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Peamount triumph in penalty shoot out but Football the real Winner
This was it. The last game of 2016 where the two Divisional winners came head to head in a winner-takes-all final. Peamount had home advantage and boasted a 100% record this season. Castleknock were the underdogs but with only one reverse all season arrived quietly confident. A good crowd was in attendance to witness what turned out to be the Game of the Season for both teams.
Peamount started the brighter but Celtic, who are notoriously slow starters, grew in to the game only to fall behind to a swift attack from Peamount. The Peamount midfielder played a weighted pass out left to the winger who outpaced his opposite number before cutting in a planting a sweet shot past Celtic keeper, Max Ostapchuk.. 1-0. To their credit Celtic responded positively. Caitlin La Bont shot just wide and Esse Okirikpo saw his well struck shot deflected for a corner. With 5 minutes of the half left the very impressive Tara O’Hanlon won a free kick for Celtic 30 yards out. NO DANGER. Up stepped Luke Hughes who struck a wondrous free kick into the top corner of the net – a goal his freetaking maestro brother, Mark, would have been proud of. 1-1. Minutes later Tara met a Luke corner with a power header into the ground past the keeper before shaving the post. HT: 1-1
Celtic started the second half like they finished the first – on top and pushing for a second. Peamount looked vulnerable but got the break they needed. A failed clearance allowed the Peamount striker to toe poke the ball past Max. 2-1. Again Celtic refused to panic as they went in search of the equaliser. The game was end to end with defences on top . For Celtic Ryan Sherlock was snuffing out his opposite number while Ryan “Maccer” Mc Gregor and Andre Ungareanu were reading the game superbly , sweeping in and sweeping up on a regular basis. 10 minutes left Celtic moved Caitlin up front with Ben Forde stepping into a two man defence. Celtic pushed, Tara bravely won a corner but injured herself in the process. The big men went forward . The clock was ticking. Luke swung it in from the left where it was powered home with a header by……………….”MACCER”. Ryan may be the smallest on the pitch but with the biggest heart and in this case the most want he headed home ala Robbie Brady. 2-2. Extra time here we come!!!
Jaffas on board all the Coaches asked for was “more of the same”. And that’s what we got from both teams. Chances came, chances went. We had tackles, clearances, saves, oohs and aahs!! The excitement was nearly to much to take. Half time came and went in a flash but the pace and standard of the game remained high. All players giving their all and neither team giving an inch. The Referee was enjoying it too much as he extended play by nearly 6 minutes. No one deserved to lose and the whistle finally came. FT: 2-2. If your heart can take it Peno’s here we come.
THE PENALTY SHOOTOUT – Big Ryan went first. A power drive , hits the underside of the bar and over the line but the Ref says no (unfortunately no hawkeye but our eagle eye photographer has evidence it crossed over). Peamount score. Luke, James and Andre ensure sudden death. This game needed to finish before dark and before we had heart attacks . No one deserved to lose so we needed a winner and fittingly it was won rather than lost although Celtic were devastated when the Peamount striker fired home his penalty. FT: 6-5. Phew!!!!
What a game. Great performances from both teams. No team deserved to lose, no player deserved to lose and to be honest I don’t think anyone did. Yes Peamount will get the shield – all credit to them but FOOTBALL was the real winner. From the players perspective their Club,Coaches and Parents couldn’t be prouder. This team have come up four divisions and there are 3 players who played 10 divisions lower last year so this season to reach the final and go head to head with a team of Peamounts’s quality and calibre tells you all need to know about this crazy hardworking motley crew. Well done Abdullah, Andre, Ben, Caitlin, Conor, Denys, Esse, James, Luke, Max, Ryan, Ryan and Tara – thank you for your commitment, courage , character and of course your football. Proud of you all but remember this is just the start not the finish. New challenges lie ahead and we all need to work hard to meet them. Com’n the Celts!!!