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
The season of 1970-71 was memorable for an Arsenal double in England, an Ajax win in Europe and a surprise win for Cork Hibs in the League of Ireland. However the most important event of that season in football was undoubtedly the formation and first competitive appearance of Spartak Dynamo FC.
The club is holding a 40th anniversary celebration night on 19th February 2011 in the Irish Room of the 3 Rock Pub.
There will be food and music on the night. It is hoped that as many current and former players (plus partners) as possible can attend. It will be a memorable occasion.
We will create a page on the site dedicated to the event to keep you updated.
Spread the word to your Spartak colleagues of today and yesteryear.
Please post your team for week 2 of Last Man Standing. This weeks automatic pick is Arsenal. A full list of fixtures is on the Last Man tab above. Please pay your €10 ASAP.. The 1st prize is half the pot.
