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Castleknock Celtic paid dearly for not making the most of their chances that their play surely deserved. It was a return to action after 2 weeks lay-off and the players were hungry for the football. The Finglas Celtic pitch was the best this team has played on and Castleknock did it justice with a great performance of passing. Unfortunately Castleknock lacked the final killer pass to finish off some great moves, many of which started from their own penalty box and ended at the other end of the pitch. The Magnificent 7 who took to the pitch were Jesse Okpetu in goal, Richard Ogu and Gideon Durojaiye in defence, Dylan Coyne, Neal Kirtane and Ross Kennedy in midfield and Captain Dylan Thompson leading the line up front.
Castleknock started the brighter and forced a succession of corners as a result of their fine play. When Finglas did attack, Richard and Gideon stood firm. After 10 minutes passed, Neal had a shot just over the bar and Richard, powering forward from defence with the ball, shot just wide after a fantastic run. However it was Finglas who took the lead, finishing off a move that Castleknock perhaps should have stopped. It was hard on the visitors and Castleknock went on the attack again but could not find the right pass at the right time. On many occasions Castleknock had a 2 v 1 and even 3 v 1 but lost the ball while in possession instead of passing to the man in space. The good news is that this can be improved on and it was good to see Castleknock create so many opportunities. Right on the stroke of half time a mistimed kick from the Castleknock defence went straight to the Finglas attack. Richard Ogu did great to get back but unfortunately saw the ball divert into his own net.
So 2-0 at half time and the rain was closing in. With no substitutes available the players showed great effort to continue to press Finglas in their own half. Two quick goals from Finglas resulted in the home team extending their lead. As Castleknock pushed forward, Finglas were counter attacking and showed some fine ability when in a 2 v 1 and 3 v 1 situation, always passing to the free man. It was a fine save by Richard diving to his right which prevented one of the breakaways from making it 5-0. By playing the ball to space from the goal kick, Castleknock again made all the play. Dylan Coyne was unlucky with a fine shot the the keeper did well to save. Ross Kennedy was crunching into tackles and bravely continued with an injured leg. Neil Kirtane was driving forward with some fine runs creating space for his team mates but the final pass was just lacking. Dylan Thompson was putting in some fine crosses for the on rushing midfield to finish off, but Dylan Coyne and Ross Kennedy were unlucky a couple of times, just coming up short on the crosses.
Jesse Okpetu and Gideon Durojaiye were doing great work in defence, with Jesse showing great composure and fine passing from defence and mid-field. The last couple of minutes saw the Magnificent 7 getting tired and Finglas scored a couple more goals. It was a fine performance and a great effort by all players. Some of the passing from backs to forwards was great to see, movement, passing and accuracy. All 7 played brilliantly today and with just a little luck and some small improvements on playing out from the goalie and picking a pass when the striker is free, it wont be long until this team scores the goals their play deserves.
Well done fellas and see you all Monday under the Floodlights. Man of the Match is a tough call when all put in so much effort. Jesse shades it for his his composure on the ball in midfield, always finding a man in space.
