Park Celtic Football Club

When I was in school, one of my strong subjects was geography, and I got a good honour in the leaving cert. In those days, Ratoath was defiantly not in County Dublin, only now I am not so sure as it is in the DDSL (the first ’D’ is for Dublin). Has some politician been up to a bit of gerrymandering to get elected? We headed out to Ratoath with a fair amount of optimism as Ratoath were bottom of the league with 2 losses out of 2, and we had a win and a draw under our belt.

Right from the kick-off we knew we were up against it. They seemed to have a full squad of skillful players who were able to take on players and complete their passes with ease. To be honest, they gave us a lesson and it is a wonder that we were only beaten 4-1. A couple of their goals were scorchers from a distance. Where we did match up was in our defending, even if we did concede 4 goals. If the gap between the sides was as great in our defense as it was on skill and stamina, the score would have been a lot, lot worse.

There were plenty positive aspects from the game. Even though we were under pressure from the off, our work rate was very good and the heads stayed high. Despite being allowed much time on the ball, it was evident that we are starting to play as a team. Our keepers on the day, Eli and CianC were at all times looking to get the ball to a team mate, and succeeded almost all of the time. Our defense as usual was very solid, and except for occasions when they were outmanned, they did a sterling job. To be fair, three of the Ratoath goals were very good, and needed to be. Karl and Paul have developed a good partnership and I don’t recall them being beaten two on two.

The midfield of Cormac, Danial, Liam were given a tough time by the Ratoath midfield and also their backs, who were well able to play the ball out of defense and through midfield. This was Cormac’s first game with Park Celtic and it is clear that he enjoys his football and has fitted in very nicely. He played a blinder in midfield, working really hard, giving himself a stitch in the process. His link up play with his team mates, good manner and unselfish use of the ball, demonstrates that he is a team player and an obvious asset to the team. The man-of-the-match award was an easy decision on the day, and Cormac has set the bar high for himself from the beginning.

In the absence of Finn, Evan played up front and it was certainly not a day for poaching and their defense were very strong. There were precious few chances, and it was a lonely task, to get on the ball, Evan typically had to come very deep. Their keeper was very big for U8s and was not going to let in any soft goals.

The end result of 4-1 was a bit flattering, 3-1 might have been a truer reflection of the difference between the sides. The opposition were physically much bigger, and under the circumstances, we put up a very good show indeed.

Ratoath Harps 4 – 1 Park Celtic