12 June 2009

Belfast Tournament

DDSL U-14Major
 

Castleknock Celtic 1  Hawthorn 0

Castleknock Celtic (under 15 DDSL Major) broke with tradition this year and instead of their usual end of season trip to Wexford they headed north to Belfast to compete in the Community Cup, hosted by Orangefield Football Club in East Belfast. It was a fantastic day with lots of activities off the field as well as plenty of good football on the field.

Celtic got a little shock when they arrived to find they were put in the Under 16 section, a year and a bit above their ages. They started the tournament badly and lost to Hawthorn, a team that had won the South Belfast under 16 league in 2008 - 2009 !  They were older and stronger and a good fair, but tough side. However results after that went pretty well and Celtic ended up in the final thanks to a better goal difference than Crumlin United.

The final was a rematch of the first game, Castleknock  V Hawthorn. The older and stronger Hawthorn side started the better, but the Celtic defense of Adam Weafer, Shane Dunne, Paul Daly, Stephen Kenna and Eoghan Bradshaw held firm and limited chances to long range efforts. John McGiveren on the right wing caused the Hawthorn defense lots of problems with his sparkling runs, while Ian McSherry on the left wing proved his versatility with strong defense and good runs from midfield. Kevin Flanagan, Adam Noonan, Sean Hoare and Mark Conroy showed that when the going gets tough they are more than up for the challenge. They got on top of the Hawthorn midfield and swung the game Castleknock's way.

Towards the end of the first half John McGivern was fouled when on one of his mazy runs. Sean Hoare swung in a lovely free kick which Stephen Treadwell met perfectly with a bullet header. The Hawthorn Goalkeeper made a great save, but the ball rebounded to Stephen and he blasted the ball to the net.

The second half was nip and tuck, with Luc Cautley and Sean Conroy giving the Hawthorn defense plenty to think about. Despite the age advantage Hawthorn only created one clear chance in the second half, but their shot was brilliantly headed off the line by man of the match, Eoghan Bradshaw. Kevin Flanagan battling midfield displayed earned him player of the tournament for Castleknock.

All in all it was a great day out and Castleknock fully deserved their second "international" trophy of the season, following on from their success in Holland. The many spectators who travelled up also had  great day, enjoying the remarkable hospitality of the Orangefield Football Club. Arrangements are already under way for next year !!!!!