- HOME
- HISTORY
- LOCATION
- RESULTS
- FIXTURES
- CONTACTS
- CLUB NEWS
- GALLERY
- CONTACT US
- MINI-WORLD CUP
- PLAN YOUR SPORTS SESSION
- CELTIC FC PARTNERSHIP
- COACHING CORNER
- HONOURS
- YOUNG PEOPLE'S HEALTH IN MIND
- GARDA VETTING FORM
- JUNIORS INSURANCE COVER SUMMARY
- CODES OF PRACTICE & CONDUCT UPDATED JAN 2018
- ARCHIVE MEMORIES
- CONSTITUTION 2017
- FAI SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
Young Blood settles close encounter in titanic battle with Greystones”
The big games just keep coming and coming for Castleknock Celtic. In the past three weeks Celtic have played the top 3 and today welcomed back Greystones Utd who dumped Celtic out of the SFAI Cup less than two weeks ago. Today would be a chance to set the record straight but against a team of Greystones' calibre it would not be easy. Still Celtic boasted a proud league record to date having been defeated by only one team so far this season and having edged a titanic battle against second placed Crumlin last week entered the game with confidence. Something had to give…………………………….
Both teams started well with the early exchanges shared. As the game edged on it became more open. Celtic cut open the Greystones on four occasions but each time shot wide. Greystones were struggling to cope with the pace and guile of Leigh Reilly and Sean Blood up front but at the other end they were forcing a number of corners where the Wicklow team proved to be more than adept at set pieces. Time and time again they had Celtic in trouble and on one occasion were unlucky not to score when a header hit the underside of the bar but not fully over the line. Still with both midfields having a titanic battle it remained scoreless at half time. HT: 0-0
Paul O’ Neill had taken a knock and was forced off allowing Eric Hannon, just back from injury and illness, to come on to bolster the hardworking midfield of Mark Hughes and Nathan O’ Reilly. The impressive Donatus Nweke slipped back into the defence and we were off again. Celtic started brightly with Dylan Mc Donagh who had seen little of the ball in the first half now well involved. With Celtic spreading the ball left to Mc Donagh and right to Lloyd Turner, who was having a great tussle with the Greystones No 7, space was opening up down the middle. After 5 minutes Hughes found Mc Donagh who took the ball in his stride past his marker. An early cross into the danger zone found Blood who swivelled and buried the ball past the keeper and into the corner. A striker's finish a la Aguero. 1-0 and the Castleknock tails were up. Greystones were rocked and Celtic sought to capitalise. Two chances went a begging before a deflected cross brought a magnificent finger tip save from the Greystones stopper. Despite dominating Celtic could not secure a second and one sensed Greystones time would come and come it did. As we entered the last quarter Greystones upped their game. The back three of Daly, Zambrano and Nweke were immense as they limited Greystones to long range efforts dealt comfortably by keeper Tommy Bowe. With 10 to go Greystones went for broke attacking swiftly on every occasion. A corner from the right saw a header crash against the bar and shortly after Ciaran Collins was the man in the right place at the right time as he ensured a cross goal header was pushed away. As the Referee blew the whistle the players of both teams having given their all were out on their feet. FT: 1-0
A great game. What it lacked in pure quality it made up for in tension, effort and commitment from two evenly matched teams. Like Celtic two weeks ago Greystones will feel their efforts deserved a share of the spoils and like two weeks ago few would argue with that assessment but today was Celtic’s day and how ironic it was that the two absentees from the Cup tie combined to seal the points for Castleknock. The Celtic Coaches were well pleased with their charges' efforts and the win firmly keeps Celtic in the mix for honours. With 10 games still to play in this incredibly even and competitive division the most important thing is that you stay in the mix and Celtic are certainly doing that.