AIB CUP SEMI FINAL
Castlebar Celtic 3 Castlebar Town 1
HEART and passion will only get you so far, a little bit of guile combined with precision and flair will nearly always come out on top. If heart won a game, then on Sunday “The Town,” would have been celebrating a historic victory over their more aristocratic neighbours. Heroes are oft celebrated in defeat and heroes were made over a topsy turvey ninety minutes, most of whom wore the black and white of the Moneen based side.
Mark Moore was suspect, yet somehow implausibly brilliant stopping copious Celtic efforts, Robert Moore was a brick wall at the back, organising and cajoling his back four to break down and block Celtic at every opportunity while Terry Maughan ran at the Celtic back four at every chance harrying and harassing them for the ninety minutes.
Their tactics may have been simplistic but, they succeeded in giving Celtic the fright of their life, and it was only in the 89th minute when Andy Neary arrowed in a pile driver to make the result a certainty. This game was a fore gone conclusion in most right thinking minds before kick off. Celtic all swagger and style, semi-finalists of the FAI Junior Cup, one of the top sides in the county, all history and expectation. While Town, not even upstarts, a mere after thought existing out the road, more used to playing the home side’s third string. But cup football is all about the giant killing, the upset, the underdog and this day was no different.
Interested observers and faithful followers of the town made their voices known and no more so than when Terry Maughan grabbed his side’s solitary goal. Pat Neary lost possession and Jonathan Byrne nipped the ball through to Maughan who showed both pace and power to hold off Eammon Daly before deftly clipping the ball over the advancing Ciaran Kelly just before the interval.
The home side had got off to a flyer and found themselves leading the game by two goals after five minutes. Their first arrived after ninety seconds through the flying Chris Kelly. Celtic were awarded a free out on the left, Kelly sauntered over unmarked as if to take the dead ball, but Andy Neary elected to clip it in. The ball was recycled back to the edge of the area, where an unmarked Kelly drove the ball low to the corner of the net.
For their second Kelly was involved again this time as the architect, his beautiful cross from the left was met by Ronan O’Boyle who ghosted into the area unmarked to get a glancing header to the back of the net.
Visions of a massacre were on most minds around the park, Celtic were on top bossing the game, and the Town were fighting for their lives. The life support machine could have been turned off at any time as only desperate challenges and fingertip saves kept Celtic at bay. But after 20 minutes calm heads prevailed as they realised they were not out of their league and they deserved to be there and Town began to impose their own game on the home side and were fully deserving of only going in at the interval down by the minimum.
The second half was a tense affair with Celtic never able to put the game away, even though they had numerous chances. If the visitors were guilty of anything, it was there inexperience in attack as too often Maughan was found isolated by himself in possession. But even with one minute left on the clock there was still a chance until Neary finally flicked off the switch with his powerful drive.
Castlebar Celtic: Ciaran Kelly; Pat Neary, James Minogue, Sean Reilly, Eammon Daly; Pat Fitzgerald, Andy Neary, Keith Carty, Chris Kelly; Ronan O’Boyle Gerry Burke Subs: Ian Douglas, Eammon Crean
Castlebar Town: Mark Moore; Tom Canning, Philip Quigley, Steven Fadden, Robert Moore; Paul Maye, John Munroe, Kevin Sherran, Jonathan Byrne; Neill Ainsworth, Terry Maughan. Subs: David Earls, Michael Corrigan, Michael Heneghan, Jonathan Rowland.
