The over 35’s game has been switched this weekend due to Wicklow towns pitch being unavailable.The over 35’s are now playing at home against Garden County for a 3:00pm kick off.
Brookfield 2nds 4, Spartak 2
The uninspiring surroundings of Jobstown Park saw Spartak knocked out of the Leinster Junior Shield after a poor display.
Although Spartak went two up, taking advantage of the massive slope on the pitch, the sky blues never looked convincing and were always beaten to the second ball, and sometimes the first as well. On 10 minutes a good move by Martin Costello, Ross Kelly and Adam Doran panicked the home side into putting through their own goal. Brookfield gave warning by hitting the bar before, on 21 minutes, Niall Hanratty picked up a loose ball and drove in from 18 yards.
Errors by Adam Doran went unpunished as the home side pressed up the hill and Mick Greene conceded a free after being vociferous following a challenge.
On 32 minutes Dave O’Kelly missed his tackle and the home side reduced arrears.
Before the break Spartak missed two great opportunities in what was probably the key point at which could have clinched a decisive lead; Martin Costello drove wide from 12 yads after good work by Doran and Hanratty; and when Dillon Burke hit the bar from point blank range, the rebound fell to Ross Kelly who popped it into the keepers arms from a few yards out.
The second half was one of growing pressure from the home side, who introduced three strong subs, and they struck the bar and the post; additionally Dave O’Kelly cleared just over when under pressure and Dillon Burke made a last ditch tackle.
The last ten minutes proved decisive as Spartak ran out of energy in the middle with the front men unable to make any forward progress and a number of tackles were missed as Brookfield drew level. When Hanratty was slow to close down, a deflected shot gave the lead to Brookfield on 85 minutes and a fourth was added when Spartak pressed forward but lost the ball from Dave O’Kelly’s throw.
Form Report
Mick Greene 5 Chris Hogan 4 Dillon Burke 4 Cathal Clancy 5 Dave O Kelly 5 Martin Costello 4 Niall Hanratty 4 Kevin Mannion 4 Adam Doran 4 Ross Kelly 5 Niall Lennon 5
Subs Mark Bolger 4 Ryan burke 4 Killian Barnwell Jason Northey Rob Flanagan
Spartak 3 Pegasus 4
Spartak once again conceded four goals. In a game where the visitors, a solid outfit, had only a half dozen atacks they nonetheless were able to capitalise on virtually every opportunity. Indeed Peter O’Toole hardly had a save to make apart from the goals.
The goals Pegasus scored are worth examining. On 8 minutes a long ball into the Spartak box was missed by Paul Kinsella, and the no.10 was able to evade Steve Grier and drive past Peter O’Toole.
The second, an equaliser at 2-2, was the result of a half cleared corner returned to te the taker; he drilled it from close to the bye line no more than a few yards from goal, and the ball evaded Paul Kinsella and Peter O’Toole, wth the rest of the defence gone awol, to allow a simple tap in at the back stick.
The third arrived with five minutes to go, when Spartak, in search of a winning goal, over committed for a throw in (again!) with both Dave Browne and Steve Grier of the back four out of position, and a cross to the far post and a close range header. The fourth , in injury time, resulted from Dave Browne being caught in possession.
Spartak , for their part, could and should have scored a hatful. However it should not be necessary to score 5 to win a game.
Ger Byrne scuffed against the post from close range, Glen Burke headed against the bar from a couple of yards, the keeper made a double save from Glen when he broke through, Niall Tilly could not force the ball past the keeper from close in , and earlier Niall had checked his run when he had a clear path to goal. Seamus McCahill dragged his shot wide after a good move.
Having gone one down, Spartak had their best spell and scored twice, through Tom O’Driscoll after a good move involving Keith Kelly Ger Byrne and Neil McGowan, and Steve Grier headed in Glen’s corner for number two.
Although well on top, Spartak became complacent and lost their rythm . Pegasus equalised, and Spartak found it hard to find the passes in the second period.
A late cameo appearnce by Graham Breen, on his return from injury, yielded at least four good chances, the last of which was taken by Glen, but that was scant consolation, as it was in the last minute, to make it 3-4.
Its all in contrast to last season, when Spartak were able to defend for long periods and get goals on the break as in the wins over Everton and Knocklyon.
With Colmcilles losing to Pats, Spartak missed a great opportunity to close the gap at the top of the table, instead opting to slide towards mid table.
Form Report
Peter O’Toole 5 Dave Browne 5 Rob Mahon 5 Steve Grier 5 Paul Kinsella 5 Keith Kelly 6 Neil McGowan 6 Seamus McCahill 5 Tom O’Driscoll 7 Glen Burke 5 Ger Byrne 5
Subs Niall Tilly 5 Stuart Love 5 Graham Breen 7
Saturday team – AWAY to Laytown
Sunday team – TBA
Over 35’s – AWAY to Wicklow Town
Spartak 1 Courtown Hibernians 2
Spartak were knocked out of the Leinster Junior Cup at the first hurdle by a strong Courtown side, who are top of the Wexford Premier division. As underdogs Spartak had to fight hard to stay in the game as Courtown passed and moved fluently. Courtown struck the bar after just 3 minutes and looked the sharper side.
Spartak’s back four struggled throughout to contain the threat and
could never settle on the ball. Graham McEnroe and Keith Kelly put in some fine tackles in midfield to stem the flow.
On 31 minutes a break and glorious pass by Keith Kelly gave Tom O’Driscoll an opportunity which he took really well to put the home side one up. It was all the more disappointing to concede on 44 minutes from a header following a corner kick.
Courtown took the lead when a long pass put the winger in behind Dave Browne, and when the ball was returned it was nodded in. Almost immediately Ger Byrne broke free, but his shot was blocked and Glen Burke could not force home the rebound.
The visitors enjoyed a long spell of superiority with the Spartak back four enduring a torrid time. They were not helped by poor decision making further forward which all too easily lost possession and impetus.
The Wexford men struck the post and Dave Browne made a fine goal line clearance after Peter O’Toole’s initial save.
With ten minutes left, Keith made another burst and slipped the ball inside to Graham McEnroe , who lifted his shot over.
Form Report
Peter O’Toole 6 Dave Browne 5 Rob Mahon 5 Steve Grier 5 Paul Kinsella 5 Keith Kelly 8 Graham McEnroe 7 Seamus McCahill 5 Tom O’Driscoll 7 Glen Burke 5 Ger Byrne 6
Sub Stuart Love 5
Booth Road Celtic 4 Spartak 2
The wheels came off the Spartak bandwagon in Corkagh Park on Saturday.
A timid first half display allowed the home side to bully their way to superiority. Niall Hanratty, so influential the previous week, was caught in possession and guilty of careless use of the ball. He missed an early chance when , after good work by Mick Costello, he dragged his shot wide from a good position.
Booth attacked strongly and the sky blue back four stood off with disastrous results. Martin Costello cleared off the line but on 15 minutes Dillon Burke was brushed aside, and while Mick Greene parried the shot, Booth were sharper to the loose ball to take the lead.
A good move started by Chris Hogan led to Shane McInerney driving home for the equaliser after 26 minutes. But parity was short lived and a free conceded by Shane led to number two on 35 minutes when the free was converted. Dillon Burke, having an off day, was caught for goal number 3 on 38 minutes, leaving Spartak with a mountain to climb.
Booth started the second period well and their striker rounded Mick Greene, but over ran the ball.
Niall Lennon blazed over from 6 yards in a glorious oportunity to get Spartak back into the game, and Dave O’Kelly was wide with another effort.
In general Spartak were not passing the ball well enough and also losing all the 50/50s, preferring to moan at the ref instead of buckling down to the task of matching the aggression of the local side.
Indeed some of the unforced passing errors only served to increase the levels of frustration as Spartak ried to recover.
With just minutes left and Spartak pressing, Martin Costello struck the post, the ball fell to Dave O’Kelly who also struck the post before heading the rebound home.
With seconds left, Ross Kelly just failed to connect with Derek McGoldrick’s cross, but the ball was cleared and a slip by Cathal Clancy , bereft of cover at the back, led to number 4.
Form Report
Mick Greene 6 Chris Hogan 4 Dillon Burke 4 Martin Costello 5 Cathal Clancy 6 Shane McInerney 6 Niall Hanratty 4 Ryan Burke 4 Derek McGoldrick 6 Ross Kelly 6 Mick Costello 4
Subs Dave O’Kelly 4 Niall Lennon 4 Rob Flanagan 4 Jason Northey Eoin Grogan
Please post your team for week 3 of Last Man Standing. This weeks automatic pick is Man City. If you dont pick a team you will get Man City. A full list of fixtures is on the Last Man tab above. Please pay your €10 THIS WEEKEND.. The 1st prize is half the pot.
Dont forget the quiz this Thursday night in Firhouse Community Centre. There is no training on the night so attendance is expected. Also if anyone can bring any kind of spot prizes (drink, DVD’s, CD’s or anything thats new) it would be appreciated.
SDFC 1, Wicklow Town 0
Spartak seniors registered their first win of the campaign after a hard fought encounter at home against Wicklow Town on Saturday. Fielding a strong squad the home side started well and were on top in the early stages. Paul Burke and Brian Stafford were winning the midfield battle despite competing against a formation that included 3 in the middle for the opposition. Spartak did create some good chances in this period but could not convert. Frank McNamee failed to find the target from two good opportunities while Ken Byrne had a goal disallowed and was on the receiving end of a bad tackle when he broke away on the right wing.
As the first half wore on Wicklow Town began to gain a foothold around the middle with former Spartak player Jason Bushe to the fore and they did threaten on a few occasions. One clear chance was missed by their striker when he shot wide to Niall Redmond’s right when clean through. The Spartak back four of Lee Atkins, Dave Mohan, Paul McGrath and Matt Grimes dealt comfortably with any further attacks and the game reached half time scoreless. Indeed Niall and the back four (which also included Greg Callan and Tom Maher at different times) were solid and competitive throughout the entire game and restricted the opposition to very few scoring opportunities.
The second half saw Spartak continue to apply pressure and create chances. Rory Campbell crossed for an unmarked Ken Byrne but he shot over. Frank McNamee put Ken through again but the keeper made a brave save. The deadlock was finally broken midway through the half when Brian Stafford latched on to a through ball from Frank McNamee and he finished in style. Rory Campbell had another chance shortly after but also shot over. Then a decent move involving Ray Grady and Frank McNamee put the latter clear but the shot was kept out by a decent save from the Wicklow Town keeper.
The away side almost made Spartak pay for not getting a second goal when a good break resulted in a clever lob that bounced on the crossbar and went over with Niall Redmond beaten. Barry Crowe and Tom Maher came into the fray and both made important contributions as Spartak held onto the one nil lead. Shay McClafferty had the final chance of the game but again the shot was over.
Overall a good performance from the home side who needed to be competitive and work very hard to get the victory over a decent side. A good basis from which to move forward.
Training continues Wednesdays in Carysfort NS 9-10.
The SDFC squad was: Niall Redmond, Matt Grimes, Dave Mohan, Paul McGrath, Greg Callan, Lee Atkins, Tom Maher, Ray Grady, Brian Stafford, Paul Burke, Barry Crowe, Shay McClafferty, Ken Byrne, Frank McNamee, Rory Campbell
Saturday Team – AWAY to Brookfield in the Cup
Sunday Team – AWAY to Pegasus
Over 35’s – AWAY to Graystones
