Boys edge nine-goal thriller

Tuesday 27^th March

vs. Active Soccer 5-4

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

The boys advanced to the Spring Cup Final against TMS as they saw off Active Soccer in a titanic semi-final encounter.

After the goalless draw in the group phase, this promised to be a close encounter but the boys got the ideal start with a goal in the first minute. Matty’s ball down the wing gave Jacob the perfect chance to set up Ciarán S to round the keeper, only for the striker to be brought down. Caleb was coolness personified as he buried the penalty in the corner of the net.

The boys were playing with a lot of confidence going forward and Jacob shot wide in the 5^th minute after a neat turn and pass by Ciarán S had opened up the defence. Minutes later Ciarán S himself was stopped only by the last man as another long Lewis throw caused problems for the Active back line.

Their opponents were not lying down, however, as first Matty and then Tom needed to be strong in defence but, after Lewis had gone narrowly wide with a fierce long range drive, they doubled their lead in the 15^th minute.  Ciarán S laid the ball intelligently back to Caleb and his lob took out the whole of the defence as Josh ran through the line to lift it over the keeper and into the goal.

Just in case the boys thought it was all going their way, Active Soccer pulled a goal back in the 17^th minute. A missed header allowed the forward, who looked to be standing offside, the chance to beat Ciarán B.

This was developing into an attack-and-defend battle as first Josh shot into the keeper’s hands and then Tom was on hand for a vital touch to see the ball out for a corner as Active countered. The boys were always looking to exploit gaps in the heart of the defence and were quicker to the loose ball in the area and restored their lead two minutes before the break with a freak goal. Joe, who had kept up a recent run of solid defensive displays, saw his free kick inadvertently strike Jacob and then Josh who watched it trickle over the line.

The luck was with Active Soccer a minute later as Adam’s shot shaved the upright after another great ball from Caleb left him in acres of space and they finished the half on the attack as Active Soccer stood firm against free kick, throw-in and corner.

After the restart they continued in exactly the same fashion as Lewis took advantage of a mistimed header to almost create a chance for Ciarán S. The powerful midfielder’s free kick in the 31^st minute was just beyond Ciarán S but Jacob came in behind only to head over the bar. It was no surprise then that they extended their lead in the 33^rd minute as Ciarán S turned provider for Adam to shoot high into the net.

A minute later and Active Soccer were back in the game. The turn and shot from the forward may have left Ciarán B with no chance but midfield and defence had switched off to allow the opportunity.

It really was end-to-end stuff now as Ciarán S had two great chances to restore the three goal lead – the forward is going to make somebody pay for his bad luck soon – and he and Adam caused more problems from a long kick out from Ciarán B.  Tom and Joe were showing the midfield how to use your head in clearing the ball and Tom had to be alert to clear to safety as Active Soccer tried to claw their way back into the game.

The boys proved that attack is the best form of defence, however, by scoring their fifth goal with 10 minutes left, as Ciarán S knocked the ball back into Adam’s path and his cross-cum-shot fooled the keeper.

Elliot, like the rest of the defence, had worked hard, especially with the wingers pushing further forward, and he took a knock which saw him replaced by Cormac just after the goal, as Josh dropped back into defence.

Active Soccer pulled one back in the 48^th minute as the forward beat a slow defence to head over a stranded Ciarán B as the game got even more frantic. A rare moment of composure between Adam, Ciarán S and Cormac almost set Jacob free one-on-one but instead it was another moment of madness in defence as the boys failed to deal with a throw-in and the fourth Active Soccer goal ensured the final three minutes of normal time would be tense.

The two minutes added on by the referee was probably the last thing anyone wanted to hear but the boys spent Fergie time on the attack as Lewis’ free kick was saved to win a classic cup tie.

Despite being in the lead for all bar 40 seconds and Ciarán B having few saves to make apart from the goals, the prize of a place in the final for the winners meant the boys never looked comfortably in control of the match. All the goals conceded came from mistakes that could easily have been avoided, but the boys deserved their place in the final. Man of the Match was Jacob, full of energy and perfectly weighted passes.