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Even storm Desmond couldn't prevent Castleknock Celtic registering their 5th league win in 6 outings on Saturday, with a well deserved victory in Le Fanu Park, one of only a handful of venues that saw action on a wet and very windy Saturday morning.
The pitch was perfectly playable and with the elements not causing any danger to player safety the match went ahead. Celtic chose to play uphill into the wind in the first half yet still played the better football, heeding their manager's instructions to pass the ball and keep it on the deck.
Celtic lined out with Konrad in goal, James, Brian and Sam at the back, Ben M, Man of the match Ciaran and Jatin in midfield and Cillian and Malik leading the front line. Ben N and Eryk were held back from the starting 9 but both acquitted themselves well when called upon midway through the first half.
Celtic saw more of the ball and created the better chances in a tough first half with Cillian, Malik and Ben M all going close but it was Cillian who put the visitors in the lead as he latched onto a through ball, dribbling at pace toward the Ballyfermot area, beating the defender for pace before coolly finishing beyond the helpless United keeper.
Celtic pressed for a second before half time but couldn't quite convert their chances whilst the back three made sure that chances for Ballyfermot were kept to a minimum. Indeed the most work keeper Konrad had to do was retrieving the ball after shots wide of the target ended up in the sports centre car park a hundred yards away.
With the wind howling and the rain driving horizontally into the faces of the lads, the manager kept the half time team talk short and sweet. More of the same second half and three points would be assured. And so it proved to be the case although the lads found it equally challenging playing downhill downwind.
The majority of the second half was played in the Ballyfermot half with Celtic more than comfortable at the back despite several positional and personnel switches by the management. Victory was sealed midway through the half as Cillian again split the Ballyfermot defence with a beautifully timed run to latch onto a perfectly weighted pass from Ciaran and produce a top class finish, dinking the ball over the advancing keeper with his first touch.
Both Ciaran and Cillian deserve special mention for their all-round performances on the day showing great quality and work ethic in equal measure, and all the lads deserve praise for their positive attitude and mental strength in very testing conditions. A word also for the usual hardcore away following of Linesman Simon, Declan, Declan Brona and Dillon, Stephen, Thomas, Khalid and David who braved the elements to cheer on the lads. Well done to all - another solid performance and three points.
