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This was indeed a cracking contest between 2 very evenly matched sides. Celtic had difficult moments in recent weeks, but the improvements shown last week and a couple of very productive training sessions gave them a lot of hope that things were on the up.
James Whooley was again influential, after scoring 2 goals in the previous game. He kept a clean sheet today in the first half, but in truth he did not have a lot to do, apart from one superb save when he pushed the ball around the post. Having done the job in goal, he was to play an even bigger role in the second half when he moved outfield. One reason he had little to do was a superb performance by Dominick Odujebe who covered almost every blade of grass and hardly missed a tackle throughout. He was ably assisted by Andrei Ungureanu who was never far from the action, clearing the ball at one end and getting shots in at the other. Ronan Wells did a fine job in defence beside Dominick, and he moved upfront in the second half to lend his weight to the attack. Calum Daly had a roving role in the middle and gave his usual committed performance, putting in some solid tackles. It was end to end from start to finish, and the teams ended the first half all square at 0-0.
Celtic were on top after the resumption with the wind at their backs. Theo Hennessy moved in between the sticks having put in a shift outfield in the first half. He had no chance however when Palmerstown took the lead against the run of play as their striker poked the ball home from 2 yards out. Aidan Thom was the target man and he went so close with his effort that went just wide. Aaron O'Reilly was raiding along the wing, combining well with his team mates in the middle. In the final quarter of the game, Theo was launching accurate balls to the front men in search of the equalizer. Rad Ameriani was looking assured and with 10 minutes remaining on the clock, it was he who linked with James Whooley in an exchange of passes that saw James smash his goal strike into the far corner of the net, which proved crucial to the final outcome. Sean Hosford and Kalin Doherty were now driving back any attacks from Palmerstown and were always ready to support attacks as their team mates drove forward in search of a winner. Ayann Tausseef put in his best performance of the season, winning lots of crucial tackles. Calum Daly hit the foot of the post, yes it was that close to Celtic taking all 3 points, but in fairness, it would have been brutally cruel if either team had won as they both had given it everything. While all played magnificently well, Dominick Odujebe on this occasion deserves to be named the man of the match for a huge display in this most evenly contested game. Well done to both teams.
