Greystones’ reign comes to an end
GREYSTONES UNITED’S reign as champions of the Harry Griffith’s Over 35 Cup is over following their 1-4 defeat at the hands of Bluebell United on Saturday.
The Co. Wicklow club had taken the lead at the Vevay Temple Sportsfield but were under the cosh from there on in and they succumbed to the pressure in the latter stages as Bluebell ran in three late goals.
Greystones had emerged victorious in their league joust and they took the lead against the run of play after seven minutes.
It was a sweeping break down the right flank that lead to the opener. The ball was laid inside and Claudio Marmio’s extremely clever dummy flat-footed the Bluebell defence.
André Justice ran onto the ball and fired a fizzing shot towards goal that rattled the crossbar before looping back into the penalty area. Alex Meade Wilson was rooted to his spot as Iain Doyle reacted first to slam home.
Prior to that, Paul McGee crafted a chance for himself with some lovely skill before a loose pass in defence was seized upon by Eric Field who failed to hit the target.
The Dubliners were not impressed at falling behind and weren’t shy in expressing it to one another. They peppered Greystones’ goal but didn’t gain parity until shortly before the interval.
A combination of good goalkeeping, brave defending and lacklusture finishing kept Bluebell at bay for so long.
On 14 minutes, Greystones twice managed to block closerange efforts following a Bluebell corner.
McGee then crossed to Smith and his fine header saw John Kelleher hurl himself to his right to claw the effort around the post as the two strikers combined so well.
Smith then broke through the line of defence and looked to have dinked it over Kelleher but a covering defender turned the effort behind.
Bluebell midfielder Lee McMillan whipped in a cross from the left that McGee displayed great technique to meet and flick on but he couldn’t get the ball to dip in time and it sailed over.
In a rare venture forward, Iain Doyle did brilliantly to shake off the attention of two Bluebell defenders to latch onto a long ball and power into the box. He had men waiting for the cross but he went for gory himself only to be denied by the goalkeeper.
Greystones’ Dermot Fitzpatrick came to his side’s rescue next. A short corner kick was played to Stephen Cooney and his smooth strike was hovering into the top corner until Fitzpatrick leapt like a salmon to nod it away from under the crossbar.
Bluebell continued their push and a slick attacking move down the left flank saw McGee picked out but his snapshot was well held by Kelleher.
Fitzpatrick would deny Bluebell a leveller for a second time with another goal-line clearance before Doyle spurned an opportunity for 0-2.
His fantastic touch - which saw him flick the ball ahead of himself with his trailing leg - took him clear of the opposing defence but as with films, the sequel did not match the original - his heavy second touch saw Meade Wilson beat him to the ball and snuff out the danger.
For the Greystones defence, it eventually proved to be a case of for whom the Bluebell tolls. A miscued shot fell to Kevin Smith in the area.
He was not about to panic though as he twisted and turned and shifted left and right - completely bamboozling his poor marker - before blasting to the roof of the net.
With the pressure to find an equaliser lifted, Bluebell seemed to take their foot off the pedal somewhat in the second half. The first shot of note didn’t arrive until the 62nd minute when Iain Doyle forced Meade Wilson into a save but the tide turned completely in the 74th minute.
Richie Parsons is a name familiar to many. He was a legend at Bray Wanderers and Longford Town and he proved that class really is permanent as he landed the decisive goal in the 74th minute. The legs may not be what they used to be the head still is and he proved that as he leapt forward to meet Graham Gaynor’s cross with an emphatic diving header.
Within two minutes, it was 3-1. Robert Cahill broke down the right flank and had the freedom of the wing. He shifted inwards and saw his shot parried by Kelleher but Kevin Bradley arrived at the far post to tuck it away.
Greystones did strike the woodwork with two minutes of normal time left but if there was any doubts about the outcome, Gaynor extinguished them as he blasted home a rocket of a free kick from the edge of the box three minutes into stoppage time.
Bluebell United: 1. Alex Meade Wilson, 2. John Swift, 3. Graham Gaynor,
4. James McCrudden, 5. Kenneth Smith,
6. Stephen Cooney, 7. Brian Morrisroe,
8. Lee McMillan, 9. Kevin Smith, 10. Eric Field, 11. Paul McGee. Subs (Rolling): Stuart Smith, Richie Parsons, Robert Cahill, Gerard Kevill, Faaid Derradji, Kevin Bradley, Paul Conroy.
Greystones United: 1. John Kelleher,
2. Ian Shortt, 3. Dermot Fitzpatrick, 4. Colin McGinn, 5. Sean Walsh, 6. Eugene Duff, 7. David O’Shaughnessy, 8. Kieran Beggan, 9. André Justice, 10. Claudio Marmio, 11. Iain Doyle. Subs (Rolling): Johnno Ward, Cormac Maher, Rory Campbell.