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Legs Eleven show quality and character in deserved win”
The Coaches of this U18 Castleknock Celtic arrived at Porterstown one hour before KO to find that for a multitude of reasons the Celts only had 11 players. It clearly was going to be a LONG morning. Willows were the opposition – a tough proposition any day of the week but with only 11 players this was an uphill battle.
The early exchanges saw both teams struggling to find any fluidity as they weighed each other up but it was Celtic who eventually settled first into their passing game. The midfield of Rob Laffey, Wayne Deegan and Gavin Keane were dictating the pace of the game. Laffey in particular was spraying the ball around with consummate ease. With 20 minutes on the clock Celtic made the breakthrough. Deegan went down the left and from close to the game line produced a “Messiesque” piece of skill before placing a delightful chip into the on running Liam O’ Neill who duly supplied the finish 3 yards out with a deft touch from his left boot. 1-0. A goal to the good Celtic looked to increase their advantage but while dominating play they struggled to breakthrough a solid willows defence. However pressure finally told when Deegan pressurised the defence into a mistake allowing the ever alert O’ Neill in to score his and Celtics second. HT: 2-0
Two nil to the good but it was at a price Deegan was nursing a groin strain while talisman Sean Costello was struggling to continue with an injured foot that almost ruled him out before KO. Physically tiring and carrying injuries Celtic started to concede possession to Willows. Willows sought to punish the reduce mobility of the Celtic defensive unit. Daniel Hughes never put a foot wrong while Omar Emara and Costello, in particular, battled valiantly but despite this they had to thank keeper, Alex Regan, who made a couple of excellent saves but more importantly his quick feet and brain stemmed many Willows attacks. At the other end Celtic also had their chances with the closest coming from a Hughes free kick that forced a fine save from the Willows keeper and a shot from the magician, Narcis Catre, that beat the keeper but the ball came back off the inside of the far post.
As the game entered the last 10 minutes more injuries came as first Laffey and then Victor went down with injuries. Only 7 fit players were on the pitch but as we have ever seen over the past 12 months this motley crew , who are a feisty bunch at the best of times, also have great character and it was this character that saw them through to the end.
While the second half was honours even Celtics quality of football and superiority in a free flowing first half meant they deserved the points against a game Willows side. In what was a great team performance there were some outstanding individual performances – Costello braving injury but never flinching, Deegan for his creativity, Laffey’s dominant display in the first ,Captain Gavin Keane’s box to box running,tackling and passing which was inspirational while Alex Regan deserves special mention not just for his fine shot stopping but his overall awareness and ball distribution – Top quality.
