Spartak Dynamo FC

Allenton 1, Spartak 2

At a wet and windy Dodder Valley Spartak progressed courtesy of first half goals from Steve Browne and Dave O’Kelly.

Spartak took an early lead in the second minute when Dave Browne won possession and released Steve Browne who took full advantage to fire home.

Spartak huffed and puffed somewhat and could not really create many chances despite having wind advantage. Too many passes were driven down the middle and Colm O’Sullivan and Gavin Kearns failed to press on down the wings, generally cutting inside or opting for a long pass.  Martin Costello adopted a roaming policy in the first half which did not pay attacking dividends and indeed caused some defensive unrest. Just on half time a clever free kick released Dave O’Kelly in the box and he finished expertly.   

Spartak were  more creative in the second half with a good penalty claim denied and with sharper approach work leading to better chances. 

Having failed to put the game beyond reach, a goal from Allenton was always going to change the game and so it happened. 

Second half pressure by the hosts, who used the wings better,  was thwarted by some good saves by Northey, who was helpless however when Allenton reduced arrears with 7 minutes to go from a suspiciously offside position.

Allenton now threw everything into attack but the Spartak central defensive pairing of Bolger and Costello held strong, and a last minute block from Northey prevented a certain goal.

Form report

Northey 7  O’Kelly 7  Greene 6 M Bolger 7  Costello 7  D Browne 7  Hogan 6 Kearns 5 S Browne 7 O’Sullivan 5  Dooley 5  Hull 5.

1. Next fantasy football prize for leader at end of 2009.

2. Club Christmas party night out on December 19th in Toast, Rathmines – put date in your diary.

3. Possibility of Golf game on the day of party if enough interested.

4. Club Christmas draw tickets out soon, requesting everyone to make an effort. Draw made on night of Christmas party.

Spartak 3 Firhouse U-18s 0.

On the Astro at Columba’s college Spartak won a worthwhile contest easily in the end. A fine display by the Firhouse keeper, allied to the small goals used, kept the scoreline to reaspectable proportions.

Spartak were considerably understrength with a few players absent without leave. 

Will O’Connell dominated the midfield exchanges, aided and abetted by Stuart Love, and with Glen Burke lively in attack, Spartak were always a threat. Gintaras Cibirka and Graham Breen were also focal points of general play.

Jason Northey, as emergency full back in Anto’s absence, made a great early clearance in what proved to be Firhouse’s best chance, and the other back four defenders of Grace, Browne and Mahon were solid after the shaky opening. 

The half time introduction of Mick Greene proved decisive and second half goals by Burke, Love and O’Connell sealed the win. 

 From Report

Peter O’Toole 6 Jason Northey 6 Rob Mahon 7 Fintan Grace 7 Dave Browne 6 Stuart Love 7 Will O Connell 8 Gintaras Cibirka 7 Glen Burke 7 Graham Breen 7 Tom Kowal 6 Mick Greene 6 David Agnew 6

Missing men were Anto Doyle, Steve Grier, Graham McEnroe, Kevin O’Toole.

Excused were those who played Sat – Alex Kenny, Neil McGowan, Dan O’Connell

Spartak 0, Drimnagh 3

A spirited comeback by Spartak in the second half failed to yield rewards as finishing let us down.

A poor start by the home side allowed Drimnagh to dominate the early exchanges, with a low level of energy and work rate making it easy for opponents, who started with speed and aggression,  to find time and space. A number of absentees and late defections forced changes and may have contributed to the sluggish opening.

Spartak were very quickly two goals down in the first half. Both goals came from set pieces, the first a free header from a corner and the second a well struck free kick which caught Peter O’Toole wrong footed.

Gradually Spartak fought their way back, with Shane McInerney , Alex Kenny and Steve Browne leading the way. From play the back four worked very hard and contained the opposition. However our undoing was from corners.

A 48th minute corner, this time low to the near post saw Colm O’Sullivan lose his man who scored and the game seemed well beyond Spartak.

Substitutions helped Spartak get into the game, but the loss of top scorer Steve Browne with hamstring trouble resulted in a reshuffled strike force of Mike Hull and Neill Bolger. As Spartak began to dominate the midfield, a flurry of chances was created  but neither striker was able to capitalise. Neill Bolger, normally reliable in the air, flashed a header wide from a good position. Mike Hull had a couple of efforts saved and was caught when through and Tom O’Driscoll, losing balance,  shot over when clean through.

Adam Doran and Neill Bolger were both chopped down when through, with a free and a red card resulting from one incident, but the innefectual referee seemed intimidated by Drimnagh and was extremely lenient on some dangerous tackling.

Form Report

Peter O’Toole 6 Dan O’Connell 7 Mick Greene 6 Alex Kenny 7 Dave O Kelly 7 Shane McInerney 7 Rob Deering 4 Tom O Driscoll 5 Steve Browne 7 Colm O Sullivan 5 Mike Hull 4.

Subs Neil McGowan 6 Adam Doran 5 Neill bolger 4

SDFC 2 St Colmcille’s 2

Spartak over 35’s and St Colmcilles played out another drawn match with the same scoreline as the previous encounter 3 weeks ago. On this occasion the home side were unlucky not to come away with a win as on balance it was deserved.

Spartak started brightly again and aided by a strong breeze were well on top in the opening stages. St Colmcilles seemed to struggle with the SDFC formation and a few early chances were created. The first scorable chance came to Frank McNamee who was put through after a neat one-two with Rory Campbell but a tame shot was easily saved. Thereafter Ken Byrne had a very good long range effort tipped over and Rory Campbell just failed to connect with an excellent Aaron Doran cross.

The deadlock was broken when a stonewall penalty for handball was expertly converted by Paul Burke. Shortly afterwards Spartak went two up when a pintpoint cross from Tony Kavanagh was powerfully headed in by Shay Carr. St Colmcilles made the odd break in the first half but never really threatened the goal.

The second half saw St Colmcilles gradually get on top and apply a lot of pressure on the Spartak defence. With Dave Mohan sidelined through a first half injury, Fintan Grace, Paul Burke and Greg Callan were defending resolutely and despite having a lot of the ball the opposition were denied any clear cut chances. This changed when a harmless cross was not held by Jimmy Browne and in the ensuing scramble to retrieve the ball he was deemed by the referee to have fouled the striker. A harsh decision but a penalty was awarded and converted.

With the game at 2-1, a harmless ball over the top was let go by the Spartak defensive line as there were at least four St Colmcilles players clearly offside. To the disbelief of everyone including the opposition the referee did not blow his whistle and the striker naturally took advantage to score an easy goal.

To Spartak’s credit, despite this set back the team rallied and a half chance was created by Barry Crowe for Tony Kavanagh. Derek Doran and Aaron Doran were combining well on the left and causing some problems. In injury time St Colmcilles proved the value of having a player on the post for corners when a Frank McNamee header was cleared off the line to deny Spartak the 3 points.

Overall it was another good performance from Spartak. Defensively solid, working hard in midfield and creating chances up front. Similar efforts will no doubt produce deserving results in forthcoming matches.

Footnote: It must be mentioned that the performance of the referee had both teams infuriated. He did not get off to a good start by being 10 minutes late (for the second match in a row). During the game there was such indecision that any decisions that were reached seemed to be based on which team shouted the loudest (which was invariably St Colmcilles). On several occasions obvious yellow card offences were ignored and it was fortunate that the game did not spiral out of control or that a player did not get seriously injured.

The spartak panel was Jimmy Browne, Tony Kavanagh, Dave Mohan, Paul Burke, Greg Callan, Ken Byrne, Derek Doran, Barry Crowe, Frank McNamee, Rory Campbell, Mark Byrne, Shay Carr, Leon David, Aaron Doran, Jason Doyle, Fintan Grace

Graham Breen pockets the €50 for October having held the lead from the beginning.  Having been pipped at the post by Glen last month it was just reward for consistently high scoring  – well done! Stuart Love remains the overall leader with impressive scoring but the gap continues to narrow. Bit like the premiership this game, its all about the top four and the rest.

On Saturday 21st November the Saturday team are going for pints in the Barge Pub. Its an open invitation to ALL Saturday players (including over 35’s) In the words of Shane McInerney it’s a “team bondin session, so everyone must attend.” Sunday players cannot attend for obvious reasons…..they will have a match the following morning!!

Schalke Rovers 1 SDFC 1

Spartak 35’s drew for the second time in consecutive matches on Saturday with a very good performance against Schalke Rovers in St Anne’s park.

Starting with an experimental formation Spartak put the home side under immediate pressure and created 3 good chances in the first 5 minutes. Ray Grady had two very good efforts just wide before delivering a great cross from which Rory Campbell was unlucky not to score. Rory then turned provider with a perfect cross for a Ken Byrne header that the keeper saved.

The game continued in the same vain until just before half-time when against the run of play Schalke managed to take the lead with a hopeful shot that looped over Jimmy Browne.

The second half was more of the same with all the clear cut chances falling to Spartak. Ken Byrne burst through the defence and shot over. Their keeper made an excellent save from a Rory Campbell header and then Shay beat the offside trap to go clear on goal only for a last ditch tackle to keep the score intact.

With 20 minutes to go Spartak finally managed to draw level through Frank McNamee having being put through by Rory Campbell. After that Spartak continued to apply pressure on the Schalke goal but could not get the winner. A good effort from Paul Burke came close. The final chance for Spartak came when an excellent shot from Brian Stafford forced their keeper into another fine save, the ball broke to Jason Doyle whose return shot went narrowly wide.

It almost went horribly wrong for Spartak in injury time when two Schalke players beat the offside trap and found themselves two on one with Jimmy Browne. An excellent finger tip save from Jimmy directed the resulting shot onto the post which then to the relief of the away side rebounded into his arms to ensure that the game finished in stalemate.

On a day when so many chances were created there was some disappointment with a draw but the performance and effort was well up on the previous match. Overall it was a well deserved and well earned away point.

The spartak panel was Jimmy Browne, Tony Kavanagh, Dave Mohan, John Hallihan, Greg Callan, Ken Byrne, Brian Stafford, Barry Crowe, Frank McNamee, Rory Campbell, Paul Burke, Shay, Gavin McLaughlan, Ray Grady, Jason Doyle.

Manortown 4 Spartak 4

A strange affair which Spartak should have won comfortably and could indeed have lost at the end – all going Spartak’s way until the weather changed to a furious rainstorm with thunder and lightning and Spartak found themselves battling the elements as well as the opposition.

In the first half the home side enjoyed the majority of possession but Spartak defended capably and were extremely effective on the break. Mike Hull might have scored with a header in the first minute but for a great save by the home keeper.  Steve Browne always looked dangerous while Alan Cummins had his most effective half so far this season. A first ever goal from Chris Hogan, albeit aided by a deflection,  was welcomed by all after good work by Cummins and Browne was followed by a firm header by Cummins from Hanratty’s corner and then Hanratty threaded a fine pass for Browne to round the keeper and slot number three; and Spartak held a slightly flattering half time lead.

Early in the second half a harshly awarded penalty (the foul by Martin Costello was 5 yards outside the box) gave the home side hope. That seemed to be extinguished when McInerney, who had earlier shot wide from a good position, released Browne with a delightful pass and Browne finished well on 66 minutes. That should have been that. 

In the words of the Manortown manager, divine intervention was required and arrived in the form of a sudden change in weather conditions. A balmy afternoon was transformed by torrential rain and wind.

Spartak’s work rate dropped and appetite for battling the conditions weakened and when a snap shot reduced arrears the home side’s tails were up. Spartak’s defensive resolve weakened. Martin Costello, previously imperious as defensive lynch pin, seemed unnerved after conceding the penalty and never recovered his composure. Hanratty , while contributing to first half goals, was never on his game defensively and tamely conceded a soft goal by failing to close down his man in the box.  Dave O Kelly at left back and Cathal Clancy, who  bravely carried on after a clash of heads, were exposed, along with their colleagues,  by a midfield which never got to grips with the match and Manortown equalised with a wind assisted long shot which skidded past a deceived Mick Costello.   ShaneMcInerney high work rate was unable to compensate for his midfield colleagues and possession was wasted and tackles missed. Chris Hogan and Rob Deering contributed only sporadically.   

Manortown then missed an open goal header before Spartak recovered some composure. Cummins might have  played Browne in rather than shoot weakly and a couple of set piece opportunities were wasted.

The home side celebrated a big coneback in what felt like a defeat for the sky blues. However overall there was plenty to work with especially in attacking terms, and with better defensive discipline rewards will come.

 Form Report

Mick Costello 6 Niall Hanratty 5 Dave O Kelly 6 Martin Costello 6 Cathal Clancy 6 Shane McInerney 7 Rob Deering 5 Alan Cummins 6 Steve Browne 8 Chris Hogan 5 Mike Hull 6

Mick Greene 5 Dave Agnew 5 .  Just two subs, as there were a number of no shows – Tom O’Driscoll, Dermot Dooley and Colm O Sullivan while both Neill and Mark Bolger cried off an hour before the match.

What’s Martin Thinking? (Before the unpleasantness with the bouncers in Diceys)