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Castleknock Celtic’s U-15A team travelled to one of the few playable pitches in Dublin to take on Cambridge Boys in a league encounter which would be their first competitive outing since the Christmas break, and it showed.
Celtic were rusty and the passing and control which they are capable of was not as sharp as usual.
The game began fast and furiously and the pitch was heavy which didn’t suit a passing game. However, at the half hour mark, Jay Harper (captain for the season) shooting home into the heart of the goal.
The home team equalised straight from the restart with a long ball which caught Celtic’s defenders napping and a one on one with the keeper produced a fine goal in the bottom left hand corner.
5 minutes before the break Jay latched onto a loose ball and hit a spectacular shot into the top corner giving the visitors the lead.
With an injury ravaged team (Conor O’Leary – stitches, Vlad Scrupka – Knee and Sean Collins - groin) backup was sought from the u14 team and with half an hour to go subs were introduced in the form of Villus Labutus, Noma Eredianu and Adam Kelly. At this stage the home team were tired and It was all one way traffic. Dino Marcu, Morgan Kynes and Sean Hogan were on top form. Keeper Stephen Mason was not called upon very often but made a few saves when required.
Villus scored the third with a fine volley over the keeper’s head and Noma topped off a good day with a goal in the top right corner, again over the keeper’s head.
There is fine camaraderie between the players, including those who stepped up to the plate from the U-14s and it helps them gel as football outfit on the park.
It is hoped to have a couple back from injury next week but a bit of training and fitness should iron out a few of the obvious problems on show in this game. League and cup honours are still on the cards for this battling team.
Final score
Cambridge boys 1 ccfc 4.
