Castleknock Celtic 4 Baldoyle 1

( Moore Kearney,R 3;Fitzpatrick,P )

The addrenelin must be still flowing in the veins of this Castleknock side after they produced a magnificent performance to dump the 9A league leaders out of the Cup. Baldoyle were the favourites in this encounter but Castleknock had other ideas. The prize was a Semi-Final spot. Right from the kick-off, the home side went on the attack and had a couple of chances to score. However, Baldoyle broke clear and a certain goal was stopped by a diving save by Eoin Sweeney,who was nursing an injury. Nil all at the break.

Celtic upped a gear and had Baldoyle at sixes and sevens. A wonderful interchange of passes between Tom Fogarty, Dan Ring, Phillip Fitzpatrick and Ryan Moore Kearney culminated in the opening goal. Dan Ring fed the ball down the line to Ryan. He carried it down the end line and weaseled his way past defenders and in towards the keeper and knocked it into the net. This was quickly followed by a cross by Danny Byrne to Ryan who gave the keeper no chance with a super finish. Now, Baldoyle had a fight on their hands. As wave after wave of attacks came in, Patrick Rocca stood as a Colossus in defence. He was magnificent and produced some excellent goal-stopping tackles. Some of his huge clearances turned defence into attack. Two nil at half-time.

Just after the break, Baldoyle got one back. The nerves started to jangle on the sideline but not on the pitch. Each and every home player gave 100% and were rewarded when Ryan picked up a Baldoyle clearance and struck a stinging shot from 20 yards. Celtic came into their own and were resolute in defence, beavered in midfield and lethal in attack. Three one at the break.

Castleknock finished in style. Phillip went close when he rattled the crossbar with just the keeper to beat. He made no mistake a minute later when fed with a through-ball from Ryan and showed no mercy to complete the scoring. The final score was 4 – 1. All the players lifted their game today and it shows what they could be capable of if they repeated this every week. It was thoroughly enjoyed by the biggest crowd of the season and the team was treated to a standing ovation at the end of the game.

Team : Eoin Sweeney, Eve Farrelly, Phillip Fitzpatrick,Ryan Moore Kearney, Tom Fogarty (Capt.) Luke Henshaw, Eoghan O’Donuchu, Patrick Rocca, Daniel Ring, Danny Byrne.

Manager : David Fogarty

Sponsor : ROCCA HOLDINGS