St Pats CY 1, Spartak 2
Spartak capitalised fully on errors by the home custodian to earn a precious win in the hostile environs of Irishtown Stadium.
Dave Browne’s warning to pack extra shinpads was timely and Fintan Grace, Keith Kelly and Neil McGowan were on the receiving end of tackles which , on oher days,and other venues, would have drawn full sanction.
Pats took the early initiative and Spartak had a let off when the forward, clean through, went past Peter O’Toole only to shoot wildly over from an angle.
Tom O’Driscoll missed a great chance for Spartak, placing his shot too close to the keeper.
The local keeper was penalised for stepping outside his box while kicking out and Neil McGowan exacted the ultimate retribution with a superbly executed free kick after 14 minutes.
Pressure mounted from Pats as Spartak sat too deep, and when Glen Burke was caught between ball and man the resulting cross caused mayhem before the home full back went past Stuart Love, Fintan Grace and Dave Browne to equalise off the far post. Graham Breen just failed to head O’Driscoll’s corner in but otherwise Spartak’s attacks were sporadic at best.
The second half was a war of attrition with Pats moving the ball better. Neil McGowan did a fine job of shoring up a porous midfield, as distribution from defence deteriorated, and he had a couple of volleyed efforts go close.
The decisive moment came on 63 minutes, when Tom O’Driscoll intercepted a poor kick out by the keeper, shrugged off a strong challenge, and delicately lifted the ball over the advancing keeper for a delightfully taken score.
With Peter O’Toole in confident handling form, and the Sky Blues becoming more resourceful with a lead to defend with vital tackles and blocks, Spartak held out for the three points.
Form Report:
Peter O’Toole 7 Glen Burke 6 Fintan Grace 6 Kevin O’Toole 6 Dave Browne 6 Keith Kelly 7 Neil McGowan 8 Tom O’Driscoll 6 Stuart Love 5 Graham Breen 6 Ger Byrne 6.
Subs Anto Doyle 5 Will O’Connell 5 Niall Tilley . Steve Grier no show.
