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Celtic dig deep to deny Joeys in Cup Classic
It was a Saturday, it was Grand National Day and US MASTERS weekend so it meant only one thing – Cup
Saturday in Porterstown. This would prove to be an epic clash pitching high flying St Josephs Boys who
arrived as warm favourites against a Celtic side battling for consistency all season and with an injury list as
long as your arm. However this was the Cup and following a great win against title chasing Peamount Utd the
Celtic lads were eager to take up the challenge.
Pre-match build up was disrupted when news filtered through that Celtic only had 10 players but a rallying
cry saw Andrei Enache get out of a sick bed to play while Ciaran Collins , nursing knee injuries, arrived down
to undergo a fitness test. Not ideal preparation but the Celtic Coaches were smiling with the arrival of the
Joeys started the brighter and looked to play in their powerful No 11 on the right wing on a regular basis.
Indeed , just as Celtic got into the game, Joeys took the lead when the No 11 powered down the right wing
before squaring the ball into the box where their striker powered home from 6 yards out. 0-1. A setback for
Celtic but to their credit they bounced back. Evan Nolan was linking well down the left with Leigh Reilly and
following one such attack Kiano Ryan nearly scored from 6 yards out. Celtic pushed and got their reward
when Mark Hughes fed a lovely ball out left to Reilly and Lethal Leigh did what he does best as he raced onto
the ball before lifting and placing it past the Joeys No 1 into the right hand corner. 1-1. For the rest of the half
the game remained close with few chances and the nearest we came to a goal was a Hughes free kick from
20 yards that hit the side netting. HT: 1-1
This was anybodys game and Celtic knew that with only 12 players including two not fully fit they had to go
for the win in normal time. Collins entered the fray and even with dodgy knees he was an influence as he
released Kiano on a regular basis. Antonio Neto, Hughes and Dylan McDonagh were on top in midfield and
with Franc Ajunomah now having the measure of the opposition No 11 Joeys were struggling for possession.
Celtic pushed but could not breach the well organised Joeys defence. It would take something special and
SPECIAL is what we got. Kiano was fouled 25 yards out. Up stepped Hughes. This was his distance and the
captain duly delivered with a sublime freekick over the wall and into the left hand corner. 2-1 and cue wild
celebrations. But there was still 20 minutes left and you take nothing for granted against Joeys. Celtic
continued to press with further chances falling to Hughes, Kiano, Leigh and Dylan. Joeys were staying deep
but breaking with purpose and created their own chances – Tommy Bowe had to be smart on one occasion
and, on another, a Joeys free kick fizzed by the far post. As time ran down the Celtic defence, marshalled once
again by Donatus Mweke, remained on top and they saw the game out to deserved win 2-1.
Celtic were elated at the end. Cup wins against the likes of Joeys don’t come along too often and like
Monday's game this was a win earned through character and determination with all 12 players giving their all.
A special mention and thanks to Andre and Ciaran for togging out and playing their part. Ciaran with only one
leg is still a match for the best while Andre arguably had his best game of the year. The lads have come out of
a bad patch and they have clearly learned that in football, like life, hard work and commitment will get you a
long long way. Well done lads. Enjoy the win, enjoy the weekend - you deserve it. It’s back to the league next
week and the Coaches will look for the team to build on recent performances. DARE TO DREAM LADS. DARE
