One Way Traffic for Record Win

Saturday 15^th October

vs. Churchtown Athletic 14-0

Team: Ciarán B; Elliot, Lewis, Tom, Matty; Joe, Stephen, Caleb (capt.), Adam; Josh, Ciarán S. Sub: Danny.

Apologies (and welcome!) to any visiting Churchtown fans but this was as embarrassingly one-sided as the score line suggests.

The first half was played almost entirely in the Churchtown half and once the boys started scoring, they could barely stop. Stephen had blazed an early chance over the top but was more clinical in the 5^th minute after Ciarán S’s shot had been blocked.

Two minutes later, Joe sent Ciarán S away on the right and he raced on to slip the ball to Josh to tap in from three yards. They combined again after 9 minutes as Ciarán S found loads of space near the goal line and again gifted Josh with an easy second.

Danny replaced Tom after 11 minutes as it was clear Churchtown posed little attacking threat and so they went to three at the back. The midfield was crowded for most of the game as Churchtown played schoolyard football, naively chasing the ball in packs, and the boys found lots of space out wide, not least Adam who hit the far post after coming in from the left.

Adam duly got his goal after 16 minutes, popping up on the right to cut in a coolly slot in at the near post. Matty got in on the act after 20 minutes, firing home after a defender got in the way of Lewis’s header from Joe’s corner.

Josh had had chances to complete his hat-trick but his third and the boys’ sixth came in the 22^nd minute after the excellent Ciarán S had again provided a ball from him to chest down and rifle home. A minute later Ciarán S was left was far too much time to cross the ball, only for the defender to needlessly handle; the keeper went the right way but Caleb’s spot-kick was too strong for him. Ciarán S finally got the goal his first half display merited, set up by Caleb, as his low shot found the corner of the net after 25 minutes.

Joe took a break as Tom returned for the second half and the attacks continued. Ciarán S came close early in the half but got his second after 33 minutes as the first half roles were reversed and he combined with Josh to lift a shot into the top corner. Straight from the kick off the midfield robbed the ball and fed Danny wide on the right. His run down the wing and inch-perfect cross left Ciarán S with the easiest of chances for his hat-trick as the boys hit double figures.

Churchtown’s keeper must be applauded for a good overall display, with safe handling to take crosses throughout the game as the boys exploited the space on the flanks. His defence came to the rescue, for once, after 33 minutes as the ball was kicked off Danny’s foot just as he pulled the trigger after Caleb had found him free in the box.

Joe came back on, replacing Josh, after 38 minutes and was soon on the score sheet. A poor goal kick allowed Ciarán S another chance, which brought out a good save from the keeper. From the resulting corner, more chaos in the defence left Stephen with a shot which looped up off a defender and Joe was on hand to head it home.

Caleb was taking his time to exploit the limited time in midfield, spread the play intelligently and create chances. His ball in the 43^rd minute provided Adam with the space to run on and send in yet another perfect cross for Danny to knock in the twelfth goal. 

It was the 48^th minute before Ciarán B touched the ball in this match, coming out to smother a shot, and his clearance was headed on by Caleb over the defence, allowing Joe to run on and shoot past the exposed keeper for his second goal.

The hat-trick heroes replaced one another as Josh came back on for Ciarán S but there was no let up for beleaguered Athletic. Joe saw a shot deflected over the top and Adam slalomed in from the wing, only to hit the near post. The Churchtown keeper pulled off another good save from Josh at the end, after more great vision from Caleb, but not before he had had to pick the ball out of the net one more time after Adam’s corner was expertly glanced home by Matty to complete the scoring.

With a hat-trick and at least four assists, Ciarán S fully justified the Man of the Match award but the whole team should be applauded for the performance. It is often not easy to play against a team congesting the central areas but they should remember the rewards that come from passing to feet and playing the simple ball to a team mate when they come up against more organised opponents.