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A brace of goals from Gentian Ramadani were enough in the end to seal this great victory for the visiting Castleknock team. Man of the match performances from goalkeeper Darius Horincar and central defender Rashid laid the foundations for a magnificent result. A late penalty from Cameron Shirazi gave the home side hope but the visitors held firm till the final whistle.
An early kick-off for Castleknock Celtic at the foot of the Dublin mountains in their away fixture against fifth placed Wayside Celtic. It was a cool morning, but Castleknock were in up-beat mood after their long break from league action, buoyed by the inspiring coaching of Pat Reilly during the period.
Castleknock were in ninth position in the league before kick-off, but they were out to prove that they had made significant progress since some early season reverses. They had lost their central defender Shetu who had been resolute in his performances, but this gave Rashid Elmowag the opportunity to step into the breach, and he grabbed it with both hands. From the start, very little got by him, with Daniel Hanrahan and Gareth Corpuz showing great commitment for the team, as the three combined at the heart of the defence to keep Wayside at bay until late in the game. Matthew Coughlan was kept busy in the right full position, and was called on to defend and attack on the right flank which he did well throughout. Left full Myles Macague, after his important contribution in his previous league outing against Leicester Celtic, was again putting in a serious shift, tackling well and making himself available to, and supporting, the midfield in the middle third.
In the mid-field Ryan Brady was immense and covered almost every blade of grass on the fine Jackson Park astro-turf, defending and attacking in equal measure. The only thing that was missing today was a goal to round off a great captain’s performance. His partner in the middle of the park was Gentian Ramadani who was in the end the difference on the scoresheet between the sides. Ryan Shiels operated on the left side supporting the front men, while Ahmed Shabahat battled on the right, creating chances for his team mates. Kamil Suchomski was a late selection to lead the attack and he showed good touches and was worthy of his start up front. Having missed recent training sessions, Kamil was replaced in the second half by Angelo Horincar who battled for possession in his lone role in the attack.
The game ebbed and flowed in the first half and Wayside were unfortunate not to be ahead as they missed a number of chances, including one effort that was smashed toward goal, but Darius in goal at full stretch pushed the ball to safety in what was lauded as a world class save. It was only one of a bundle of fine saves that looked like earning his side a clean sheet. The key to many of the saves was his alertness and his shooting off his line to reduce the striker’s sight of goal which he did magnificently. His performance, which was greatly appreciated by his team mates, earned him a share of the man of the match award. Halfway through the first half, it was Ryan Brady who passed to Gentian who ran into the Wayside box before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the far corner. This gave Celtic the lead at half time which was a reward for commitment in all areas of the park.
The second half saw Castleknock with the wind having the lion’s share of possession. It was that man again Gentian who was again to make his mark. Ryan Shiels passed to Ryan Brady who set up Gentian in the box and he accurately shot into the far top corner of the net, and this looked like it was the insurance goal. Fair play to Wayside they battled on, and they got a consolation late on when a shot was handled in the box by joint man of the match Rashid. Cameron Shirazi for Wayside stepped forward and hit a beautiful penalty into the top corner, reminding the reporter of Johnny Giles at his best for Leeds Utd in the 1970’s. The ref blew the final whistle soon after, and it was another great result for this improving team who look forward to their training on Thursday at 6pm in the National Sports Campus. Manager Kevin Coughlan was delighted with the result and he was quick to compliment his players. “It was great to see the commitment of every member of the team who worked their socks off, and you cannot ask for more than that, and they were rewared in the end with the result.”
