Saturday 28th March
vs Marina Sands Lions 2-2
Team: Ciarán; Tom, Sam, Josh, Adam; Mark, Joe D, Caleb
(capt.), Cormac; Jacob, Joe H.
They trudged off the pitch as if they’d been defeated, having
conceded an equaliser in time added on, but the boys can be proud of the way
they played as they built on last week’s victory. A free kick on the right hand
side of the box was just beyond Ciaran’s fingers to give the Tigers a draw in
the final game of the Plate round-robin.
This was a match with little value other than bragging
rights – and the opportunity to avenge an earlier defeat – as the teams were
already destined to play each other in the Plate semi-final before kick off.
With Ollie’s fractured arm likely to keep him out for a few weeks, it was the
last eleven standing that faced the Tigers and a heavy cross wind.
The conditions resulted in a scrappy start, with the
first moment of any real skill coming after 6 minutes as Cormac swung a ball
over and around the Tigers’ defence only for the last man to nip in front of
Joe H. Josh, Adam and Cormac had a busy first period as the conditions meant
the boys spent most of the half attacking on the left.
Tom battled the ball clear in the 9th minute
but the boys were enjoying a slight advantage with the wind and it kept them on
the front foot. Reward came in the 13th minute as Joe D lifted the
ball over the Tigers’ defence for Joe H to touch round the keeper and slide
into an empty net.
Sam had been rock solid at the back but missed a header
after 16 minutes only for the Tigers’ forward to shoot wide. Caleb sent a great
ball down the left channel, which Jacob failed to capitalise on, but the second
goal arrived after 20 minutes. Awarded a free kick on the left, Joe H swung it
towards the far post and into the corner of the net, despite Sam trying to
glance it home.
Pulled back for a generous offside decision moments
earlier, Jacob killed Tom’s long goal kick stone dead and put a ball round the
corner for Joe H only for a bobble as he shot to deny him a first half
hat-trick after 25 minutes.
The second half was a mirror of the first, as the wind
meant the Tigers created chances from their left. Sam and Tom were holding
firm, with Tom rampaging down the right wing whenever he had the chance, and Mark
seeing a lot more of the action in front of them. The conditions meant that the
game too often by-passed the central midfield but it was indecision at the back
that gifted the Tigers a route back into the game in the 44th
minute. Ciarán’s goal kick was flat but the defenders didn’t react as the
Tigers’ midfielder picked up the ball – the keeper got his hands to the shot
but it wasn’t enough and the ball dribbled over the line with the follow-up as
slow as the reaction to his kick.
He soon made amends with a great one handed save low to
his right as the Tigers pushed forward after 48 minutes. The boys found a
tactic to relieve the pressure by Ciarán kicking cross-field to Joe H, who had
the measure of the Tigers’ left back but too often found himself without any
support to create a real chance. When they did open up the Tigers in the 57th
minute, they were again pulled back for a dubious offside decision.
They continued to pass the ball around when possible,
with Mark Joe H and Caleb combining well to get behind the Tigers defence just
before the hour mark but chances were few and far between for both sides until
the Tigers free kick saw them level the scores at the death.
This was a good team performance – with no substitution
options, they kept going to the very end and looked the more threatening of the
two sides throughout the match. A consistent defensive performance at the back from
Sam saw him named Man of the Match, with more of the same needed when the sides
face each other again in a few weeks’ time.
