Fabulous Forth success
Deserved triumph for Celtic against gallant Campile
FORTH CELTIC ‘C’ 2 CAMPILE UNITED ‘B’ 0
TWO GOALS in the space of four minutes early in the second-half earned Forth Celtic ‘C’ a well-deserved victory in the Gwyn Jones Cup final in baking conditions in Ferrycarrig Park on Sunday afternoon.
It more than made up for the heartache of losing to Kilmore United ‘B’ on penalties in the decider last year, and now they have a double in their sights, with a Division 4A league title play-off against Shelburne United just around the corner.
For Campile, it was a case of being the bridesmaids once again, as they were also runners-up in this competition two years ago when they lost out to Curracloe United ‘B’ in the final.
Experienced campaigner Anthony Hayes broke the deadlock, while a player at the other end of the scale, Lee Kennedy, doubled their tally, and on the evidence of Sunday’s performance the youngster has many good years ahead of him.
In truth, the victory for the Murrintown outfit was fully-merited as they were the better footballing side, while Campile, in the main, looked reliant on set-pieces to make any inroads against a largely untroubled Forth Celtic defence.
That said, although Forth Celtic had the better of it, the opening half was a fairly forgettable affair. Campile did manage to apply some pressure early on, with Eoin Mythen heading a Nathan Quinn corner over the crossbar while, at the other end, Ryan Murphy wasn’t too far off target with a stinging shot.
In the 19th minute, the impressive Conor Coleman waltzed by a couple of players and saw his shot blocked out for a corner, and Celtic came close to getting off the mark from the resulting flag-kick.
Ryan Murphy whipped in the delivery and, although Anthony Hayes got a good connection on it, his header was straight at Conor Lyng, who made a decent save.
Seconds later Darragh Rossiter’s overhead effort fizzed wide, but Campile came to life against the run of play when Eoin Aylward broke quickly, only to be superbly denied by Darren Jordan in the Forth Celtic goal.
They did manage to threaten
twice more before the interval, both from teasing Jim Wallace free-kicks into the danger zone, with the first being headed over by Michael Moloney and the second causing a few hearts to skip a beat before the danger was cleared.
Forth Celtic came out with real intent after the break and almost took the lead in spectacular fashion just two minutes after the change of ends. Ryan Murphy curled in a beauty of a shot from just outside the area, but it didn’t have quite enough whip on it and came back off the right post.
The lively Keith Murphy was the next to have a sight of goal, after running on to a Charlie Hynes pass, but he failed to trouble Lyng, although the pressure told in the 50th minute when Anthony Hayes opened the scoring.
An attempted clearance ricocheted off ‘Nibbs’ and rattled the crossbar, and when it found its way back to the evergreen Forth Celtic player-manager, he made no mistake, calmly finishing to the net, as he has had a habit of doing during his goal-laden years in the green and white.
They were determined to strike while the iron was hot and almost doubled their tally just two minutes later as Keith Murphy’s cross found its way to Darragh Rossiter, but Lyng extended himself fully to his left to stop the shot from going inside the post. Forth Celtic didn’t have long to wait, however, as they made it 2-0 in their next attack.
The ever-willing Lee Kennedy went on a lung-bursting run into the opposition box and took a long Kevin Price pass in his stride, applying a superb first touch to take the ball away from the defender, before expertly slotting a shot past the netminder.
After making such a lightning start to the half, Forth Celtic did retreat into their shells somewhat after plundering the second goal, which was understandable given the energy-sapping conditions and what was at stake.
It still looked that if Campile were to find a way back into the game it would be from a dead ball situation, and Jim Wallace boomed another free-kick into the penalty area in the 72nd minute, but Eoin Aylward’s header was easily gathered by goalkeeper Darren Jordan.
Despite dropping off slightly, Celtic still looked capable of adding a third goal, and Hayes forced a fine save from Lyng in the 78th minute after good work from Conor Coleman and Keith Murphy.
Six minutes later Calum McCleane’s corner was cleared into the path of fellow substitute Oisín Kavanagh, who made a firm connection on his effort from outside the area, but it couldn’t find its way through the sea of bodies.
Lee Kennedy went on another rampaging run forward in the 88th minute and fed Kavanagh, who fired wide of the left upright.
Anthony Hayes had an opportunity to put the icing on the cake in injury-time, getting his head to a Kavanagh corner but failing to hit the net, although it mattered little as referee Luke Whitty’s final whistle soon sounded and the celebrations could begin.
FORTH CELTIC ‘C’: Darren Jordan; Charlie Hynes, Kevin Price (capt.), Paul Cowman, Lee Kennedy; Keith Murphy, Ronan Sills, Conor Coleman, Ryan Murphy; Anthony Hayes, Darragh Rossiter. Subs. – Mark Maloney for Sills (61), Oisín Kavanagh for R. Murphy (77), Calum McCleane for K. Murphy (81), Jack Devereux for Rossiter (88), Roy Nunn for Coleman (88), also Nathan Roche, Will Doyle, Conor O’Brien, Ger Doyle, Leo Barry, Michael O’Brien, Noel Beaver, Paul Bent, Seánie Duggan, William Codd.
CAMPILE UNITED ‘B’: Conor Lyng; James Kennedy, Jim Wallace, Michael Moloney, Cathal Mernagh; Nathan Quinn, Eoin Mythen (capt.), Shane Banville, Neil Ennis, Conor O’Leary; Eoin Aylward. Subs. – Darragh Vereker for Mythen (60), Oisín Mullally for Quinn (60), Shane Russell for Kennedy (75), also Sam Cummins, Paddy Roche, Richard Corish, Ethan Keogh,
John Corish, Ben Parker, Tom Dempsey, Mark O’Leary, Jack White.
REFEREE: Luke Whitty.