Kilmanagh AFC                2                      Castleknock Celtic  

DDSL Under 11A

Sat 22nd Oct 05

League Leaders Kilmanagh AFC were happy to settle for a share of the points in the DDSL Under 11A match last Saturday. Celtic opened very brightly and went ahead in the first minute after team captain Sean Hoare sent speedy winger John McGivern away down the right wing with a superb pass. John cut the ball back from the end line and Luc Cauthley, like all good forwards, was in the right place to steer the ball past the Kilmanagh Goalkeeper. Celtic midfield dominated the half with strong play from Shane Dunne, Adam Noonan and the busy Ian McSharry. Celtic increased their advantage through a very clever corner kick. Sean Hoare played a short corner to Kevin Flanagan and when Sean received the ball back he curled a fantastic shot in the far top corner of the net. Castleknock came close late in the half when Sean Conroy’s shot brought out a smart save from the Kilmanagh goalkeeper.  

However disaster struck just before half time. Kilmanagah gained their first corner of the game after Adam Weafer made a brilliant diving save to fingertip the ball around the post. The defence failed to clear the ball and the Kilnamangh centre forward riffled in a super shot. 

The second half was only a couple of minutes on when Kilnamagh equalised with a fabulous free kick from just outside the box that gave Adam Weafer no chance. The rest of the game was full of exciting end-to-end play. The Celtic defence stood firm with Mark Conroy and Paul Daly rock solid in the middle support by ever-reliable full backs, Robert Kavanagh and Aisling Hoey.  Sean Hoare, whose superb passing had Kilnamagh reeling, controlled the midfield. Kevin Flanagan’s classy ball skills were evident throughout the game and he was unlucky to be denied a penalty late on. Centre forward Eoghan Bradshaw also came close but was denied by the vigilance of the Kilnamagh goalkeeper. Substitute Stephen Treadwell put in an excellent performance when called from the bench.