Liberties FC News
AFL OVER 35’s SENIOR DIVISION 2
OLV 2-4 LIBERTIES FC
DDSL U17’S MAJOR DIVISION 3
VERONA BOYS 2-1 MARROWBONE LANE CELTIC FC
There were 2 big games today for the club with the Under 17’s in a top of the table clash against unbeaten Verona Boys in Coolmine Park! 3 points behind going into the match it was a game the 17’s needed to win and despite going 1-0 up through Adam Hannon they were unable to hang on eventually crashing to a 2-1 defeat! Hard luck lads! Things can change so hopefully they can bounce back next week with a win! Today’s match report though comes from the Over 35’s…,
With us barely recovering from yesterday’s dramatic match it was off to Markievicz Park this morning for another roller coaster game of football this time served up by Peter O’Neills Over 35’s away to OLV in the league! There’s rarely a dull moment when the Overs take the field and today was no exception! Even the referee enjoyed it; so much so he didn’t want either half to end with head scratching amounts of ‘injury time’ added to both halves!! Great for the spectators, a nightmare for O’Neill and the players!!
It was an incredibly open start with both teams going at each other from the off!! Only for the uncanny positioning of George Ray Libbos would have been behind very early on with Ray not once, but twice brilliantly clearing off his own line to keep it goalless….but not for long! Not even Ray could keep OLV at bay for long as 18 mins in as a quick break and a through ball found the right winger who fed the OLV striker to beat our Number 1 Martin Comerford down to his left!!
Libbos needed to rally quickly or it could be a rout – and they did!! Now everyone knows winger Keith Meehan has a wand of a left foot having supplied several goals for the Libbos this season and he soon set up another. When Meehans own corner ended back with him, one swoosh of the outside of his left foot found the sliding Paul Whitefield, up from the back and the scores were level! 1-1 and game on!!
Now everyone knows winger Keith Meehan has a right foot….he uses it for standing on and has never supplied a goal with it in his life….until today…. when 8 minutes later Keith in a moment of madness or just sheer tiredness delivered with his right foot to find the man with the Plan – Sibanda who buried a header beyond the helpless OLV keeper!
Both sides were serving up a treat so it’s no surprise that the ref decided to add a few more minutes to the half but it was to prove critical and somewhat controversial for the Libbos! 4 mins into injury time an OLV free kick from the left came into the box with an unmarked OLV striker diverting the ball into the bottom corner….unmarked from being a clear yard offside but the ref saw otherwise and the goal was given! Referees have a tough job and you don’t always get the decisions but the biggest thing is how you react! At such a crucial time, just on the stroke of half time this swung the game in OLV’s favour but the Libbos lads are made of sterner stuff and came out determined to get a result!
They had to be patient as the next goal took a long time to come…Cometh the 73rd min, Cometh the man….David Shanahan is proving a real handful for all defences this season with his all action style and with him up front there’s always a chance of a goal! Some times it has to be laid on a plate for him mind and Jimmy O’Keefe did just that! O’Keefe showed great determination to break the deadlock with efforts being blocked not once but twice but when the ball came back to him again he fed Shano who took a touch….then another….. and slotted past the keeper to give the Libbos the lead!! It was the Shano show in the closing stages and minutes later he was harshly denied a 2nd goal when he headed past the keeper from a peach of a Keith Meehan set piece when the ref adjudged he’d pushed the defender…..
It wasn’t long though before he was involved in the goal that finished it! In the 88th minute a smart 1-2 from a corner with O’Keefe resulted in O’Keefe drilling a cross which found the on rushing Peter Long with a diving header emulating Robbie Bowes from yesterday into the net!!
4-2, 88th minute, game over….or so you’d think…. The ref found a staggering 10 minutes of injury time giving OLV every opportunity to get back in the match….They nearly did!! Only a super save from Martin Comerford diving to his left to tip around the post saved an even more nail biting last few minutes!! But win they did and they deservedly took all 3 points to climb the table to 3rd!!
Difficult to pick the MOTM and the gaffer decided to go with a joint decision so for a 100% pass completion rate from his 2 attempted passes and general all round performance one call goes to Dave Shanadonna Shanahan! In all seriousness a super performance from Dave, the second MOTM goes to Paul Whitefield who marshalled the defensive brilliantly and put his body on the line on numerous occasions, he also popped up with the 1st of our goals. All today put in a performance taking the lead from yesterday’s seniors!
Well done all – UP THE LIBBOS!
