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Germaine Gem the icing on the cake as Celtic continue good form”
After last weeks pulsating and nerve racking encounter Castleknock were hoping for a more relaxing day on their second trip in a row to Dublin North East but let’s be realistic that was never going to happen with this Motley crew. Before kick off Captain Marty Gedominas was ruled out with injury but this was balanced by the welcome return of Sean Costello and the mercurial James Davy.
The opening minutes set the tone as the tackles came flying in from both sides. Despite a less than favourable Referee it was Celtic who looked the more dangerous with Alex Regan and Peter Germaine constantly asking questions of the Malahide defence. However it was Malahide who broke the deadlock when a failed clearance from a Malahide free kick saw the ball fall to their ever alert striker who finished well from 6 yards out. 1-0.
To their credit Celtic battled back and deservedly equalised following great play by Alex Regan who went down the right wing before delivering an inch perfect cross to Liam O’ Neill ,who had times his run from the left perfectly, to finish well. 1-1. Celtic continued to dominate with O’Neill and Regan both coming close. As the half wore on the game became a stop start affair primarily due to persistent fouling by the home side. Ironically three Celtic players were booked in this half due to dissent. As half time approached Celtic were thankful to keeper Eoin Farnham who made a fine double save following a Malahide break. 1-1.
In a keenly contested game the next goal would be crucial and while Celtic were in the ascendancy Malahide had shown that they were more than capable of punishing any defensive errors. With 10 minutes of the half gone something special happened – Peter Germaine took the ball 20 yards inside his own half. One, two three, four players were beaten as Germaine closed in on goal before hitting a right footed curler that clipped the Utd defender that was enough to carry it over the outstretched arms of the Malahide keeper. A tad fortunate perhaps but the 50 yard mazy run and strike surely deserved a goal. Malahide were shellshocked and within minutes it was three. Sean Costello found Regan who finished well for a deserved goal. 1-3.
There was still more to come from Celtic and Germaine, Davy and O’ Neill all forced saves from the keeper before Luke Mulcahy made it 4-1 following some good build up play. Celtic were dominant and a Daniel Hughes power header was cleared off the line with minutes remaining. FT: 1-4.
Celtic’s work ethic and quality of football on an extremely poor pitch was commendable although a question mark remains over the discipline of the team with 5 players appearing in the Referees book – all for dissent. The lads need to let their football do the talking and as when they play they really play. There were loads of positives for the Coaches - the return of Costello and Davy. The recent good form of Germaine and the Man of the Match performance from Adam Rahaman who won every ball at the back and never put a foot wrong.
The team is improving every week and when all the players are fully fit the Coaches will have a problem picking a starting 11 with all 17 players making claims for starting spots. Still, I think the Coaches can live with this sort of problem.
