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The Only Show in Town.
Last week's All-Stars were heading into unknown territory for their match against Cabinteely in the impressive Kilbogget Park. On the way, the players were excited to see the Circus beside the M50 but in truth there was only one show in town, Castleknock Celtic Under 10G.
Ready to play on a small pitch, Eoghan Smithers gave a pre match team talk, telling the players to use space and have fun. The Coach approved and left the players with one mission, Good Possession. Neil Kirtane was welcomed back by his pals after missing a few games and took the honour of Captain for the day, and he led the team proudly. Richard Ogu was again minding the nets, Gideon Durojaiye and Jesse Okpetu strong in defence, Neil Kirtane, Dylan Thompson, Dylan Coyne and Owen Boyle shared the responsibility in midfield and Eoghan Smithers started upfront, again leading the line. WIth Ross Kennedy absent through illness, the players wanted to win so so bad so they could tell "Butrageuno" (anyone remember him?) all about it at training.
On a very small pitch, Castleknock made great use of the space available by passing. Simple to read, but hard to do. Right from the start Castleknock dominated possession. It was a follow on from last week with good possession the key. The team clicked straight away and, playing into a strong wind, they piled on the pressure. The first goal came from an unlikely source. Jesse Okpetu, powering up from defence was set up with a wonderful defence-splitting pass from Dylan Thompson. Jesse took aim and his left foot slammed the ball home. 1-0 to Celtic and the spirits were up. The next goal was not long coming and was a fine individual effort. Gideon Durojaiye took control of the ball at right side of defence and ran the full length of the pitch, cutting inside to finish expertly with his left foot, low into the bottom left of the goal. 2-0 and good reward for the passing game Castleknock were playing. Neil Kirtane was unlucky with a couple of efforts just wide, as too was Dylan Thompson. Owen Boyle was blocked in the tackle just as he was about to score. From another well saved effort, the Cabinteely keeper sent the ball high into midfield. Dylan Coyne controlled the dropping ball and pushed into the space between midfield and defence. With great confidence he took aim from outside the box and powered a shot past the keeper. 3-0 to Castleknock and well earned. The fourth goal was a great team move, Dylan Thompson out wide right, playing in Dylan Coyne with a slide rule pass inside the defender, Dylan Coyne crossing into the box for Eoghan Smithers to sweep the ball home with a first time shot. So 4-0 at half time and a well earned break.
After the resumption, Cabinteely started pressuring the Castleknock defence and it was a more even second half. However it was the good possession from Castleknock that unlocked the Cabinteely team on many occasions. Owen Boyle was finding space like a number 10, between midfield and defence and was setting up some neat wall passes for players to run on to. From one such move a foul resulted in a free left of centre, just outside the box. With 3 Cabinteely players in the wall, there was only one way to score, up and over the wall. Dylan Coyne, having missed an earlier free kick, found his range and scored with a wonderful strike over the wall and in off the underside of the crossbar for the fifth goal of the afternoon. With great credit, Cabinteely kept pushing forward and they were rewarded for their courage. After losing possession on the edge of the box, the Cabinteely striker was denied by a fantastic save from Captain Neil Kirtane, now minding goal. However from the corner, Jesse Okpetu was unlucky to put past his own keeper. Good reward for a never give up attitude from Cabinteely. With no let up Dylan Thompson and Owen Boyle were now creating great passages of play, Dylan Thompson showing great skill to do a drag back in defence before releasing Owen Boyle with another slide rule pass wide right.
Richard Ogu, now playing in defence showed great composure by winning the ball back numerous times and playing a neat pass to a Castleknock player in a better position, outstanding play from the centre half. But the best was saved until last. Richard played a ball back toward his own goal as he was facing that way. His pass went to Jesse Okpetu at left back. Richard moved out of the space and left Owen Boyle free to receive possession on the left touchline. Owen's pass found Neil Kirtane, now playing upfront who moved the ball quickly onto the onrushing Dylan Coyne who powered in to finish a move that had the sidelines on both side applauding. 6-1 and a fitting end to the game.
So, well done again to all 8 players. The Coach is happy to report that the Man of the Match award is getting harder to pick each week which is good news all round. However the players on the way home had a sort of Coup d'etat and they told the coach who he was picking! Too much Sky News this week I reckon. So, special mention goes to Richard Ogu for his masterful display in the second half, showing great awareness with and without possession. But the players have spoken and the award goes to Dylan Coyne for his Hat Trick, the first one scored by the team this season. Well Done all. Check out the FAI Summer Soccer Camp to be held in July, which will again have 2 free tickets to a forthcoming international at the Aviva Stadium for those who book early (watch website from 1st April). Check out the FAI Summer Soccer Camp to be held in July, which will again have 2 free tickets to a forthcoming international at the Aviva Stadium for those who book early (watch website from 1st April).
