Bunch of Messi’s 8-4 The Best.FC
Having watched this game in its entirety there can be no doubt that both Bunch of Messi’s and The Best.FC will be in the top four come the end of the 7 week league period. Right from the first whistle this game had a real tempo to it and it was The Best.FC who assumed control. Cherry Orchard’s Paul Dillon was a real handful for Bunch of Messi’s all evening and it was no surprise that he played a part in both opening goals for his Best.FC side. Johno Kelly’s sweetly struck shot was followed by a Jeff Goff finish.
Bunch of Messi’s had their exceptional goalkeeper Glen Somers to thank on more than one occasion during the first half and indeed throughout the game as the net minder pulled off save after save, indeed The Best.FC hit the bar on 3 occasions during the course of the night which only added to their woes.
By half time a strike from Dane had pegged the game back to 2-1. The second half was to prove a turning point as Bunch of Messi’s began to impose themselves, in particular Crumlin United senior player Colin and Shamrock Rovers first team player Sean O’ Connor looked to have that bit of extra quality. Indeed it was O’ Connor who was to level matters not long into the second half before team skipper Anto Boshell netted a blistering strike from 15 yards to put his team ahead. Dane grabbed his second of the night soon after and by the time Git and Sean O’ Connor added to that the game looked dead and buried at 6-2.
Anto Boshell registered a 7th of the night for his side as the game entered its final stages following more quality build up play involving the silky Sean O’ Connor and the imposing Colin. At the other end a Paul Dillon penalty was saved by the outstanding Glen Somers before Johno Kelly nestled a strike into the top corner for his The Best.FC side. Sean O’ Connor completed his hat trick with 5 minutes remaining as an injection of pace saw him race past 4 challenges before slotting home. Dorton gave the game a respectable score line of 8-4 right at the death as he finally found a way past the imperious Glen Somers in the Bunch of Messi’s goal.
6 goals from star player Gary Smith were added to by 5 Seamus Daly strikes, a hat trick from Andy Malone, 2 from the impressive Keith Duffy and a single strikes from Greg Murray. Craig O’ Brien, John O’ Toole and Conor Byrne netted for the hapless Carc 7 who were simply outclassed on the night.
Aresenal Legends will no doubt have sterner tests to come in the coming weeks but this game has laid down a marker for the rest the league even if it was against a make shift team.
Return of the Mack 12-2 Supervalu
The 9pm kick off on Tuesday the 28th of April 2009 pitted tournament giants Return of the Mack against tournament underdogs Supervalu. Perfect conditions under the lights of the Coldcut Astro made for a perfect setting for a decent game of football.
The game itself was never in doubt for Return of the Mack as they cruised home to a 12-2 victory despite playing nowhere near their normally high standards. Supervalu whose squad contained 10 players in truth owe thanks to their goalkeeper Rossi whose outstanding performance kept Return of the Mack from insuring the game finished with a score line more reminiscent to a cricket game.
The energetic John MacDonald scored 4 times on the night with Johno Boyle and the outstanding Mark Lordon both scoring hat tricks; Gary Kealy completed the rout with a brace. Supervalu’s only response came when Mark Lordon was unfortunate to put threw his own net and then a cracking strike from John Dunne soon after.
Return of the Mack predator Johno Boyle had an off night in front of goal but ominously has already bagged 3 goals despite this and will be a real bet to bag the tournament top goal scorer trophy. Gary Kealy was also guilty of some missed opportunities in front of goal and Return of the Mack also hit the bar on 3 occasions with strikes from Johno Boyle, Mark Kavanagh and the hard working Emmet Fitzpatrick all crashing against the woodwork.
Supervalu will take heart known the top four teams go through to the semi final stage and they will no doubt fancy their chances of beating both Cabra and Carc leaving them needing only 2 more victories from there fixtures to guarantee a top 4 finish. David Holmes troops will take encouragement from a brief ten minute period in the second half were they played some good football and he will no doubt feel the best has yet to come from his side.
Keepitonthedeck were dominant throughout the first half and despite missing a host of chances they did race into a 5-2 lead by half time. 2 strikes from the fleet footed Jason Nutty were added to by a brace from Jamie Garamanli and a Connor Byrne strike. Cabra had pegged 2 goals back through Keego and team leader Glen Walsh but with Keepitonthedeck looking strong these goals would eventually prove to be mere consolation goals.
The second half was again a half dominated by the pacey Keepitonthedeck side and Connor Byrne struck his second of the night before Jason Nutty bagged a second half hat trick in the space of 15 minutes following some questionable defending from Cabra. Keego and Phoenix Rovers Kieran pulled goals back for Cabra but the best goal of the night was kept till the end of the night as Keith Conroy blasted home a cracking strike form 18 yards.
Keepitonthedeck have seen their side changed on numerous occasions in the lead up to this tournament but on this showing Derek Kavanagh has finally assembled a side capable of winning the tournament. Cabra can leave this game known they have easier games to come and they can be quietly confident of causing a few upsets over the course of the next six weeks.
Key Points: This result was never in doubt for Keepitonthedeck, Defender Sean Daly was man of the match on the night, Daly defended well all night and displayed a classy range of passing during the game.
