- OUR PARTNERS
It was an early kick off in Porterstown Park for Celtic as they took on St John Vianney Boys for the fourth time this season. The previous encounters had ended in 2 wins for Vianney and one draw. The play flowed from end to end throughout. On 20 minutes, Vianney made the breakthrough with a well taken goal by Harry that was out of the reach of Celtic keeper Theo Hennessy. Celtic were shocked by the goal, as they had matched Vianney in all the tussles around the field up to this point. The home side wasted no time in rebounding, and Rei Mulligan was on the mark to level the scores. Within minutes, we witnessed sheer magic on the edge of the Vianney box when James Bannerman performed what looked like a magician’s trick with the ball that had the defenders bamboozled, and the spectators salivating. He then delivered the killer ball into the box where Rei pounced for his second.
There were great celebrations which included all the Mums and Dads and their coach Craig who looked on proudly as the hard work at Wednesdays’ training was reaping dividends. Many on the spectators were commenting how this team has improved since early in the season, and how well they were passing, with Ruben Aherne, Ibrahim Hussein and Tadgh Leahy all finding their team mate with the ball. In goal Theo was inspiring his team mates with his confidence in goal, always looking for his defenders to pass the ball to, in order to build from the back, and where that option is not there, he hits it accurately long, but again looking for his team mate. Due to the absent minded secretary, he had got half an hour’s notice that he was required for goal keeping duties (sorry guys).
Joseph Dunne was in majestic form, again wanting to pick out a pass. He was doing this even though he had a muscle injury, which restricted the amount of time he could play in the game. Ren Mulligan was playing a captain’s role battling for his team, looking equally comfortable when defending and attacking. He was unlucky not to score when the Vianney keeper had to dive full length to push the ball around the post, but one Mulligan on the scoresheet is probably enough for one day ! Conor Lawless was his usual dependable self at the back with little getting past him. Costel Burlacu was showing his ability with his incisive running and an excellent eye for an incisive pass. Pedro Moreno was putting in a great shift, taking on players and passing well.
We had all been thinking that this was the day when we laid the ghost of Vianney Boys as the score stood at 2-1 to the home side. However, the Vianney Boys were not in the mood to lose their unbeaten run against Celtic. Up popped their marksman Lee who rifled into the net giving Theo no chance. While it spoiled the Celtic celebrations to some extent, there was an air of contentment among everyone, as it was a fair result as both sides had given a great account of themselves in a most sporting event which was a credit to all the players and their coaches. The point gained does keep Celtic on top of the league table. Celtic will have to wait however for the return game in Coolock to try again for the elusive victory over their Coolock rivals. Does anybody know a prayer to the Cure d'Ars which might help when next we face this tough nut? Just a thought!!! Haha
