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The second consecutive away match of the season for Castleknock Celtic brought them to play Ballymun United. The pitch was in great condition and was made for playing football how it should be played, on the grass. With some new players this season, this young team are still learning about how each other plays. However from the off, Castleknock Celtic were the brighter, putting some nice passing moves together. With some sharper finishing Castleknock could have had a couple of early goals. Dylan Coyne was sending in some fantastic corners to the penalty spot and Celtic were unlucky not to get a touch on any of them. With 10 minutes of play gone, Ballymun broke up the pitch and caught the defenders, Richard Ogu and Neil Kirtane out of position. Only some fine goalkeeping by Jessie Okpetu kept Ballymun at bay. However another breakaway and a smart finish made it 1-0 to Ballymun; some more concentration required in defence.
The game was more even now with Ballymun finding their feet. Some good energy in midfield by Owen Boyle, Eoghan Smithers, Ross Kennedy, Dylan Coyne and Gideon Durojaiye kept the pressure on Ballymun. Some good tackling set Dylan Thompson free on goal, running from the half way line. He kept his cool but his left foot finish just missed the outside of the post with the keeper beaten all ends up. With some legs tiring in the Castleknock Celtic defence, Ballymun scored a second with the last kick of the first half. 2-0 and unlucky on Castleknock.
The Coach forgot to bring the half time Jaffa Cakes and some of the players were not shy in telling him!!! The half time team talk was all about the rules of the game: 1: Have Fun and play with a smile on your face, 2: Look to pass the ball, 3: Always help your team mates and 4: Shoot. Gideon took up the gloves for the second half with Jessie adding some power runs to the midfield. Dylan Coyne continued to provide the energy and skill required to set up many Castleknock Celtic moves. The game was now end to end and two quick fire goals by Ballymun saw their advantage move to 4-0. Then Jessie made a fantastic save that was heading to the top corner. Unfortunately Jessie was not playing in goal at the time so it was a penalty to Ballymun. Only the Coach and Gideon knew that they would not score from a penalty, because Gideon gave the Ballymun player "the eyes". BOOM, over the bar and a nice smile from the keeper.
A number of chances for Castleknock were created with 3v1 and 4v2 many times however the tired legs and tired minds could not find the killer pass. When the referee blew for the end of the game, there were some red cheeks and tired looking boys on the pitch. You could only applaud the commitment of the team. It should be noted that only once did the Castleknock keeper kick the ball out of his hands for a goal kick, instead rolling or passing the ball to the defenders to play the ball out from the back. The team conceded 1 goal and 1 penalty from this approach but they kept at it, trying to do the right thing and with time this will lead to great things for the players. Martin O'Neill take note…..
Well done to all players, some playing a match for the first time. Dylan Coyne gets Man of the Match for his first touch, 1v1 skills on show and effort. His Prize? He gets to pick the Homework Skill this Monday. Well done to all players, early to bed Friday and no rubbish food either!
