Boys succumb to league leaders

Saturday 16^th June

vs. Active Soccer 1-3

Team: Ciarán B; Elliot, Tom, Joe H, Matty; Danny, Caleb (capt.), Lewis, Jacob; Darren, Ciarán S. Subs: Adam, Cormac (unused), Josh.

A disappointing second half display in weather more akin to March than June saw Crosby Stuart slip to defeat.

A strong crosswind hampered both sides but a well-drilled Active defence kept the boys at bay, although Jacob nearly opened them up for Darren after 5 minutes.

Lewis came close from both open play and with a free kick in the first quarter. Elliot was solid in defence, linking well with Danny outside him and slipping a low cross into Ciarán S which the Active defence scrambled away.

Ciarán B had to come quickly off his line to tackle the breakaway forward on the edge of the box as Active pushed out but was powerless to prevent them taking the lead after 21 minutes after a missed defensive header left the forward in space.

The Crosby keeper pushed one shot around the post and saved another as Active looked to increase their lead but Darren and Ciarán S continued to cause problems at the other end.

After the break, the boys pinned Active in their own half and got the equaliser in the 34^th minute. The Active defence failed to deal with a long ball from Josh and, with keeper and defenders together on the edge of the box, Darren lifted the ball over all of them into the empty net.

Active regained their lead after 36 minutes after a strong challenge on Matty went unpunished and a forward was on hand to tap in off the post. They extended their lead 5 minutes later in fortunate circumstances as a speculative shot hit the inside of one post and flew into the side netting on the other side of the goal.

In worsening conditions, where the solid midfield display of Caleb saw him named Man of the Match, the boys tried to get back into the game as Darren twice stung the keeper’s hands but it was a late Ciarán B save and the crossbar that prevented Active from scoring again.