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What a performance from Celtic’s Under-11F1 team who travelled to Kilmore in Coolock to take on their great rivals, St John Vianney Boys. There was a trickle of rain that did not dampen spirits, and Craig warmed the lads up. By kick off time, they were well ready for the off.
It promised to be a classic and we weren’t disappointed. The game swung from end to end, with chances a plenty. Vianney pressed hard and they brought out the best, yet again, in goalkeeper Theo Hennessy. It was due to his 2 World class saves that Celtic did not concede in the first half. After 20 minutes, Pedro Moreno hit the post with a rocket of a shot from 15 metres, and he hit the rebound like a bullet against the other post. It was unbelievable. Vianney were sweating bullets at this stage as Celtic hit them with the kitchen sink. James Bannerman was unlucky with his effort which was stopped by the excellent Vianney keeper. At the other end, Ahmad Niazi was continuing his solid defensive role, with little getting past him, while on the opposite flank, Conor Lawless was like a rock, and when he had time, he delivered precise passes to team mates, (he must be related to Chris Lawlor – anyone remember him). Captain Ren Mulligan was at the heart of the defence, but he is never satisfied to look after his defensive duties, always wanting to move forward creating opportunities for the forwards. Today he was linking with his brother Rei, as they were always aware of each other’s field position. In the middle the other brothers, Pedro and Alvarro, were equally effective. But today, Pedro was on fire and he was the most unlucky player on the park not to score. Alvarro was showing the range of tricks in his locker. Ruben Aherne, after giving his coach a lecture in lexicography, made an impact on the park, chasing down opponents, not giving them a chance to settle on the ball, and winning possession. Costel Burlacu came on late onto the park, having felt under-the-weather after his birthday party celebrations the previous day! He was battling for the ball, and he unfortunately got a woeful belt of the ball in the chest and had to come ashore, but he was by no means finished. Up front, James Bannerman was having a quiet game by his own standards, he normally is a dynamo but maybe he was also suffering a bit of post-birthday blues. He was however to make a huge contribution to the final result of the game.
The first half ended with neither side having made the breakthrough. The half time talk from the coaches was more of the same as the lads were playing exceptionally well. All that was asked was a little extra effort which would make the difference in the end, and they delivered.
It was still end to end stuff, but it was a piece of magic that was put daylight between the sides. 10 minutes into the second half, Costel Burlacu got possession on the edge of the Vianney box, and he was forced wide to get sight of the goal. It looked like he had drifted too far to the right, but then he unleashed a shot into the far corner of the net that the Vianney keeper had no chance of stopping. There was an eruption of excitement among the players with this breakthrough as it had appeared that the excellent goalkeeping would keep the scoresheet blank.
It remained tense as chances came and went. There was a feeling that Vianney would claw their way back as they did in their last meeting in Kilmore. But with a minute to go, James Bannerman won the ball 20 metres out, he looked goalward, and like the best golfers around, he chipped the ball over the tall Vianney keeper with pure class, and boy did he celebrate, and he was joined in the celebrations by his team mates who like the spectators reveled in what he had done. The final whistle blew soon after and there was a great sigh of relief mixed with the joy of having achieved a victory that had eluded them on the four occasions they met previously. This was a big step for Celtic as it enabled them to draw level with Vianney who were second in the league at the start of play. They are now both 2 points behind Clontarf with 2 games in hand, and it bodes well for a very exciting finish to the league title chase.
