Leonard Gould Cup v Bandon in Town Park on Sunday 18th October 2015
Bandon 3 Carrigtwohill United 2
Scorers – Ben Kearney, Darragh Hoare.
Cup matches are always looked forward to and bring a sense of adventure – a chance to pit yourself against a team you may not had met before in a straight knockout. And so it was for the Carrigtwohill U-14 squad as they travelled to Bandon on a fine Autumn Sunday morning to take on a Divison 2 team.
It would be fair to say, that everyone that attended the match were treated to an enthralling cup tie which ebbed and flowed and was in the melting pot until the final whistle was blown. Bandon started this game very well, showing all the signs of playing in Division 2 as their pace on the wings was causing early problems for our defence. We conceded a string of corners in the first half hour and it seemed to be only a matter of time before they would score. They were well rehearsed at corner kicks and with three very tall players, they won every corner without finding the back of the net. A series of super saves from Darren Flynn in goals was frustrating the home side as it seemed he would be unbeatable today – at one stage pulling off a double save at close range to the amazement of the Bandon team.
However, the game was slowly changing and Darragh Hoare, playing in the centre of midfield started to dominate with James Barry doing some good work behind him. Carrigtwohill started to push and probe and created several chances themselves before finally making the break through. Ben Kearney scored his first goal for Carrigtwohill when after some good work by Evan Donnelly, the ball spilled and Ben was on hand to steer it into the net.
The second half was end to end action, with Bandon continuing to attack on the wings but Carrigtwohill were composed in defence with Scott McCarthy returning to top form. At the mid-way point in the second half, Bandon got the decisive scores, with two quick goals and a third bundled in from close range, it left them with a 3-1 lead coming into the final 10 minutes. However, at no point did Carrigtwohill relent and yet another attack was to yield a superb goal, when Darragh Hoare drove the ball into the top left hand corner of the net with the Bandon keeper diving at full length.
What followed was a frantic final ten minutes with Bandon being pinned back into their own penalty box and several good chances being created but alas not converted. The match finished in defeat but a superb away performance against a higher ranked team.
Ballyseedy Home & Gardens Player of the Match : Darren Flynn.