Net Busters Back In Contention

Net Busters back in the Hunt.

Thursday Division 1

Damien Byrne's Net Busters are back into contention after a poor start to the season where they only had one win in their first four games. With 2 games in their division last week, it was important that they picked up maximum points. They impressively overcame the Boca Seniors in a cracking encounter that ended up 4-1 to the Net Busters. Martin Deady was instrumental and scored twice with very well taken goals. On Thursday they beat the Thirty Somethings, after an impressive comeback at the very end of the game. With just two minutes left on the clock and losing 5-4, Paul Sexton equalised after a great run and pass from his brother John. Two more goals followed in the final minute from the boot of Jake Smith and Brian Smith to put them two points behind leaders Ezy FC.

Ezy look to be back to their best, also after a shaky start to their campaign, as they cruised to two important wins last week, firstly over the Thirty Somethings on Monday night and followed it up on Thursday night with an equally impressive win over the Dreamers. Both wins were by large margins, and their keeper Charlie Fitzmaurice's displays have been impressive. His tall frame, sometimes is unsuited to the smaller goals, but his ability to get down to save quickly and make a tough save look easy, have been a major part in Ezy's success over the last 3 seasons. Dave Johnson, John Daly and Steve Dwyer were all in top form again for Ezy. Dwyer and Sexton look set to battle it out for the Golden Boot with Dwyer currently leading by 2 goals.

Thursday Division 2

Mount Oval maintain top spot here after a good 6-3 win over Cork Celtic. This division looks like a 4 horse race at this stage with a gap opening up between 4^th and 5th spot. An excellent display from the energetic Dave Hogan and a brace of goals helped the Oval to the 3 points. Dan Ryan also hit the net twice and Polish man Robert Kreigal looks like an excellent addition to their squad.

The Sons of Pitches are now up into second place after their fourth win on the bounce. After losing their opening 2 games they have impressively regrouped. Michael Deasy's return to full fitness has been crucial to their current form. His non stop work rate around the pitch is typical of the Sons of Pitches style but his ability to produce a sublime piece of skill is crucial to the Pitches chances of success this season. His back heeled goal mid way through the first half to put his side 3-1 in front was a contender for goal of the week. The Pitches never lost their two goal advantage winning 5-3 in the end.

The Cowboys and River Plate played out a closely fought game. River Plate won the Carrigaline bragging rights, until their next encounter, with them winning 6-4. But credit must go to the Cowboys who made a great game of it and were pushing for an equaliser at the end of the game when River Plate broke away to score through man of the match Gavin O'Driscoll. Brothers Brian and Shane Murphy were best for the Cowboys.

Hardly Athletic lost further ground after and excellent start to the season as they drew 3-3 with JT Specials in a game where both teams very fully committed but very evenly matched. The Specials had the best of it in the first half but Hardly Athletic upped their 2^nd half performance to gain a point. Dan Hegarty for the Specials and Declan O'Dwyer for Hardly Ath were the players who were on top of their game.

Thursday Division 3

Panicyakios went top for the first time this season, although only on goal difference, as they overcame a dogged Barrells outfit by a 4-2 scoreline. Conor Hawes and Peter Reidy with a brace a piece for Panicyakios, who would have won by much more than the two goal margin, only for a marvellous display by Conor Long in the Barrells goal. Phil Wade and Patrick Coleman battled hard for the losers.

Black Gold had an excellent first half against the Whitfords, but the experienced Whitfords were too clever for their much younger opponents in the second half and opened up their defence at will, running 6 unanswered goals after the score was tied 1-1 at half time. Gavin Rosser was best for the Whitfords and showed some clinical finishing while scoring a hatrick.

Exiles were held by Shanty Utd 3-3 in a really tough encounter, with a draw being a fair result. Mark Ryan was in top form for the exiles and scored all his sides goals, while Kevin Murphy was best for Shanty and chipped in with a goal along with Neilus Murphy and Darren Burns.

Men Utd should have closed out their second win of the season but slipped up and conceded a soft equaliser to a spirited Flying Column team. Dan McCarthy with the late equaliser for the column, while Danny O'Driscoll scored United's two goals.

Wednesday Division 2

With 2 games in this division last week, Nualight still find themselves on top after a good win over fellow contenders Deportivo, but then slipped up against CUH going down to the Wilton Boys 5-3.

Schuf moved into 2^nd spot after but failed to really capitalise on Nualight losing, as they went down to Johnny Boys Utd in a tough game on Wednesday. Third placed Deportivo did not capitalise either, as they also only won one of their games last week. Johnny Boys were the only team last week to win both games and are now back in contention standing in fourth place 4 points off the top.

Kevin Finn with a top performance for Utd and a brace of goals in their impressive 3-1 win over Schuf. Ivan Weir scored 4 times for CUH in an equally excellent display to topple leaders Nualight on Wednesday. Rowan Morgan did likewise for Nualight on Monday when dismantled Deportivo 6-2. This division looks like it will be a close one, with all teams at the top a little inconsistent.

Wednesday Division 3

The Bobcats find themselves 7 points clear after 7 games, and obvious hot favourites at the half way stage to take the title, but dropped their first points after they were held to a 4-4 draw by Balaga Tongo. Brian Smith coming up with a late equaliser for the Bobcats to remain the only unbeaten team in the Wednesday night leagues. Balaga's John Duggan was man of the match in this excellent game that saw both fully committed to attacking. Duggan scored a brace along with goals from Ed Noonan and Eoghan Kennedy. On Monday night, Hit or Miss narrowly beat the Could Have Beens 3-2. The very reliable Jurgen Bukowski with a brace while Steve Sinnott scored a superb goal for Hit or Miss. The Could Have Beens battled hard, but came up just short against a defence superbly led by Cormac Murray. Denis Collins with a great strike late on in the game after his brother Niall opened the scoring for the veteran Could Have Beens.

AC Standard narrowly beat Rosies on Monday night by the same scoreline but were then held to a rare 0-0 draw by Hit or Miss on Wednesday. Bill Henry in the Standard goal making two brilliant 2^nd half saves making sure of the 0-0 scoreline, the first 0-0 in 4 years of the Footy leagues. But with both sides well organised defensively, this was always going to be a low scoring game.

Balaga Tongo went down 5-2 to the Could Have Beens on Wednesday night. Derek O'Brien with a late brace for CHB who did well to come from behind. Denis Cronin was man of the match in goal for CHB and made some excellent saves, while Mike Holland was also in top form in defence to help his side to their first win of the season. John Duggan was again best for Balaga Tongo, while Zack Falvey fought hard for the losers. Niall Collins's thunderbolt into the top corner from 20 yards was the games highlight to put his side 3-2 ahead just before half time.

Whitfords Win Battle Of The Veterans

Thursday Division 3

The Whitfords overcame the Flying Column in the battle of the veterans last Thursday. The average age on the Whitfords team is 42, and on the Flying Column side is even more at an impressive 47, with some lads in their 50’s, so this game was all about bragging rights for the season. The aging bodies on both these teams deserve enormous credit for competing each week with lads that are sometimes more than half their age. Both these teams went into this tie with confidence after good results the previous week when the Column beat Shanty Utd 2-1, while the Whitfords played out of their skin to gain a 3-3 draw with a very strong Panicyakios team.The Column deservedly led 1-0 at the break thanks to an excellent finish from Ciaran Barry midway through the first half. However they conceded a soft goal just seconds into the 2nd half and this was a game changer as Whitfords ran the game over the next 20 minutes when they ran in 3 more goals. Kevin O Connell was very influential for the Whitfords and is playing some of his best football in years, and serious credit is due to him after coming back from a nasty knee injury last year. Jesper Peterson, Jack Russell, Steve Brown and O’Connell were all on the mark for Whitfords. To the Flying Columns credit, with Dave McCool and Barry leading the way, they never gave up and finished the game strongly and deservedly scored a 2nd through an Alan Mullery volley, for the games best goal.        After 4 games in this division, The Exiles lead with 10 points after 3 wins and a draw. They beat the Barrels 7-4 last week to stay top. Jermey Delea was again their best player and was on target twice as were Mark and Paul Ryan. This well organised outfit with Terry O’Connell and Rory O’Sullivan being most influential in organising their defence, should be in the mix for honours come May.Panicyakios also won last week after a hard fought 2-0 win over Shanty Utd. A last minute goal from Steven Aherne sealing the points for the Cobh lads. Despite the best efforts of PJ Aherne for Shanty in goal, Panicyakios had a bit too much football for their dogged opponents and probably just about deserved the win. Panicyakios should defenitely be contenders with some very strong players in their line up. Conor Hawes and man of the match Paul Stanton to mention just two. Darren Burns and keeper Aherne were best for Shanty.Men Utd had their first win of the season as they easily overcame Black Gold. The Black Gold line up are conceding many goals but have brought a great attitude to Footy as they are determined to just enjoy each fixture. Danny O Driscoll and Padraig McGovern both scored 4 times as did Leonardo along with a brace from Ahmed alSahow for Black Gold who are all from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Thursday Division 2

Defender Gavin Spillane scored his first ever goal at Footy, when he popped up with a great volley for the games late winner against Hardly Athletic. This goal puts River Plate back on top of this division, as they slipped up last week against FC Copenbadly when they lost 8-3. Kevin Wilmott scored a brace for the Carrigaline lads for a hard earned 3-2 win.Hardly slipped to 3rd with this defeat, and conceded 2nd place to Mount Oval who had a tough battle with FC Copen Badly. Mount Oval will be more determined this season to finish top of the pile as they went so close last season. Philip Healy and Brian Connell were again to the fore for the Oval as they beat FC Copen Badly 3-1.The Sons of Pitches also won by the same scoreline against and under strength Cork Celtic team. Ken Browne with a brace for the Pitches who had Alan White in top form.Rob Carpenter scored 4 times for the JT Specials as they beat the Cowboys 7-1. They defended superbly against the Cowboys had had an awful lot of possesion and played on the counter attack to great effect with Carpenter capitalising the most for the Specials.This division will more than likely go down right to the wire, with lots of close encounters forecast in the weeks ahead.

Thursday Division 1

The Booze Buddies won an early season top of the Table clash against the Thirty Somethings by a 6-0 scoreline. This game was expected to be a lot tighter but the Somethings will rue a couple of missed chances early in the game that were cleared of the line. The Booze Buddies dominated after they scored their first after 10 minutes. Jimmy Griffin's quickness of Feet and subtle skills were very evident, and Owen Kinsella also did well for the winners, with Trevor Rowe scoring twice.Ezy are back to winning ways after a shaky start to the season when they went down 3-2 to the Somethings on week one and drew with the Dreamers on the second week. Last week they dispatched an understrength Net Busters side rather easily. The goal of the game coming from John Daly when he hit a rasping first time drive from a tight angle that hit both uprights before going in the net after and excellent daisy cutting cross field pass from Steve Dwyer. Prediction here is for The Booze Buddies to contend with Ezy for the title. However Ezy may have the edge after beating them already 7-5 on week 3 in a pulsating game.The Dreamers had their first win when they easily beat Boca Seniors, who were a man short and tired late in the game when the Dreamers were most clinical. Rory Perry again showed his sharpness in front of goal as he scored 4 times for The Dreamers.

Bobcats Off To Perfect Start

Wednesday Division 3

Footy newcomers The Bobcats are after a perfect start having played 3 and won 3. All their games have been close, none more so than their 5-4 victory last week over Hit or Miss where Paul O’Brien came up with a last minute winner. The Bobcats are the only team in Footy with a 100% record after 3 weeks of games. They also had a 5-4 win on the opening night of the season over Balaga Tongo as well as overcoming Rosies on week 2. The Bobcats look very well organised and solid at the back, and look like early season favourites. Brendan Curtin, Jack McLaughlin and Conor Curtin have had the most influence so far, but goals have been coming from all positions in their side. At this early stage, all teams in this division seem capable of beating each other. The Could Have Beens, a team of veterans with a sprinkling of youth, are after 3 defeats, but all 3 games have been tight and they can be positive for the coming weeks where they should pick up some points. They lost 4-2 last week to 2nd placed AC Standard. The Could Have Beens did well with only 6 players and were chasing an equaliser when Kevin Broderick finished off an excellent counter attack to seal the points for Standard. With Julius Leke a newcomer to their lineup, and a player who looks very comfortable on the ball and Tim O’Connor always a threat for Standard and with the reliable Bill Henry between the sticks they should be contenders. Hit or Miss should also be there or there abouts at the business end of the season having won1, lost 1 and drawn 1 so far. With excellent players like Jurgen Bukowski and Dan McSweeney and keeper Paul Luxford in their ranks they should not far off the pace.

Wednesday Division 2

This league should also be a cracking league with a few excellent games recorded so far this season. Nualight who won their first 2 games and were playing some excellent football, but went down last week 3-0 to Schuf FC who were themselves in top form. Aidan McGuinness, Darren Lynch and Brendan Buckley were on the mark for Schuf. Nualight opened their season with a narrow 2-1 win over Deportivo and followed it up with a cracking 5-3 win over CUH. Kieran Buckley and Damien Galvin look like they will be their main players for the season, but will have to bring more consistency to their side if they are going to challengers. Same goes for CUH who are current leaders having won 2 and lost 1. With Denis O’Mahony and Sean Sheehan in their midfield and the top class finisher Ivan Weir in their side, we should find CUH being contenders. Newcomers Johnny Boys Utd who find themselves at the bottom of the table, but look a decent team and are after 2 draws and 1 loss. They have had 2 excellent games, drawing  2-2 with Deportivo last week following a 4-4 draw with Schuf on opening week. Barry Collins and James Morrissey have been in good form for them and they are sure to jump up the table in the coming weeks. This division is so hard to call at this early stage with all teams capable of earning points off each other. Schuf will be more determined this season having come so close to success last season, may also be in the running and should take plenty of confidence after their demolition job on Nualight last week.