Polish Boys On Song Again

Footy Report 21^st Feb

Thursday Div 1

Drink Team FC, a team made up of all Polish nationals, were back to their best after their recent defeat to EZY FC. They easily dispatched Footy newcomers, Kitteringham FC 9-2.

Kitteringham started the game with the intention to play deep and play on the counter, but conceded 2 first half goals. The 2^nd half opened up for the Polish boys and they romped to victory. Pawel Pciak was most best for the winners who eagerly anticipated clash with table toppers EZY is scheduled for March 28^th. Other Footy newcomers Oxford are proving to be an excellent team and are very worthy of being in 3^rd place in division 1. Joe Kinsella and Conor Hawes were in top form for Oxford who cruised to victory over Far From Athletic. They may well have a say in where the title ends up as are quickly proving that they are capable of between both teams above them.

The reliable poacher Paulo Santos scored a brace for the Portuguese outfit OS Naventages as they won a tight battle with the All Blacks. Paul Williamson scored with a great strike for the All Blacks to give them hope with mid way through the 2^nd half, but OS held on for the 3 points.

Thursday Div 2

A 6 man Apple team fought hard against the Mount Oval Bar, but just came up short losing by the odd goal. Podge O Connell was best for Mount Oval and scored a hatrick. Oval have a game in hand against Cork Celtic, and a win for either of these sides will push them amoung the leaders.

Celtic also won 3-2 in an excellent game against the Chancers. The highlight of this game being a great back healed goal from Jason O Connell for the Chancers to equalise at 2-2, but James Crowley came up with the winner for Celtic.

Table toppers the Net Busters got back to winning ways with a 7-3 victory over O'Higgins FC. Stephen Stromsoe with a hatrick and man of the match Paul Sexton with two goals set them on their way.

The Dragons dug out another 3 points and stay level on points with the leaders after a great victory against the improving Jager Bombers. Shaun Jordan scored this crucial winner for the Dragons who did very well to come from behind.

This division will be hard to call with all teams capable of beating each other on their day and should go down to the wire.

Thursday Div 3

The Sons Of Pitches stay 2 points clear after an impressive 4-0 victory over the Flying Column. James O Loughlin gave an excellent display in front of goal with some clinical finishing scoring 3 times.The scoreline did not reflect how the game went as the Column were well in this game and worked very hard but O'Loughlin proving to be the difference between the 2 sides.

JT Specials stay in 2nd spot after their emphatic 6-1 win over the Whitfords. Dan Hegarty again showing he is a handful for any defence scoring a hatrick, while Rob Carppenter pulled all the strings in JT's midfield.

Men Utd had too much in the tank for Balaga Tongo. Padraig McGovern scoring 5 times for Utd with one individual solo effort worthy of special mention. Sean O Connor, who looks an excellent player, was also in top form for Men Utd, who finally seem to be settling in to some decent form and might well be in the mix at the top end of the table in April

Footy Spring 2013 Crackers

Thursday 14^th Feb

Apple Exiles 6 – The Chancers 6

The Chancers who were 6 -1 down at halftime made an incredible comeback with 5 unanswered 2^nd half goals to share the points with the Exiles. The experienced Ronan Geary scored 2 early goals to settle the Exiles. The industrious Jeremy Dulea added a 3^rd before Terry Ryan scored with a suberb drive from an acute angle to make it 4-0. Alan Dixon pulled one back for the Chancers who were never out of the game but just leaked a few bad goals due to a lack of concentration in defense. 2 more goals from Geary put Apple firmly in the driving seat and a banker to take the points. But The Chancers battled hard and were rewarded with and Dixon goal and 2 quick strikes from Adam Clinton gave them the impetus and they drove on. Jason O Connell equalised with 3 minutes to go and the Chancers could have won it but missed a glorious chance right at the death which would have given them a memorable victory.

Thursday 14^th Feb

Dragons 5 – Net Busters 4

A below strength Dragons team pulled out all the stops as they beat table toppers the Net Busters to join them at the top of the table. The Dragons who were without 2 of their better players in Rory Walsh and Shaun Jordan, played a counter attacking game and showed great commitment to hold on to their slim lead. The Net Busters who were also without their main striker Paul Sexton, pushed the Dragons all the way and put them under a lot of pressure towards the end of the game. This game was played at a very high intensity with both sides giving it their all, but was played in a very sporting manner. Man of the match, Alan O Halloran was the main threat to the Net Busters defense as he scored a superb hatrick to help his side seal the points. Stephen Stromsoe scored a brace for the Net Busters who had John Sexton in excellent form.

Thursday 14^th Feb

Whitfords 4 – Men Utd 3

Whitfords gave their best performance of the season when they overcame Men Utd by the odd goal. The Experience Whitfords have added Billy Stewart to their panel this season and he has taken a few weeks to settle in but was their main man last week to help them to their first win of the season. Cameron Espey as usual was on target for Whitfords and Kevin O Connell who scored a brace, before obtaining a nasty knee injury. We wish Kevin a speedy recovery.

Men Utd seem to have too big of a panel, and cannot seem to get a rhythm going in their side, with so many changes being made. They have a few excellent players at their disposal and on their day should be able to beat anyone in their division. Padraig McGovern showed that he is a handful for any defense and scored twice. Danny O'Driscoll and Jason Lake were best on the Men Utd side.

Thursday 14^th Feb

Kitteringham FC 3 – Oxford Internationals 3

Oxford Intls are fast improving after a shaky start to their Footy debut season. They were 3 nil down at half time to other Footy newbies Kitteringham. The influential Dave O'Brien scoring twice for Kitteringham in a super 1^st half display. However Oxford have some good players in their side and played some excellent football to come back into the game. Jason Byrne (2) and Brian O'Sullivan scored Oxford's goals for a well deserved point.

Bailey Win Top of Table Clash

Division 1

After 5 weeks of games The Bailey must be favourites to take the title as they overcame their rivals The Kids 2-1 in their toughest test yet. This game was an excellent encounter with some really high quality football being played by both sides. Colin Hammond put the kids ahead midway through the first half, But Stephen McCarthy who showed some lovely touches and excellent vision equalised for The Bailey. Ronan Sherman came up with a great header to seal the points in what is considered to be a 6 pointer.

CUH if they can keep a settled team will be a test for anyone and should be in the shake up towards the business end of the season. Although missing Denis O'Mahony through injury, they have found 2 excellent players this season in Shane Fitzgerald and Brian Crowley. Fitzgerald was brilliant in midfield and helped them overcome Sliabh na mBan 4-2, coming up with a brace and always looked a threat breaking from midfield.

Last season Champions CSKA Tongo also stayed in touch as they beat the 30 Somethings 4-1. This game was tied with 10 minutes to go but CSKA who showed the Somethings how to finish as they converted their chances which was the Somethings downfall earlier in the game. John Crean with a double and the ever reliable Joe Dempsey, and John O'Connell were CSKA scorers.

Crystal Phallus ousted Racing Club in a very open game. Racing who have a few newcomers this season are still finding their feet and need to close the gaps at the back if they are to have a chance of contending. Their lack of a steady goal keeper this season has particularly hurt them. Meanwhile these 3 points for Phallus has moved them off the bottom of the table and they should gain a lot of confidence from this performance scoring 10 goals in the process. Darragh O Regan was a real handful for the Racing defense scoring 5 times and getting man of the match for his efforts.

Division 2

It looks like this division could be between 4 teams after week 5. Sub Standard Liege top the standings at present, are ticking all the boxes this season, being tighter at the back and have an excellent keeper. James Mealy who is normally deployed as a striker is taking up a more defensive role for Liege this season and it seems to be working as Patrick Coleman and Phil Wade who have been excellent so far and are working very hard in Midfield. They easily dispatched an understrength Rosies side last week.

Donal Lennon's Lemmoms will also be a team to watch and as they seemed to have turned the corner after an inconsistent start to the season. Steve Dwyer and the very skilful Alan Greaney look like top players and should help the Lemmons to be in contention at the end of the season.

AC Standard seemed to have lost their consistency, going down again to the Lemmons 5-2. Fritzl Palace and FC Coping Badly both had good wins to stay in 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively and should also be in the shake up. Coping Badly overcame the Duffers 3-0 but were made to work very hard for this win as the Duffers worked very hard and were the better side for a lot of the game. Coping Badly's keeper Rob Doyle was man of the match and did well to keep a clean sheet.

The very organized Fritzl Palace were too strong for AFC Tesco, beating them 8-4. The highlight in this game was a cracking volley from Seamus Daly for Palace. Tesco who are in their first Footy season are still finding their feet but have some skilful players but need to show more of Palace's organizational skills if they are to get some results.

Alan Jordan

It is with deep sadness that one of Footy.ie's most regular players has
passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on Thursday 27th December. Alan
Jordan, who was only 31 years of age and had only recently married, played with both The Dragons and Sporting CPL in all 3 divisions over the past 7 years, winning many trophies along the way. Alan, who played alongside his brother Shaun, and were a very effective duo, was best known for his goal scoring ability, but his character was best reflected on the football pitch by his hardwork, his honesty and his sporting behavior. His multi-coloured football boots, tendency to try nutmeg his way out of defence and passion for competition is a testament to his larger than life personality. Alan was capable of magic both on and off the pitch and he particularly enjoyed the after match banter and write ups in the evening echo and footy.ie website

Alan will be greatly missed by his loving wife Natalie, family, many
friends and team-mates."

Footy.ie have decided to name next seasons Division 2 Thursday league “The Alan Jordan Memorial Trophy”

CSKA Crowned Champions

Wednesday Division 1

CSKA Tongo were crowned champions in their first season as they overcame Racing Club 4-1 in a winner take all clash in the last game of the season. CSKA got their tactics right this time around as Racing, who had beaten Tongo 6-2 earlier in the season, normally play deep and play for the fast counter attack, were caught a bit off guard when CSKA seemed to adopt the same tactic. This tactic paid off as they went in front after 15 minutes when MVP nominee Philip Cotter finished off a fast break move. Padraig McGovern equalised for Racing, through a powerful shot for Racing and the sides were nicely poised 1-1 at the break. However Tongo had the edge in the 2nd period as they showed superior ability to hold on to the ball in the final 3^rd of the pitch, where they found a few gaps and scored 3 times through John Duggan and Andrew Daunt (2).

Edward Noonan was excellent for Racing on the night as was Philip Cotter for the newly crowned champions.

Baggios saved their best performance of the season as they easily overcame Hit or Miss.

Tom McCarthy and Darragh O’Regan were too hot to handle for an under strength Hit or Miss side. Ronan Sherman also showed some creative touches in the Baggios midfield.

CUH and Fritzl Palace both had walkovers and played out a 2-2 entertaining friendly.

Dan Gallaher scored twice for Palace. Gary Kearney and man of the match Gavin Summers were the CUH scorers.

Wednesday Division 2

Crystal Fallace were crowned Champions with a week to spare as they beat the Lemmons 6-2. Pat O Regan who this season has walked away with the Golden Boot scored 4 times and was very impressive in doing so. Con Creedon who has had an excellent season for Fallace gave another very solid performance for the newly crowned Champions.

Rosies scuppered AC Standards chances of taking the fight for honours to the last week by holding them to a 2-2 draw, and in doing so handed the title to Fallace. Colin Murphy was man of the match in midfield for Rosies and scored the Carrigaline lads 2^nd goal. Rob Doherty scored Standard’s late equaliser.

MVP Nominee John O Brien was again in top form for FC Coping Badly as they beat the Avengers 5-1. However the game was tighter than the scoreline suggests and only 3 late goals from Mark Kennifick, Martin Hallahan and O’Brien secured the points.

Thursday Division 1

Ezy FC took the title here in another dramatic last 15 minutes. They drew 2-2 with the Boothouse Bingers and finished 1 point ahead of last seasons Champions the All Blacks. The All Blacks who were playing at the same time on the adjacent pitch needed to win and hope that Ezy FC would lose, and they also needed a 4 goal swing to make up the goal difference. It was looking good for them with 10 minutes to go as they were leading Sliabh na mBan  4-2, and Ezy were losing 2-1 to the Bingers, but a late goal by Golden Boot winner Dave Johnson gave Ezy the point they needed and the title. Martin Lyons was the star man for Ezy on the night and fitted seamlessly into their midfield this season.

The Bandits overcame Apple Exiles who produced a gallant effort with only 6 players, but tired towards the end and conceded late goals. Keith O’Donoghue was best for the Bandits.

Thursday Division 2

Congratulations to O’Higgins FC who were crowned Division 2 Champions, also in their maiden season, after a really tough 1-1 draw with Sons of Pitches. The Pitches went into this final fixture 2 points behind O’Higgins and needing a win for honours. After 20 minutes Chris Baker was quickest to latch onto a loose ball outside the box and drove home the opener for O’Higgins to put them firmly in the driving seat. Danger man and top scorer for O’Higgins Sean O Neill, was well marshalled by the Pitches, who worked hard and got their reward midway through the 2^nd half when Alan O’Sullivan scored a deserved equaliser. This led to a high tension and testing time for the referee for the last 15 minutes, where a goal for the Pitches would have given them the title. But O’Higgins defended well where Paul Cashman was excellent and they held on for the win.

Ciaren McArtan was the best player on the pitch as he led the Flying Column to a comfortable 7-1 win over Men Utd, who were only a goal down at the break and were well in the game. However some mistakes by the Men Utd keeper led to a rather one sided 2^nd half where Alan Mullery and McArtan were very impressive.

JT Specials drew 6-6 with the Whitfords in a very open and attacking game for the last game of the season. Gavin Rosser and Rob Carpenter both shared hatricks. Balaga Tongo and Paniteastcork also play out an exciting 4-4 draw to bring this Footy Autumn 2012 season to a close.

Wednesday Division 2 - 19^th Dec

Champions Crystal Fallace put the icing on the cake as they beat nearest rivals AC Standard comprehensively. MVP nominee Bill Henry was excellent between the sticks for Standard once again and only for some wonderful saves the score would have been much more. Darragh O Regan showed once again that he is a top division Footy Player when he scored 4 of Fallace’s 6 goals. Paul Kilcoyne and Kevin Broderick scored 2 wonderful goals for Standard but they were totally outclassed by the deserved champions.

Andy O Mahony, normally a solid defender, was deployed  at centre forward for the Lemmons and it worked a treat he scored 3  times to help the Lemmons to a 4-3 victory over FC Coping Badly in a hard fought but very sporting game.

Rosies and The Avengers played out another tight game, that finished 1 a piece. Dean Long and Ronan Farrally shared 2^nd half goals. Farrally had put Rosies up with a neat header after a long throw by Paddy Cronin. Long equalised with a lovely half volley after some good work by the hard working Joey Herrity. A draw being a fair result.

CSKA And Racing To Face Off In Winner Take All

Wednesday Div 1

CSKA Tongo and Racing both completed good wins to stay top of the pile and now their eagerly awaited last game of the season awaits, where whoever wins will take the title. CSKA are 2 points clear so a draw will do them to seal it. Racing will go into the clash as  slight underdogs but will take great confidence from an excellent 5-0 win over a decent Baggios side. Edward Noonan and Pedar Horgan were excellent for Racing as they have been all season and were Racing’s scorers, Noonan with a hatrick and Horgan with a brace, both being beautiful goals.

A strong CSKA squad beat an under strength Hit or Miss side 6-3 to stay on course. John Duggan was brilliant in defence for the league leaders who put in an excellent all round footballing display. Joe Dempsey (2), O’Malley, Ross, Sweetman and Cotter were the CSKA scorers. Phil Wade scored the goal of the evening with a bullet header for Hit or Miss for the games highlight.

CUH maintained 3^rd spot with a 6-4 win over Glasgow Septic and then beat Hit or Miss 4-2 in Mondays make up game after the cancelled fixture 2 weeks ago due to a frozen pitch.

Rory Barry was in fine form for CUH scoring twice in both games. Denis O Mahony was also in top form for CUH, pulling the strings in their midfield. Shane Fitzgerald scored a memorable goal, a volley direct from a throw in the Septic fixture.

Wednesday Division 2

Crystal Fallace stayed on course for their first Footy title with an excellent win over the quickly improving Avengers. Darragh O’Regan was brightest for Fallace scoring twice in a man of the match display. This fixture would have been a comfortable win for Fallace earlier in the season but Dean Long and Joey Herrity have organised the Avengers well of late and they are not a push over any longer.

AC Standard beat the Lemmons 3-1 to stay in 2^nd spot and still in with a chance of honours going into the final 2 weeks of this division. Bill Henry was again in excellent form for AC in goal, but Standard’s best player was Cian O Mahony who was excellent in defence and scored with a tremendous drive for their 3^rd goal to seal the points. James Hardy was the Lemmons lone scorer.

Rosies and FC Coping Badly played out an exciting 3-3 draw. The experienced finisher Kieran Hurley scoring twice for Rosies to put them 3-1 ahead, but Coping Badly

battled back with John O’Brien in superb form, scoring with 2 minutes to go and then Alan Murphy scored with a last gasp equaliser for a deserved share of the spoils.

O'Higgins and Sons Of Pitches - Neck And Neck

Thursday Div 2

O’Higgins FC and Sons of Pitches continued their good form with wins over Men Utd and the Flying Column respectively and the showdown between them on the last week of the season awaits. This fixture will be on the 13^th of December and should be a cracker. O’Higgins centre forward Sean O Neill who tops the Golden Boot standings in this division was on the mark again for the leaders scoring twice. O’Neill was well marshalled by John Ahern in the Men Utd defence but got a sniff of goal on a couple of occasions and took his chances well. Sean O Connor scored an excellent individual goal for Men Utd, who dominated the first 15 minutes but did not convert their chances. They were a bit unlucky as they hit the post twice and these missed chances came back to haunt them as O’Neill and Cormac Nugent converted in the 2^nd half to seal the points for O’Higgins.

The Sons of Pitches had a rather easy 5-0 win over the Flying Column in a one sided affair. Michael Deasy was brilliant for the pitches and was on the scoresheet as was James O’Loughlin who hit a brace, one of which was the games highlight, being a shot from a very acute angle.

Fit again Cameron Espey led the Whitfords to a 6-2 win over Balaga Tonga scoring twice. Kevin O Connell also scored a brace for the evergreen Whitfords.

Panathieastcork beat the JT Specials 4-0 and never looked in trouble dominating proceedings from the start. James Daly opened the scoring with an early goal for Panic and Gavin Chesby ran the game in midfield for the winners. Panathieastcork may yet have a say in where the title ends up as they play the Pitches this coming Thursday in the penultimate game of the season.

Thursday Div 1

Keith O Donovan was star man for the All Blacks as they cruised to victory over the Bandits. His vision in the All Blacks midfield was excellent as he picked out some beautiful passes for his forwards to score. Peter Downey, who was on the end of most of them was clinical in finishing scoring 5 times.

Ezy FC also had a big win over the Net Busters who never recovered after going behind to 2 early goals from Kevin Murphy. Steve Dwyer led the way for Ezy and was brilliant in midfield setting up goals for Dave Johnson and Brian Lyons.

Apple Exiles put in a solid performance beating Sliabh na mBan 6-3. Ronan Geary, who normally plays as a striker, played in defence for the Exiles and was very excellent making some important tackles when the game was tight in the first half. The Exiles led 1-0 at half time through a well taken Gary Murphy goal. Jason Galway was also excellent for Apple. Seamus Langford did well for Sliabh na mBan.

Game of the week went to the 30 Somethings and the Boothouse Bingers who played

out an excellent game with the 30’s coming narrowly out on top. Jake McAuliffe scored 2 late goals for the Somethings to seal the points after coming from 2 nil down. Shane Cahill and David James were both excellent for the Bingers, with James scoring with a rasping shot to open the scoring.