson soon followed. This resulted in the return of some old faces such as Brendan Quill and Neill -Squeak- o'Connor. With Squeak back where he belonged - in between the sticks - Wheeler moved outfield playing wide off Foley with Moss in a more central role which result in long ball tactics to an extent. But the main benefit of this was the partnership of Foley and Wheeler. They had a somewhat telepathic closeness on the playing field which resulted in some very liquid fluency arriving to the attack. This one touch passing embedded with checky flicks and tricks saw them demolish some very sturdy defenses.