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Three early goal attempts by Orchard Celtic in the opening minutes of this match made for a nervous start at Cherry Orchard Park. Fortunately Sabine was in top form, making some excellent saves. Nerves settled quickly with the first attempt at goal by Castleknock coming from Scott Daly from a Will Hennessy cross. Then came the opening goal of the match.
Castleknock were awarded a free kick taken by Great Imol, from 30 yards out, which he curled into the top right hand corner of the net, scoring what has to be the goal of the season so far!
Great was living up to his name today, scoring a second goal within minutes. The ever industrious Will Hennessy took a corner and delivered the ball to Callum Oliphant who rose to head the ball into the back of the net, scoring his first goal of the season.
Up to this point the defence was solid with excellent tackles from Alasdair Thom, Adam Nolan, Tristan Browne and Tom Maxwell. Scott Daly continued his impressively consistent start to the season remaining tenacious throughout. Orchard Celtic had some very impressive players who never gave up and were rewarded with their first goal in the closing minutes of the first half.
Castleknock Celtic raised the intensity in the second half, with early attempts at goal from Fabian Scott and Will Hennessy. Orchard Celtic continued to apply the pressure; Alasdair did what he always does, continually harassing and harrying the opposition into mistakes. Scott Daly then got his deserved reward and found the target for goal number 4, his well taken goal coming from yet another impressive Will Hennessy cross. Will is establishing a reputation as the king of assists for his tireless and unselfish work. Callum Oliphant came close to scoring a second goal; this was quickly followed by another goal by Great making it a hat trick for him. Fabian was not going to be left out of the goal scoring action and he brought the score to 6: 1. Orchard Celtic responded with another goal coming from a free kick and then came the seventh and final goal for Castleknock from Klevis Malaj, once again coming from an inevitable Will Hennessy cross.
This team continue to impress with their fantastic team spirit, passing and stamina, with all players working very hard for one another. The worrying thing for future opponents is that you feel there is more to come from this team! The aptly named Great deserves a special mention for his hat trick and the skill and panache with which he scored the three goals, plus he does it all with a Mega Watt smile.
