Aresnal Legends 12-7 Keepitonthedeck
A massive game last Monday played in glorious sunshine saw Arsenal Legends take a huge step towards the semi finals of the Parmo7aside as they beat rivals Keepitonthedeck by 12 goals to 7. Keepitonthedeck have now dropped out of the top 4 as a result and will see their clash with Return of the Mack next Tuesday night as an absolute must win game now if they are to progress to the semi finals via a top 4 finish, another defeat will leave Derek Kavanagh’s side with a mountain to climb.
Arsenal Legends under Seamus Daly are looking a strong bet to win the tournament and with games against Supervalu and Cabra still to come they will fancy their chances of toping the league table.
This was a tale of two half’s in many respects, a first half which saw a close contest despite Arsenal Legends racing into a 4 nil lead thanks to strikes from Sean Fitz, Hays and 2 from Des Rush the second of which was rocketed in from 18 yards down under the bar leaving the impressive Daniel Kalo in the Keepitonthedeck goal helpless. Kalo who had kept his side in the game for much of the first half then helped start the Keepitonthedeck fight back as he found Derek Kavanagh with a long throw, Kavanagh then released Connor Byrne who’s cross was handled in the box by Sean Fitz, Roy Kavanagh pointed to the spot much to the bewilderment of the entire Arsenal Legends team. Derek Kavanagh drilled home the resulting penalty past Greg Murray to make it 4-1. With half time approaching a run by Jason Nutty threw the Arsenal Legends defence saw him slot coolly past Murray and suddenly the game was back in the balance at 4-2.
The second half was completely different to the first as Arsenal Legends began to lay siege on Daniel Kalo’s goal. Certain players on the Keepitonthedeck side now only seemed interested in scoring goals and it left huge gaps at the back as Arsenal Legends burst forward in numbers. A brief fightback from Keepitonthedeck began as Lee aka Ronaldo? Scored to make it 4-3 but this seemed to spark Arsenal Legends into life and team leader Seamus Daly soon bagged 2 goals to give his side a comfortable lead
Des Rush added his 3rd of the night to make it 7-3 and soon after Daly himself completed his hat trick following a great ball from Andy Malone. Jay Macabe pulled a goal back for his Keepitonthedeck side who were lacking commitment, in particular the front 3 who refused to work back all threw the second half, indeed one of the three in question Sean Daly did manage to register 2 goals eventually after Greg Murray had continually denied him during the course of the second half but these goals did not arrive before the game was already out of reach following Arsenal Legends strikes from Hays, 2 from Bubbins and a coolly taken goal from Andy Malone. The final goal of the night was a well taken goal by Connor Bynre after Derek Kavanagh fond him on the edge of the box following some poor defending from an Arsenal Legends team who to be fair were already assured of a comfortable victory, the cigars were well and truly out so to speek.
Key Points: Sean Fitz of Arsenal Legends is fast becoming a bet to be named player of the tournament, the defender does alot of unseen work for his side, good on the ball and reads the game extreamy well from the back he had yet another solid game, Daniel Kalo had a good game in goal but was left helpless as Keepitonthedeck lost their shape in the second half. Also worth nothing is the fact Seamus Daly is on fire in front of goal, the Arsenal Legends man has already bagged 8 goals and is the leading scorer of the tournament to date.
Bunch of Messi's 3-3 Return of the Mack
A trilling game from start to finish, 6 goals in an astro game which had everything. Played with fierce commitment right from the first whistle in the glorious sunny conditions at the Coldcut Astro Park. The Parmo7aside is now shaping up nicely and there is now just 1 point separating 5 of the 8 sides towards the top of the league.
First Half:
This game opened with a frantic tempo right from the off and it was Return of the Mack who looked the more determined side early on as they set about to intimidate some of Bunch of Messi’s star players with their no nonsense approach in a tackle. Mainly consisting of Palmerstown Athletic.FC AUL division 2 players Return of the Mack at no stage looked a lesser side than the Bunch of Messi’s outfit who had UCD’s talented centre half Brian Shorthall and Shamrock Rovers pacey left winger Sean O’Connor among their ranks along with centre forward Colly who plays with Dublin club Crumlin United in the leinster senior league. Glen Somers who was named player of the week last week was again outstanding on the night for his Bunch of Messi’s side and is currently the leading contender to bag the player of the tournament trophy. Somers had made vital stops from both Johno Boyle and Gary Kealy before his side managed to break the deadlock in a tight affair. A pin point pass from Brian Shorthall following a misplaced Johno Boyle clearance found the feet of Bunch of Messi’s Dane who released Sean O’Connor down the left, O’Connor stepped up through the gears with an injection of pace before cutting the ball back across the face of goal for Colly to slot home his first of the tournament from 4 yards. Johno Boyle who was a real treat going forward for Return of the Mack levelled matters on the 18 minute mark however, a neat move involving Marcus Hogan and the indispensible Mark Lordon resulted in Boyle finding himself baring down on Glen Somers in the Bunch of Messi’s goal, Boyle kept his cool and curled his effort low into the bottom right hand corner. With half time fast approaching and the game still running at a frantic pace Bunch of Messi’s regained their lead, a rare mistake from the battling Mark Kavanagh saw him dispossessed by Sean O’Connor, O’Connor then duly raced through on goal before slotting home past Ian Coughlin in the Return of the Mack goal. Gary Kealy who was out of sorts in front of goal throughout the night missed a guilt edged opportunity to level matters right on half time as Glen Somers denied him with a superb one on one stop.
Second Half:
With the game still very much alive at 2-1Return of the Mack again started the brighter of the two sides after the restart, excellent displays however from Glen Somers, Macdonald, Brian Shorthall and in particular the impressive Dane who worked his shocks of all game for his team meant Return of the Mack could not break down the well organised Bunch of Messi’s rearguard. Anto Boshell who had showed some nice touches at times during the game went close for his side 10 minutes into the second half. Indeed just 3 minutes later a break down the right from Dane followed by a superb cross saw Colly bag his second of the night following a well controlled volley which beat Ian Coughlin who had little to do throughout the second half in the Return of the Mack goal. At 3-1 the game looked dead and buried and surely it was asking too much to net 2 past the flawless Glen Somers. This Return of the Mack side however are a steely determined outfit and they began to lay siege on the Bunch of Messi’s goal. Gary Kealy twice missed from 6 yards before Emmet Fitpatrick saw a back post header saved by Somers. John Boyle was next to try his luck as his deflected effort skimmed the bar. At the other end Dane and Colly had seen shots deflected wide before Mark Kavanagh finally ended the series of missed chances, Kavanagh was aloud cut inside the Bunch of Messi’s left hand side much too easy and his low drilled effort deceived Glen Somers at his near post. Now at 3-2 and with time running out Bunch of Messi’s began to look nervous and they were giving away free kicks much too often. An attempt from Mark Lordon with 6 minutes remaining was somehow kept out by Glen Somers and it seemed Bunch of Messi’s were on course for a huge victory. However following a Return of the Mack corner with time almost up Sean O’Connor bizarrely chose to jump for a header with his arm raised over his head. O’Connor made clear contact with his hand and a penalty was awarded to Return of the Mack. Johno Boyle rushed in and slotted home the penalty, the whistle had not been blown however as Glen Somers was not yet set and a retake was ordered, Boyle again stepped forward under pressure and again he blasted home with power for his 5th goal of the tournament and much to the delight of his team mates who deserved a point at least from the game for their efforts. The last action of note in the game was a strike from Sean O’Connor with 30 seconds remaining which was well blocked by Mark Kavanagh who threw his body at the ball to save his side from a heartbreaking last minute goal.
Key Points: A great game of Astro Park, both theese sides are very likey to meet again either in the semi final or the final and this will be a game not to be missed. The determined Mark Lordon was again outstanding for Return of the Mack with Dane and again Geln Somers the 2 most impressive players for the Bunch of Messi's side.
Supervalu 3-14 The Best
A comfortable victory for Johno Kelly’s The Best.FC side. Supervalu must now win their clash with Cabra next Tuesday night or they will have an absolute mountain to climb if they are to reach the final 4 of the Parmo7aside after a crushing 14-3 defeat in great playing conditions at the Coldcut Astro Park.
First half:
Supervalu started this game well and looked to have a shape about them, it was one of the tournament’s strongest sides The Best who looked the more likely to score however, to their dismay they found Supervalu star player Rossi in top form as he dealt with efforts from Paul Dillon and Jeff Geoff before denying Johno Kelly with an exceptional save from point blank range. Rossi continued to deny The Best and just as The Best began to show signs of frustration Paul Dillon burst forward and drilled a low shot past man of the match Rossi. Supervalu continued to battle but their lack of fitness was beginning to show towards the end of the first half just as it had done in their previous game vs Return of the Mack, Dorton was released by a great through ball from Jeff Geoff just on half time and he controlled well before finishing at the second attempt after Rossi had again somehow denied his first attempt. At just 2-0 at the brake Supervalu had shown clear signs of improvement in comparison to their opening day performance.
Second Half:
The second half proved to be a completely one sided affair as The Best assumed total control of the game, The Best star player Paul Dillon in particular upped his performance and began to tare the Supervalu side asunder, Dillon first created 2 goals for Dorton before bagging a second half hat trick within the space of 12 minutes. Rossi was now overworked in the Supervalu goal and were it not for the shot stopper The Best would have racked up a cricket score. Supervalu who had brought on Lee Smith at half time did look a more threatening side going forward as Smith showed glimpses of real class, Smith looked dangerous in possession and it wasn’t long before he struck. A clever ball from David Holmes found Smith with shooting space and he duly riffled home a rasping strike from 13 yards. Smith added a second for Supervalu soon after as he skipped past 3 challenges before coolly slotting home. At the other end Rossi made saves from Jeff Geoff, Dorton and John Kelly but could not keep out another 2 well taken goals from the inform Paul Dillon. At 9-2 the game looked dead and buried and when Dorton scored 2 more Supervalu frustrations began to show as they began to fight among themselves. Lee Smith again took the fight to The Best.FC with a superb run and finish to complete his hat trick but at the other end 2 goals from Jeff Geoff and a sweetly struck Gilly gaol had already assured this game was well and truely over.
Key Points: The Cabra vs Supervalu game next Tuesday is now a must win for David Holmes troops who will need 3 wins from their final 5 games to achieve a top four finish. Rossi was the games outstanding performer with Lee Smith also impressing for Supervalu when he came on. One must wonder why Smith did not start the game?. Paul Dillon was exceptional as was Dorton for The Best.FC.
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Week 2 Match reports 
