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It was a case of Deja Vu (without CSNY) for Castleknock and St Francis as they met again for the second time in a week. Indeed for Celtic it was almost an away game having not played on the hallowed Porterstown turf since early September. Nothing could separate the teams last week and in what is a very tight division this was the proverbial “six pointer” with both teams involved in a 4 team scramble for promotion.
Celtic started well and nearly scored the goal of the season after only 5 minutes. Keeper Tommy Bowe’s early ball found Alex San Emeterio who played a lovely long ball down the left wing to Dylan Mc Donagh. Dylan played a first time sweeping ball that the sprinting Kian Ryan narrowly failed to make contact with inside the box with the keeper beaten. This was very much the pattern of play early on with Aaron Rice on the right and Mc Donagh on the left causing absolute mayhem with their hard running and consistent crossing making the Francis defence work overtime. A goal duly came and it was Mc Donagh who released Kiano with a lovely through ball and the youngster duly obliged with a classy finish. Kiano had been out with a groin strain and the goal was just the tonic the youngster needed............ and deserved. More chances came with Leigh Reilly closest to increasing the lead with a header from a Mark Hughes corner. While Castleknock were dominant St Francis reminded Celtic of their quality when they broke quickly and forced Bowe into a fine double save. Having said this the Castleknock defence rarely looked troubled where they were marshalled superbly by the back to form Matthew Elliott. HT: 1-0.
Having played magnificently into a strong wind in the first half and now with the wind at their backs the crowd were expecting continued dominance however St Francis had other ideas. Celtic switched off and thought that their best tactic was to hit long balls to Ryan & Reilly. But it was always going to be too hard to do this with the howling wind and this only resulted in cheaply conceded possession allowing Francis to settle into the game and gain the upperhand. This was a difficult time for the home team with their defence and midfield having to work hard. However as the half wore on Celtic regained their composure and control of the game. Rice was revitalised while Antonio Neto was the proverbial Duracel bunny. Hughes came close with a fine solo effort that beat the keeper but also the far post. The youngster was then involved when Francis failed to clear his corner allowing Franc Ajunomah, in a crowded goalmouth, to force the ball home from 8 yards out. FT: 2-0
A great result for the Celts and while it was a good all round team display the performances of Antonio, Aaron and Dylan deserve special mention. Three points yes but the Coaches were a shade disappointed that the Boys first half performance, which was sublime, was followed by a second half display that was more disjointed and laboured. However perhaps we should give credit to St Francis who are a strong team with promotion aspirations of their own. A special mention to the Francis Coach who aside from being very complementary about Celtic had shown himself to be a coach who had prepared his team well as his Boys never flinched a tackle and gave 100% commitment 100% of the time in two very competitive games over the past eight days.
This was a result that really puts Celtic in the frame as they climb to third place with the top two teams in their sights as they reached the half way point. There’s always more room for improvement of course but one can only applaud their displays so far this season that have seen the young Celts remain unbeaten in the League.
