Rooney to the rescue
Greystones and Glencormac United share the spoils
GREYSTONES UNITED GLENCORMAC UNITED 1 1
CHARLESLAND hosted the clash of Greystones United and Glencormac United on the all-weather pitch last weekend as the Wicklow soccer season got up and running.
Despite its title, the pitch was certainly not immune to all of the elements as the wind wreaked havoc on the game from the opening minutes.
Blowing across the field, the fierce gusts provided neither team with any real advantage but caused multiple moments of confusion for both sides.
Glencormac looked to get the ball on the deck and pass through Greystones from the off playing a 4-4-2 formation compared to Greystones’ 4-2-3-1.
The opening chance of the game fell to Josh O’Callaghan who saw his shot well saved by Bartosz Stenka after Aaron Cahill had robbed the Greystones defence of possession.
Greystones’ home advantage soon began to tell, with the men in green and white spreading out well to create space in midfield.
Despite Greystones’ superior possession, Glencormac were having the bulk of the chances in the early stages.
Josh O’Callaghan was causing severe problems when he got on the ball and he came extremely close to creating the opener when a clever pass for his strike partner Cahill was saved at the near post.
Greystones were persistent in trying to thread through the killer pass for Anthony Fermoyle up front but the wind was making this an impossible task.
However, Fermoyle did break the deadlock midway through the first half after a corner fell to Eoin Corrigan at the edge of the box.
The stage was set for the Greystones centre-half to show his sides forwards how it was done.
The ball bounced up invitingly for him and he struck his shot well but, unfortunately, off the nearest defender.
Fermoyle showed his predatory instincts by reacting first to the sudden deflection and finding the net with a precise finish to the far corner, a real poacher’s goal that Robbie Keane would be proud of!
Glencormac looked to respond immediately and they came close when a Luke O’Callaghan header beat Greystones goalkeeper Bartosz Stenka, who enjoyed an excellent game throughout, but was cleared off the line by Joshua Davenport.
The half ended with both sides trading long range efforts which never really threatened to find the back of the either net.
Aided by a change in direction of the wind, Glencormac proceeded to take control of the midfield in the second half with Greystones limited to attacks on the break.
Ben O’Callaghan threatened to break the deadlock with one of several shots from distance before the away side finally beat the Greystones rearguard.
A corner was palmed behind by Stenk before the second corner was taken short to Josh O’Callaghan.
O’Callaghan proceeded to deliver a sublime cross which was met by a glancing header from Michael Rooney to send the ball into the far corner of the net via the base of the post.
This prompted Greystones to introduce Keith Sutherland for Michael O’Brien and the change certainly had an impact.
Sutherland showed great vision on several occasions to release onrushing attackers from deep and consistently found pockets of space between the Glencormac defence and midfield.
The introduction of Shane Molloy for goalscorer Anthony Fermoyle added further pace to his sides attack and Molloy came close to finding a winner on a number of occasions.
The closing stages of the game were all Glencormac United, however, and Greystones introduced David Ivory in an attempt to protect their backline.
A brave tackle from Bartosz Stenk outside his area stopped a sure winner for Glencormac, leaving the goalie in need of the magic sponge from the sideline. Glencormac had several opportunities to win the game at the death from set pieces but the wind made it extremely difficult to keep the ball still enough to strike let alone find the target.
Despite the difficult conditions, both sides played good football throughout and will look to make a charge for honours at the end of the year.
Greystones United: Bartosz Stenk, Julian Murphy, Oisin Keogh, Eoin Corrigan, Robert Evans, Joshua Davenport, David Molloy, Michael Batton, Michael O’Brien, Kurt Starke, Anthony Fermoyle. Subs Used: David Ivory, Keith Sutherland, Shane Molloy.
Glencormac United: Gabor Radocly, Alan Hill, Owen Molloy, Michael Rooney, Niall Griffin, Barry McGovern, Ben O’ Callaghan, Luke O’ Callaghan, Raymond Daly, Josh O’ Callaghan, Aaron Cahill. Subs Used: Daryl Thompson, Gareth Cullen.