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Friday, January 09, 2004
Soccer: Title race hots up as top two finish all square
By Adrian Flanagan
WATERFORD CRYSTAL 1 BOHEMIANS
1 THE championship race for the under 14 A league still remains in the balance as the first two finished level on Saturday morning last.
In a tight affair neither side could bank all three points and had to be content with just a solitary point.
It took a speculative effort from Bohemians centre half, Patrick Kennedy to earn his side a share of the points. But, in fairness, they deserved at least a draw as the men in red and black dominated the majority of the second period of the match. They may have had the upper hand in the second half but they failed to really test Crystal keeper Alan O’Neill and it was an effort from the halfway line that brought the two sides level. Played on a sticky Crystal Complex surface, it was the home side that started the better of the two sides. In a contest that had very little in the way of goalmouth action, it was Crystal that took the lead inside the opening six and a half minutes of the encounter.
Going into this game, Waterford Crystal led the league by three points but their opposition do have a game in hand. The result of this match mattered a lot to both sides and it has to be said that a draw would have been welcomed by them before the start of this contest. The first real attack of the match produced the opening goal of the game. Up to this point, neither side had a shot on target but it was the home side that had the upper hand and they made their possession count after seven minutes. GREAT START When Bohemians keeper Craig Kelly failed to deal with a close range header from midfielder Peter Morrissey, defender turn striker, Barry Skelton was on hand to divert the ball to the back of the net with a fine finish giving keeper Kelly no chance whatsoever.
The same player went close to extending his sides lead after 14 minutes. After receiving a pass from winger Paul Brennan, the youngster turned defender Karl Fitzgerald but his right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area came crashing back off the underside of the crossbar with keeper Craig Kelly well and truly beaten. The ball did bounce down on the line but thankfully from the visitors point of view, the ball failed to cross the line. In a tense game of football, Bohemians did have a couple of half chances. In the 17th minute, Gary Keane floated in a right wing corner, which was cleared by the Crystal defence. The ball fell into the path of Dean Broaders at the edge of the penalty area but his left-footed effort sailed over the crossbar. Minutes before the sound of the half time whistle, Keane played in a lovely cross from the right but unfortunately none of the in rushing Bohemians players could get on the end of the cross.
If any player had of got a touch on the ball then it would have found its way past Waterford Crystal keeper Alan O’Neill. The visitors to the Crystal Complex did have an excellent chance to level up the match just two minutes inside the second half. Yet again, it was a cross from Gary Keane that was meant for the back post but left winger Dean Broaders could only direct the ball wide of the target with the goal at his mercy. This was a glorious chance for the men from Ben Wadding Park and in the 49th minute of processing, the sides were level. UNLIKELY GOAL Defender Patrick Kennedy came out of his own penalty area to clear a long ball up field. After taking the ball around a Crystal, the youngster decided to have a crack at goal from the halfway line. Unbelievably from the resulting effort, the ball found its way past keeper O’Neill as it nestled in the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
The home side would have been disappointed with the way this goal was conceded and it would be fair to say that this goal was a bit of luck because of some very poor defending from the home side. But credit must go to the striker of the ball for his confidence to see a gap in the Crystal defence.
The same player nearly gave his side the lead but his rightfooted shot from 25 yards never troubled the Crystal keeper and the ball sailed over the crossbar. The final piece of action arrived in the 58th minute when sub Paul Gahan had a close range header taken off the goal line by Crystal defender Jason Foran following a right-wing corner from Gary Keane. On a final note, a draw was probably the fairest result and one must pay tribute to match referee Paddy Lucas. The man in the middle for this important contest had a superb game and added to the enjoyment of this encounter between two very committed sides.
WATERFORD CRYSTAL: Alan O’Neill, Liam Coady, Craig Galibert (Craig Maloney ‘37), Jason Foran, Mitchell Casey, Peter Morrissey, Colm Clancy, Gavin Roche, Dean Crowley (Darren White 62`), Barry Skelton and Paul Brennan (Shane Rochford ‘56).
BOHEMIANS: Craig Kelly, Karl Fitzgerald, Thomas Moore, Patrick Kennedy, Leo Jacques, Eddie Barrett, Gary Keane, David Kennedy, Clive Prendergast, Kenny Purcell (Paul Gahan ‘56) and Dean Broaders. Referee: Paddy Lucas (Tramore).
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