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A Giant STEPP in the right direction.
Castleknock Celtic Under-10s kept up their fine run of form in a pulsating match against Ballymun United. The same 8 warriors from last week were at the ready against the league leaders and showed their parents that if you train smart and hard, you will get the rewards.
Captain on the day after last weeks barnstorming performance was Gideon "Balotelli" Durojaiye. He lost the toss, but that was the only battle he lost all day. He gave a pre-match team talk to his players: 1. good possession, 2. pass the ball and 3. help each other. Wise words from the youngest player in the team. "Balotelli" lined up in defense with Jesse "Desailly" Okpetu. Richard "Dida" Ogu was minding the nets in the first half, against a strong breeze. Dylan "Zidane" Coyne, Dylan "Redondo" Thompson and Owen "Cruyff" Boyle were the controllers in the mid-filed with Eoghan "Muller" Smithers and Ross "Butragueno" Kennedy sharing the striking duties.
As soon as the game started you knew the Castleknock All-Stars were up for it. Tackle after tackle, Castleknock were unrelenting. They began to control the game after about 5 minutes and then their hard work in training, using the STEPP Programme, starting to show. All of a sudden, Castleknock were finding good possession, playing short passes to feet or space and using a wall player to take advantage of 2v1s all over the pitch. Neat triangles at under 10, marvelous to see. Castleknock were mixing it up with some strong running with the ball too. Balotelli was leading the charge from the back, one run from deep in his own half ending with a fine left foot curler which brought a fantastic save from the Ballymun keeper. A sign of things to come, Balotelli made about 10 such runs during the game and with the Ballymun players getting frustrated at his desire, they kept fouling him to try win the ball.
But Ballymun were posing problems too, some good passing moves resulting in pressure on the Castleknock goal. But it was slightly against the run of play when Ballymun took the lead. A long range effort was going wide until Desailly was unfortunate to divert it into the bottom corner, wrong footing Dida in the goal. But Castleknock got stronger and fought back. Another fine move on the right saw Zidane break free and his cross found Eoghan "Muller (Gerd, not Tomas)" Smithers at the back post to finesse the ball over the line, it was like time stood still but GOAL…….. The Castleknock supporters and players erupted with cheer. Silent Sideline watch out!
So 1-1 at half time but a great advert for football. After a quick drink break, Castleknock were again on the front foot. Winning the 1v1 battles, they again started to pass their way through the midfield. However, they were caught out by Ballymun with a great fee kick finding Desailly's top left hand corner. But again Castleknock did not let their head drop, remembering their Captains team talk, "help each other". Desailly was now in goal and produced a fine save from a drilled shot, leaping on the ball as it spun on the line. As the Castleknock pressure grew, they were rewarded with a free on the edge of the box. Zidane stood up to take it and smashed a great free over the wall and beat the keeper all ends up but somehow it did not go in. Disbelief all round…………. but the Referee knew: their defender pulled off a great 2 handed save to tip it over the bar…. PENALTY to Castleknock. Zidane, not to be outdone by the Suarez save on the line, stood firm and placed the ball to the keepers right, sending him the wrong way. BOOM 2-0 to Castleknock and Zidane could be seen to do a little Navas goal celebration as he ran back to the half way line.
Castleknock kept pressing and to their credit created chance after chance, only some last ditch defending keeping the ball out. So 2-2 it ended and it was a great match. The parents gave a round of applause to the players after the match. Well deserved it was too. The Coach and parents were very proud of all the players. And players, you should be proud too. Great effort and commitment and also some good possession and use of space.
Man of the Match: It could be all 8 players or the Referee for his awareness but on a knockout decision it goes to Muller for a well deserved goal. So well done Eoghan Smithers, keep on keeping on.
