Seaview Wanderers draw Premier opener
Seaview Wanderers get new Premier going with a draw
SEAVIEW WANDERERS met Knocklyon United on Saturday night at Bridgewater Park in the very first game in the new O’Neills LFL/WDFL Andy McEvoy Premier Division.
The all-weather pitch in Bridgewater Park tends to encourage teams to play good football which is easy on the eye and this game was no different.
Knocklyon lined up in a 4-2-31 formation with Darragh Doyle and Marc Finn on the wings while Seaview went with three at the back, playing a 3-5-2 formation with Ian Cullen playing as a deep lying midfielder.
Not many teams line up with three at the back and this tactic certainly took Knocklyon by surprise, with Seaview pressing high from the off.
Sam Laval cut a lonesome figure up front for his side, finding himself isolated and outnumbered by the Seaview rear-guard for much of the early stages of this game.
Ross Turner was finding space down the left hand side and on two separate occasions the wing back had the Knocklyon defence scrambling, first forcing a corner before David Kavanagh saw his header at the front post go agonisingly close to finding the top corner.
Seaview’s early pressure was rewarded after just twelve minutes when Emmett Dalton was rushed into taking a poor touch on the edge of his own area.
Ian Cullen pounced on the loose ball and drilled a shot low in to the net past Knocklyon goalkeeper Darragh Egan. Egan did get a hand to the ball but such was the power behind Cullen’s shot that it was an impossible task for the keeper to prevent the goal.
After going behind, Knocklyon slowly but surely began to work their way back into the game.
The bite had gone out of the Seaview midfield and the away side had that crucial extra half yard of space in midfield.
A mazy run from Darragh Doyle resulted in a foul on the edge of the box and Cillian Green hit the resultant free kick just over the bar.
Seaview were being starved of possession around the middle, restricting them to hitting Knocklyon on the break.
On one such counter attack the fiery David Doran won a dubious free kick just outside the area which was hit well by David Kavanagh but without the necessary power to beat the keeper.
Knocklyon began the second half as they finished the first, pressing hard for the equaliser but found the Seaview backline difficult to breach, in no small part due to some resolute defending from the evergreen Mick ‘Tango’ Wolohan and Alan O’Shea.
The introductions of Nevan O’Sullivan and Jamie Doyle, two former Aughrim Rangers ‘superstars’, helped to give Seaview more of a foothold in the game. In fact, O’Sullivan could have doubled his side’s lead after an excellent cross from dead-ball expert Jamie Doyle but the youngster blazed over on the half-volley. Midway through the second half Seaview elected to move wing back Ross ‘Pirlo’ Turner into the centre of midfield in an attempt to wrestle back control of the game from Knocklyon.
Overall, this move had some success but a stray pass from Turner combined with an unfortunate slip by a team-mate gave Darragh Doyle possession in front of goal with just the keeper to beat.
The crowd watched a brave effort from Tony Coyle but the Seaview keeper failed to foil.
The benefactor of this was young Doyle, leaving Seaview in turmoil.
After his mistake Turner could have been disheartened but instead his resolve was hardened. Seaview pushed hard for the elusive winning goal in the closing stages and came close on several occasions.
David Doran was scrapping for every ball and came close cutting in from the right but his left foot let him down in his time of need, slicing the shot wide of the far post.
The game finished as a draw but both sides can take heart from displaying some good football. There were superb performances on both sides, with Ian Cullen particularly impressing in midfield.
The Seaview faithful were left disappointed at the failure to pick up three points at home but seemed quietly optimistic about their team’s chances this season after witnessing some impressive new additions strut their stuff.
Seaview Wanderers (3-5-2): Tony Coyle, Ingvard Tonnies, Alan O’Shea, Michael Wolohan, Joe Reid, Ross Turner, Ian Cullen, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Cormac Byrne, David Doran, David Kavanagh. Subs: Nevan O’Sullivan, Eddie Gattenby, Jamie Doyle, Adam O’Reilly.
Knocklyon United (4-2-3-1): Darragh Egan, James Hutchinson, Jamie Devine, Conor Dalton, Seamus Battelle, Cillian Green, Darragh Doyle, Emmet Dalton, Sean Laval, Dylan Clarke, Marc Finn. Subs: Charlie McPartland.
Referee: Jason Redmond