NDSL U-12
Kevin Moran Cup
Semi-Final
25 April 2004
Superb Performance by U-12As
in
Kevin Moran Cup Semi-Final
Castleknock Celtic 4 Baldoyle Utd 1
This
was the battle of the Hoops. It was a gloriously sunny morning in
Porterstown. These sides are very evenly matched, and to be fair, the
final scoreline flatters Castleknock. And it was probably the greater
hunger of Celtic that was the difference in the end.
A statement of intent was made early on by the man of the match
Cillian Brophy. He raced onto a through ball but was denied by United's
keeper, Colin Quill, who made a superb save. However, 10 minutes on the
clock, and it was Brophy in a similar situation again who raced into the box and
flicked the ball over the advancing keeper.
Celtic
were firing on all cylinders. Barry Doyle and James McDermott were
challenging for everything in the middle of the park, while Ronan Flanagan was
marshalling his back line effectively. Jamie Tunney looked composed and
accomplished at left back. On 22 minutes, Cillian Brophy was again at the
heart of things, and his persistence led to Paul Hunt popping up in the box and
shooting home form six metres. Half-time 2-0 to Celtic.
Celtic
picked up at the start of the second half where they left off in 
the
first. Robbie Fitzsimons was working his socks off in the right-full
position. Davy Cannicott, who was a candidate for man of the match,
skinned the Baldoyle full back on the left hand side, jinked inside and his
speed forced the defender into giving away a penalty kick. Micheál
Gateley was the coolest man on the park when he stepped up, and gave Colin Quill
no chance in the United goal. 3-0 Celtic.
Alan
Smartt, team manager, brought on fresh legs in the second half as Robbie
Fitzsimons 
and
Paul Hunt tired, having given it 100 per cent. New boys, Fergal Murphy and
Chris Galvin were equally industrious. Baldoyle never looked a beaten
side. And they were always threatening, especially through their big
No.10, Gavin O'Donnell. He brought a great save from Celtic keeper,
Michael O'Keeffe, after 10 minutes of the second half. The Baldoyle
pressure paid off at this stage when they forced an error in the Celtic
defence. A ball that should have been cleared away to safety, was
intercepted by the United attack, and Ben Arkins was on hand to round the keeper
and slot home from close in. 3-1.
Celtic responded well. K
ris
Galvin put a beautiful ball through to Dave Cannicott, who was unlu
cky
with his shot. It was next the turn of Steven Smartt to pressure the
Baldoyle defence, he challenged strongly, and he managed to send in a precise
cross to the far post for Dave Cannicott to rifle home from close range.
This was essentially a team performance, and every man deserves full credit. We all look forward to their showdown in the final, against St Pauls Artane. But if Celtic can serve up this standard of commitment again, they will surely be very hard to beat. Cue Alan Smartt, to remotivate his team to the same heights as they reached today.
