NDSL 10A: Maynooth edge it 2-1 with gritty performance

“Gritty performance by Maynooth earns victory over Castleknock”

Old rivalries were renewed between these two evenly matched teams who had shared the spoils over 4 pulsating games last year. This time it was Maynooth who were victorious as they “out-fought” Castleknock in a game that may not have lived up to past encounters but was tense nonetheless. The words “Out-fought” were used because on the day Castleknock out played the opposition but were beaten by the team that worked harder and wanted to win the game more, something which we normally associate with this young Celtic team.  match action

Castleknock started brightly and were using the wings to full effect especially on the left where Alex San Emeterio and Leigh Reilly were playing some lovely ball including some exquisite passing moves. Not to be outdone John Kane and Mikey Rogers were linking well on the right and on one occasion Mikey Rogers nearly scored when after beating his man well he saw his well hit shot go just past the post. Meanwhile the Castleknock goalie Lloyd Turner was having a quiet half thanks in no small part to Mark Hughes who was winning everything at centre half. This was the start of a period where Castleknock dominated the game and resulted in a number of shots on goal with the battling Dylan Mc Donagh, Keith O’ Donohue and Matthew Russell all going close with well taken shots.

Changes, as is the norm, were made at half time with Keith O’ Donoghue taking over in goal with Turner moving up front.  Castleknock continued where they left off in the first half, attacking on the wings with Russell and Reilly looking dangerous. A goal finally came (see pic) and a good goal it was. Ironically it came from a rare Maynooth attack where their impressive No 2 was stopped in his tracks by Mark Hughes who proceeded to carry the ball forward beating another attacker before playing a good ball to Leigh Reilly in midfield. The ever alert Reilly looked up and played a delightful ball to Lloyd Turner who coolly and calmly placed the ball in the right hand corner. This was no more than Castleknock deserved .

Castleknock continued to drive forward and nearly scored again following a well worked short corner where young Sean Kane played a nice one two with Matthew Russell whose left foot shot went just wide of the post.  With tiring legs more changes were made with Mikey Russell,  John Kane and Alex Sam Emeterio returned to the fray.  Castleknock nearly scored a second when following a corner by Hughes young Reilly hit a delightful half volley that was blocked when destined for the net.

Against the run of play Maynooth scored a good goal when their impressive No 2 left Keith O’ Donohue with no chance.  It was this moment that the game changed as Maynooth were clearly lifted and Castleknock seemed to sense it wasn’t their day. It was Maynooth who were now faster to the tackle and quicker to the break and within minutes they had gone 2-1. From their defence the Maynooth defender pressed forward as the entire Castleknock team backed away allowing the ball to be played through to the Maynooth forward who finished well. Shortly after it could have been 3-1 were it not for an excellent tackle by the impressive Reilly who had sprinted back 30 yards to save his team. As the game entered the latter stages Castleknock continued to have more possession but on this occasion they just could not create the chances to bring them level.

And so a courageous performance by Maynooth won the day. It was disappointing for Castleknock who played well for the first three quarters of the game but who, for some reason, took their foot off the pedal and paid the price. Still as we have seen in the past this young team are made of stern stuff and we have no doubt that they will be back performing their usual heroics in the coming weeks.