Junior A Football vs St Vincents
Sun, 18th January 2004
Pairc Naomh Uinsionn

St Vincent’s 1-13 -v- Castleknock 0-08

The frost was still evident on the ground at 11am in Pairc Naomh Uinsionn but this didn’t deter the Castleknock lads from getting their first match of the season under the belts (albeit with the buckle pushed out to an extra hole to compensate for the Christmas pud). Numbers were thin on the ground as the fair weather footballers *cough* Brian Kelly *cough* decided to stay away.

The match kicked off with the gaffer in the goals. He was lucky as the U-10 goals were being used for the day, as the goalmouths were being re-seeded behind them. These small goalposts would later prove to be a great excuse for the number of wides kicked by certain forwards. Gerry Kelly personally asked for no names to be mentioned. Castleknock tore into it from the start with the backs contesting for every ball and playing it long to Davy Leydon who was fresh despite being on the piste for two whole weeks recently and notched an early point. The three debutantes impressed with Andrew Morgan making his presence felt in midfield and Mark Mohan sweeping up breaking balls and laying off to a better placed colleague. Ger Byrne on the wing was showing his class with a catch over a defender’s head, dummy solo and pint over the bar from the right wing all in one swift movement. Apparently he’s a hurler as well but don’t tell Daly and Stokesy.

Eoghan O’Callaghan was driving on manfully despite being asked to take a breathalyzer test before the game and Sam was his whole hearted self blocking down 3 balls in a row in front of the goal. Still, Vincents managed to score eventually so Sam in the words of Homer Simpson: “Never try”.

Half time score: St Vincents 0-04 Castleknock 0-04

More of the same was needed by Castleknock in the second half but Vincents, who have been training throughout the winter for a championship quarter final, brought on a couple of subs and upped the pace of the game. Barry Farrelly kept Castleknock in touch with a couple of handy frees. But Vincent’s kept coming back time and again and Fionan in the goals pulled off a wonder save that will be re-told countless times over the coming year. They managed to get a goal in the end which was hotly disputed as it was unsure whether it was inside the post or not (yes, there were no nets). Davy Leydon managed to work a point in the dying seconds following good play on the right wing from Dec Reilly but the ref blew it up shortly afterwards. So a good run out for the Castleknock lads prior to getting down to the nitty gritty of training which starts this Thursday in Blanch IT at 9pm. No doubt Dominic will be claiming it takes him 2 hours to lock up the shop so he can’t make it.

Scorers: Barry Farrelly (0-3), Davy Leydon (0-2), Ger Byrne (0-2), Gerry Kelly (0-1)

Team: Fionan McDonagh, Paddy Gaffney, Martin Griffin, Alfie Sawyer, Dec Reilly, Mark Mohan, Ambrose Galligan, Eoghan O’Callaghan, Andrew Morgan, Ger Byrne, Barry Farrelly, Gerry Kelly, Donal Cunningham, Davy Leydon, Jim Prunty