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On another cold wintry morning Castleknock welcomed Ballyfermot Utd to Porterstown for what proved to be a wonderful spectacle. Ballyfermot were finding their feet in the new division having won promotion following some wonderful displays while Celtic were also in confident mode following some recent strong home performances.
The game started as it meant to go on with end to end football. Following a tight opening quarter it was Ben “Stevie G” Forde who broke the deadlock with a final finish. 1-0 but Ballyfermot, attired in their most striking kit of white and amber, were having none of it as they attacked repeatedly. Messrs Ryan Sherlock and Ryan “Maccer” Mc Gregor earned their crust with some valiant defending and beyond them Captain Fantastic, “Mad” Max Ostapchuk, was in sparkling form producing the type of display that made those watching think this could be the next Ukraine No 1. However finally Ballyfermot made the breakthrough with a deserved equaliser only to see Celtic break from the tip off where Ivan Hristov finished well to make it 2-1. Back came Ballyfermot to score another deserved equaliser but again it was a case of déjà vu as Celtic broke as Ivan grabbed his second on the stroke of half time to give Celtic a fortuitous 3-2 lead.
At the start of the second half it seemed that Ballyfermot had suffered a delayed reaction to conceding the goal at half time as Celtic gained the upper hand as Luke Hughes, Andre Ungareanu, Caitlin Labont and “Stevie G” dominated the midfield area. With Hughes and Sherlock showing a good understanding down the right wing Ballyfermot were feeling the pressure and a goal duly came when Ivan completed his hat trick with a well taken goal 4-2.
More bad news for Ballyfermot came when ace marksman the Esse Okirikpo came on and he duly did what he does best to make it 5-2. Credit to Ballyfermot as they never gave up and deservedly clawed a goal back to make it 5-3 but Celtic were not to be denied as they saved the best to last, with the move of the game when Sherlock and Forde interlinked with the Esse “Express” whose first time shot at shoulder height found the net to secure the points. FT: 6-3.
All in all a wonderful game between two well matched teams. This was an excellent display from all of the Celtic Cubs and the Coaches were well pleased with both their charges efforts and their improvement over the past few months. Well done lads. Exciting times indeed and we look forward to the next exciting adventure from this Motley Crew.
