- OUR PARTNERS
Love may have been in the air on Valentines Day but it was a case of Cup fever at Porterstown with many of Castleknock’s teams involved in league Cup action. Once again the Celtic squad was stretched with the loss of Alex San Emeterio (Travelling), and Aaron Rice (suspected Metatarsal injury) who had been in great form of late on the right wing. On the positive side Celtic welcomed back the talented Alex Doyle. Another tough Cup draw against a Major team pitted Celtic against WFTA in what represented another, pardon the pun, major challenge for the giant killing U13’s. After Castleknock’s epic close fought victory over Home Farm in the last round WFTA were well aware of the potential threat from the Celtic Express.
It was a scrappy game early on and while Celtic had territorial advantage WFTA always looked dangerous on the break. With 15 minutes on the clock Celtic got the breakthrough – Mark Hughes won the ball in midfield before threading a lovely pass to the on running Leigh Reilly whose touch took him by the defender before coolly and confidently placing the ball past the oncoming keeper. 1-0.
The goal settled Celtic and both Ciaran Collins, following a wonderful individual run, and Reilly , with a shot against the post, nearly made it 2. However Celtic were rocked when WFTA scored following poor defending that allowed their striker to finish well. 1-1. All square but Celtic immediately settled back down and again took a deserved lead when Alex Doyle fed Reilly who, following some good footwork inside the box, lifted the ball into the roof of the net. WFTA, once again, served further notice of how dangerous they could be by forcing keeper, Tommy Bowe, into making two fine saves. HT: 2-1.
The second half mirrored the first - Celtic dominating and WFTA looking to release their lively forwards on the break. As the half wore on it was becoming evident that the next goal would probably be decisive. Kian Ryan was introduced with 20 minutes left and with it the pace of the game lifted. Within minutes Kiano moved with pace down the right wing and his cross was just a bit too strong for the on running Reilly. A minute later Reilly was the supplier with Kiano shooting wide from 6 yards out. There was no doubting it - “ R & R “ were back in town.
With 15 minutes left Kiano was not to be denied when he finished well following good work by Antonio Neto. 3-1. Minutes later it was four with Reilly and Ryan linking well before Kiano’s cross from the right was met at the left back post by Collins who made a timely 20 yard run to finish with his customary coolness.
4-1 and coasting but to their credit WFTA continued to battle and got their reward with a stunning goal by their attacking midfielder whose strike from the right was planted into the left corner leaving keeper, Bowe with no chance. 4-2. With time running out WFTA went all out attack and only more brave keeping by Bowe maintained the two goal lead. Having weathered the late WFTA storm it was ironic that Celtic would themselves score on the break. The ball was released to “Twinkle Toes” Kane, who was back for another cameo appearance. “Twinkle Toes” switched play to Collins on the right who played the most exquisite well weighted chip over the WFTA defence to Kiano, who having times his run to perfection, finished well into the bottom corner. FT: 5-2.
It’s always nice to win in the Cup and to-day was no different but Celtic’s performance was far from vintage. Credit to WFTA who, despite having lost 3 players to illness, battled to the end. From Celtic’s perspective defensively they looked vulnerable and the passing was not at its normal high level. However the finishing was of a high standard and all the goals came from some excellent build up play. In fairness if you score 5 goals against a Major team and not play at your best then you must be a good team and that’s what these Celts are – a good team with good potential. There were plenty of positives to-day - the quality finishes of “R&R”, the threat of Collins and Neto and the shot stopping of Bowe and of course a win that saw them through against Major opposition.
And so another Major scalp taken with a quarter final to look forward to. Lads, there is more work to be done but for to-day enjoy your win and make sure your Parents give you a treat!!!
