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A very sporting Mount Merrion YFC football team came to Porterstown Park as the dry spell of weather continued. There was a minor scare for the match organisers when an early phone call suggested that there was pitch damage due to a bonfire. Fortunately it did not affect the game and it went ahead as planned. Celtic were at full strength with a full squad of 13 for this 7-a-side game.
Celtic were out of the blocks like sprinters, and within minutes they were ahead when Patrick O’Reilly burst forward into the MMYFC box and pulled the trigger. 1-0
A couple of minutes later Gavin Peters raced forward on the right hand side before shooting past the visiting keeper. 2-0
Sam Kelly and Edward Nuzum were being kept on their toes at the other end as MMYFC continued to threaten and in one of their raids, they thumped a shot against the crossbar. Soon after, Daniel Cryan had to save at his near post. Sean Ogbomo joined the Celtic attack and was soon scoring his first goal of the season. Just before half time, MMYFC sounded a warning bell when they scored their first. Within minutes, the visitors had reduced the lead to 1 goal. Celtic were continuing to press forward, and Edward Nuzum went close with his shot that fizzed over the bar. At the other end, Daniel was at full stretch to keep his side ahead, while Michael Kelly was called into action to clear the danger. Mattie Domsa had to intervene to relieve the threat from MMYFC. Anthony Cooke was having his best game for Celtic as his game continues to improve. Mirav Vaitha was again showing his skilful touches, seeking to find his team mates with his passes. Celtic were relieved when Sean Ogbomo again made his mark and found the net after powering his way through the visitors’ defence. Having scored 4 in the first half, it was amazingly to be the last goal they were to score in this game as Dame Fortune ceased to smile on them.
The half time instructions from the caretaker manager was that his Celtic team were going to have to be alert and ready for a real contest as in truth MMYFC had given as good as they got in the first half, but were unlucky to be trailing.
The omens had been there and within minutes of the restart, the sides were level when MMYFC struck twice. Celtic were continuing to press forward, including Patrick and Anthony who combined before the ball was well saved. Denis Diac had to be at his best to stop attacks on the left side of the MMYFC midfield. Within a couple of minutes, Celtic conceded 2 more goals and the writing was on the wall. They now faced their first defeat of the season. There certainly was now much urgency in the Celtic attacks, with a succession of dangerous runs by Patrick and Sean who both went within a whisker of scoring, while Ethan Hoey stretched forward to try and reach a cross which would have maintained his scoring record of late. Brierton Murphy was working hard in the middle of the park to try and get his team mates into scoring positions. Yes it was amazing that Celtic did not score in that second half given the number of near misses they had. Though Celtic lost, it was to a very brave and sportingly competitive side, and in fairness the home side did give it everything but it was not enough today. They can get back to training next week to try and work on any aspects of their game that needs improvement. A great game though for the home supporters the result was not what was expected given the great start to the season they have enjoyed.
