22nd June 2022
Under-13 CSL Div2 at Crosshaven
Crosshaven – 1
Carrigtwohill United – 2
Carrigtwohill knew what they needed to do coming into this away match and nothing less than a win would be sufficient if they were to have any chance of winning Division 2. Crosshaven had won all but one of their home matches on the astro at Camden so this was going to be a very difficult task for Carrigtwohill to get a win. It was the final match of the season for Crosshaven and there was a large vocal crowd in attendance.
Straight from the outset Carrigtwohill launched into an attack, the ball ended up at Matti Hodnett’s feet, he ran on goal and produced a driving finish that left the Crosshaven keeper with no chance. 1-0 up with only 60 seconds on the clock and things were looking good for the Carrigtwohill boys. Unfortunately, within a few minutes, Crosshaven managed to peg Carrigtwohill back with a well taken goal at the other end. Tackles were flying in left right and centre but Carrigtwohill were not for backing down.
As the match wore on Carrigtwohill were having the better chances and were unfortunate to find themselves offside on a few occasions when they were in a great position to score. There were a number of other great chances in the first half, most notably by Eoin Garvey, Pol O’Connor, Hugh Crowley and Cathal Doyle.
In the second half, Carrigtwohill upped the tempo even more and were definitely the team on top. The main threats were coming down the left and right wing while Hugh Crowley up front was proving a real handful for the Crosshaven defence. The match wore on and the clock was ticking down, at one stage it looked like Crosshaven were going to deny Carrigtwohill the win only for Cillian McCann to make an outrageous clearance from the line that he had no right to get to…. but he did!.. and he kept Carrigtwohill’s hopes alive.
Carrigtwohill continued to press when Hugh Crowley was taken down from behind while bearing down on goal by the Crosshaven defender and left the referee no option but to show the red card to the Crosshaven player. Carrigtwohill played the last 5 minutes with the extra man and totally dominated, they withdrew a defender and pushed an extra man up front and threw the kitchen sink at Crosshaven. The match was set up for a grandstand finish at 1-1 and 3 minutes of extra time being played.
The Carrigtwohill pressure was unrelenting when finally Hugh Crowley received a pass from Sophia Redmond and ran through to get one on one with the goalie, he kept his cool and struck the shot powerfully to the right of the keeper to send the ball into the net and the Carrigtwohill supporters wild.
Carrigtwohill had been involved in many exciting matches throughout the year but this surely topped them all. The coaches were delighted with the performance and the players left it all on the pitch and could do no more. There were many great performances on the day, Cal Flavin was superb in goal, Sean Barry, Dan Guiney, Cillian McCann and Conor Nolan proved yet again themselves to be the best backline in the league. Pol O’Connor and Matti Hodnett were superb in breaking up play and transitioning to attack. Rory Nolan, Cathal Doyle, Eoin Garvey and Sophia Redmond’s speed were on full display with a number of impressive runs while Hugh Crowley’s positioning and shooting were excellent on the day, but in the end the man of the match award went to Jack Lombard for a superb performance in his holding midfielder role with his aggressive tackling and clever passes.
The result left Carrigtwohill joint top of Division 2 along with Carrigaline Hibs but Hibs have one match in hand. Whatever happens in that match it has been an outstanding season for Carrigtwohill and are guaranteed at least a second place finish
Player of the Match :- Jack Lombard
