NDSL Cup
Raheny Utd 3 – Castleknock Celtic 1 (aet)
On a pitch that resembled a mud wrestling venue, (in fact it probably would have been declared unplayable for mud wrestling and certainly should have been for soccer) the under 14A’s went down 3-1 to Raheny Utd after extra time in this cup tie. If there were any neutral spectators in St Annes Park, they would have had difficulty in identifying the team from the U-14 Premier Division.
This was an evenly matched contest from the start. In the early stages both teams had chances on goal, however both keepers were on top of their games making some important saves – Celtic keeper James Igoe obviously benefitted from the goalkeeper training session less that 48 hours earlier. With 10 minutes to go to half time, a well worked move featuring some close quarter passing down the Raheny right wing, led to the first score of the game.
It remained at 1-0 to Raheny through half time and until the mid point in the second half. A quick one / two between Emmet Moynihan and Zaryab Afridi saw Zaryab through in goal with just the goalkeeper to beat…..and beat him he did with a low and hard shot into the corner of the net.
As the sides were level at full time, 20 minutes extra (and maybe even penalties) beckoned. By now the conditions were appalling with persistent rain falling. Unfortunately for Celtic Raheny netted again in the first period of extra time and even though Celtic never gave up, they conceded a third and final goal in the last seconds of the game.
The big winner today was team work and the never say die attitude of Celtic, the big loser was pitch No. 11 in St Annes Park…….although it’s now a contender to host the 2012 World Mud Wrestling Finals.
Finally, and as always, a special word of thanks to the huge numbers who turned to support in awful conditions. Your support is always appreciated.
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