MatchReports

Wilton United 2

Douglas Hall 1

Wilton United just managed to earn all three points in a game that they should have had wrapped up from the start at the Lee Road on Sunday morning thanks to a late goal from Ian Carpenter in a game where the away side couldn’t field a full 11 players.

The game was never going to be a classic due to the awful condition of the pitch and the severe disadvantage against Douglas but there was plenty entertainment throughout the 80 minutes.

Wilton were ahead after only five minutes when Josh O’Shea fired a right-footed shot past stand-in goalkeeper Andrew Lehane. It looked like the floodgates would open thanks to the numerical advantage the home side had but the Douglas defence of Greg O’Riordan, Alan Murray, John Daly and Tom Peelo coped remarkably.

Lehane played superbly too and kept his side in the game on more than one occasion. The Douglas captain saved excellently from Carpenter, Andrew Bhandarkar and from Josh O’Shea while the woodwork also came to his assistance twice in the first period. Kyle Lynch had his shot pushed onto the post by Lehane and Craig Burns’ volley from the edge of the area crashed back off of the crossbar.

Wilton eased off the pace as the away side didn’t look like threatening at all but Douglas got to half time only a goal behind and were able to introduce Mark Holland who levelled the tie against all the odds mid-way through the second period. Brian Forde played the ball across the box to Holland who headed past Evan Spiteri and sent the ten Douglas players into rapturous celebrations.

The celebrations were premature though as Ian Carpenter saved the home sides blushes with 3 minutes remaining when he scored from close range. It was awful for Douglas as they almost picked up a point in the toughest of circumstances and they still remain in the bottom half of the division while Wilton remain in second behind the unbeaten Kilreen Celtic.

Wilton United: Evan Spiteri, Alan Blake, Ian Carpenter, Max Taafe, Kyle Lynch, Craig Burns, Jake Mehmet, Josh O’Shea, Patrick Bowles, Andrew Bhandarkar, Hassan Baker

Substitutes: Mark Cambridge for Alan Blake, Adam Keneally for Hassan Baker & Jason Higgins for Kyle Lynch all half-time

Douglas Hall: Andrew Lehane, Greg O’Riordan, Alan Murray, John Daly, Tom Peelo, Scott O’Reilly, Rob Lyons, Mark Holland, Brian Forde, Eoin Cremin.

Referee: Danny O’Flynn

Ireland 1-0 Cyprus

Ireland are still on course to qualification for the 2010 World Cup, thanks to a 5^th minute goal from Robbie Keane at Croke Park on Wednesday night. Ireland deserved the win but they did not have it easy with the Cypriots threatening on several occasions.

The Irish couldn’t of started any better when they took the game to the away side from the off. Damien Duff crossed from the right and the Cypriots defended like schoolboys when they were all sucked in and Robbie Keane was left all alone at the backpost to head in his 35^th goal in 85 appearances.

Although Ireland dominated the early exchanges, Cyprus had an excellent chance with a quarter of an hour gone. Dimitris Christofi shot and it deflected off of his own player, Marios Ilia before coming off of Shay Given’s chest and Christofi then fire the rebound over the bar.

Two minutes later Damien Duff has a great chance to double the Irish teams lead. Aiden Mc Geady passed to the Newcastle winger but Duffs’ shot was saved by Antonis Giorgallidis. Glenn Whelan fired the ball over the bar a minute later but at this stage it looked like Ireland would double their advantage sooner rather than later.

The expectant crowd of over 55000 were on their feet again when Aiden Mc Geady turned and shot from over 20 yards out but it was saved by Giorgallidis. Shortly afterwards, Robbie Keane shot but it was gathered again by the Cypriot goalkeeper.

Cyprus threatened again with almost a half hour on the clock. Ilia advanced down the right wing and his cross floated dangerously goalwards before Shay Given punched the ball away from danger.

With 10 minutes left in the first period the Cypriots showed their weakness at the back when *?* sliced his clearance goalwards and Damien Duff looked like he would score until Elias Charalambous jumped higher and headed over. Duff then played in a corner that was volleyed over by Richard Dunne.

Cyprus were improving all the time though and having much more possession of the ball but the Irish still had the better of the chances. Kevin Doyle shot over from a very tight angle in the 40^th minute and deserved a goal after a superb turn that beat the defence.

The Irish went in 1-0 to the good at half-time but the away side made a change immediately with striker Andreas Papathansiou coming on to make his debut and defender Lambros Lambrou coming off. This move meant a complete reshuffle by Angelos Anastasiadis. Ioanniss Okkas moved on to the wing with Charalambous moving back into the defence.

The Cypriots did improve and Ireland, despite being on top were still wary of the threat the Cypriots posed. Christofi had a shot blocked 5 minutes after the restart while Christofi then played in Makridis who won a corner.

Aiden Mc Geady crossed the ball in from the right with an hour on the clock and the Celtic winger almost caught out Giorgallidis in the Cypriot goal as the ball curled goalwards. Mc Geady had another great chance in the 75^th minute when he shot with the outside of the boot but the ball went over the bar after some good work from Glenn Whelan.

Ireland continued to try and double their lead but they were still wary of the challenge Cyprus possessed and the away side were unlucky when they had a series of opportunities block and eventually cleared. The Irish broke quickly and the ball finally ended up with Duff but his effort raced across the goaline and there was nobody there to connect.

It ended like that though and Trapattoni’s men end 2008 with the a good foundation set in their quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Despite Italy winning, Ireland are most definitely the current world champions biggest rivals in the quest to top group 8.

Ireland: Shay Given, Paul Mc Shane, Kevin Kilbane, John O’Shea, Richard Dunne, Glenn Whealan, Aiden Mc Geady, Darron Gibson, Kevin Doyle, Robbie Keane, Damien Duff.

Substitutes: Stephen Hunt, Liam Miller, Andy Keogh, Andy Reid, Dean Kiely, Damian Delaney, Caleb Folan.

Cyprus: Antonis Giorgallidis, Dimitris Christofi, Elias Charalambous, Lambros Lambrou, Andreas Constantinou, Marios Ilia, Ioannis Okkas, Alexandros G. Garpozis, Michael Constantinou Konstantinos Makridis, Christakis Maragkos.

Substitutes: Efstathios Aloneftis, Michael Morphis, Georgios Panagi, Andreas Papathanasiou for Lambros Lambrou half-time, Kyriakos Pavlou, Yiasoumis Yaisoumi, Sofronis Avgousti,.

Referee: Alexandru Tudor (Romania)

Attendance: 55800

ExtraTime.ie Man of the Match: Kevin Doyle

Mayfield Utd 4

St Mary’s 0

Mayfield Utd ran out easy winners against St. Mary’s on Saturday afternoon thanks to a Jack Martin hat-trick and a goal from Luke Byrne in a game which will be best remembered for the awful conditions it was played in.

Mayfield were on top from the off and Aaron Kemp had the ball in the net after 5 minutes but he was considered to be in an offside position when Jack Martin played in a perfectly waited through ball. The home team didn’t have to wait much longer until they did take the lead though when the excellent Martin broke through the defence and coolly slotted the ball into the bottom corner.

The away side were under pressure for much of the game but Cian Hawkins did hit the crossbar mid-way through the first half with a powerful free-kick. Conor Corrigan also tried hard up front but wasn’t given too much support.

It could have been more than four but stand-in goalkeeper Aaron Forde saved St.Mary’s on much more than one occasion. David O’Gorman, Adam Geraghty and Luke Byrne all had their goalward shots saved by Forde, who usually plays in defence.

In the second half Mayfield continued their domination of the game and Luke Byrne doubled the lead 7 minutes after the interval. Three minutes later, Martin got his second goal and put the game beyond any doubt as St Mary’s tired.

With the rain coming down heavily at this stage the game was akin to a training session as the competitive edge disappeared. The home side still threatened and Martin completed his hat-trick with a couple of minutes left with a tap-in at the far post.

Mayfield, who’ve made a strong start to the season in Division 1, will look forward to the next round. While, the away side are left to focus on staying top of Division 3 as their National Cup adventure ends at the first hurdle.

Mayfield Utd: James Morrissey, David Nolan, Ciarán Mc Grath, Ryan Cotter, Cian Daly, Aaron Kemp, Ryan O’Gorman, David O’Gorman, Adam Geraghty, Luke Byrne, Jack Martin.

Substitutes: Michael Ward for Aaron Kemp (40 mins), Dylan Quinn, Magic Kobec.

St Mary’s: Aaron Forde, Aidan Parker, Anthony Walsh, Seán Donovan, Robbie Thompson, Ciarán Dennehy, Cian Hawkins, Aaron Corcoran, Conor Corrigan, Robbie Rourke, Jonnie Duggan.

Substitutes: David Healy for Aaron Corcoran and Luke Thompson for Seán Dennehy both half-time.

Referee: D Carthy