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
