Mooney strikes to give the men from Malahide a point
© Fingal Independant 12/11/04

Swords Celtic 3 : Malahide United 3

By Feidhlim Kelly

An injury to Swords Celtic striker John Crossan marred what was an entertaining game at Balheary Park where Swords Celtic drew three all against Fingal rivals Malahide United. Celtic took control of the match early on and their passing was much crisper and precise than their opponents. Aaron Lambe nearly put the home side ahead but was denied by the onrushing Niall Cassidy in goal for Malahide. Cassidy was to have a busy game and was an integral figure for Malahide. He had no chance soon after though as he could only parry Colin Flynn’s fiercely struck shot from the left and Ciaran Dunne nipped in to knock home the rebound. Swords were dominant and it looked like the floodgates might open. It appeared to be a bit of a mismatch with Malahide at sixes and sevens.

Malahide dug in though and adopted a direct style of play and it started to pay dividends. They nearly got through on goal after a good pass by Adam Curtis but were denied by a questionable offside decision. The Swords defence were struggling to deal with the long ball tactic and the direct approach applied by Malahide looked like it could bear fruit. The Jack Charlton style tactics did indeed bear fruit moments later when a punt up field was not dealt with and Dean Mooney raced clear. Mooney was halted by keeper Matthew Quinlan but Mark Grehan collected the loose ball and rolled the sphere in to an empty net. Another long kick up field this time by Niall Cassidy nearly set up Mark Grehan once more but Swords eventually cleared the danger.

Although struggling at the back Swords still looked potent as an attacking force and were denied a second goal by a last gasp clearance off the line by Niall Kennedy. Colin Flynn was played through on the left following a good move and he neatly lifted the ball over Niall Cassidy in what looked destined for the back of the net until Niall Kennedy put a twist in the script with a heroic last ditch clearance. Undeterred by the near miss Swords pressed forward and were eventually awarded a second goal thanks to a brilliant strike by Aaron Lambe.

A ball over the top put Ciaran Dunne in on goal but the ever alert Niall Cassidy raced off his line and tackled Dunne before he could hit an effort on goal. The ball fell to Aaron Lambe forty yards from goal and he hit it forcefully first time over a helpless Cassidy to score a wonder goal. With the game poised for half time an accidental collision led to an injury to the skilful John Crossan which marred what was a good competitive game. Crossan collided with a player near the halfway line and dislocated his knee in what was a stomach churning incident. It was a pure accident and there was no malice in the game before or after and the friendly rivalry between the two teams was shown when they were chatting away during the stoppage to wait for the ambulance.

The delay in the game also made the match reporter aware of the cold nip in the air and regretted he had not brought a jacket as he rushed to the game. After a twenty minute pause or so waiting for the ambulance to whisk John Crossan to hospital the two teams kicked off the second half. Time waits for no man and the game restarted with Swords picking up where they left off. They continued to press forward and Niall Cassidy was being kept as busy as ever in goal. It was only a matter of time before Swords got their third goal and Ciaran Dunne was on hand once more to pick up the pieces. Dave Glanville hit a powerful shot and Niall Cassidy could again do no more than parry the ball where Ciaran Dunne gratefully tapped in his second of the game.

It now looked like it was curtains for Malahide. Playing against the wind and up the slope in the second half they had failed thus far to create any openings. Swords meanwhile continued to press forward and created a host more chances. The sting in the tail for Swords though was that they failed to take any. It didn’t seem as it would matter though and they rung the changes to give the subs a chance. Malahide won a free just inside the Swords half on the left in a semi dangerous position. Celtic tried to play the offside trap that had worked earlier but backfired this time. Sean Donegan collected the ball and coolly lifted the ball over the keeper and then side footed home. Still it looked like a consolation but for whatever reason Swords seemed perturbed by giving the goal away and lost their confidence. Maybe it was shock that they were leading by only one goal and it should have been more.

Malahide didn’t worry anyway and they levelled the match as Swords waited for another offside decision. Mark Grehan bore in on goal where he squared the ball across to Dean Mooney to put in to the empty net. It was an unlikely comeback but it was a strange sort of a game and Malahide rode their luck and ran with it. There was still some time left and Swords were denied a winner by a great athletic save by Niall Cassidy. The ball was laid back to the edge of the area to Dave Peavoy whose goal bound shot was saved by the cat like Cassidy. Malahide left appreciative with a point and Swords were left to rue a host of missed chances and an injury to one of their best players. Never a dull moment!

Teams:

Swords Celtic- Matthew Quinlan, Liam Sutton, Mark Cummins, Stephen Reggazzoli, Shane Gleeson, Paul Lawlor, Aaron Lambe, Dave Glanville, John Crossan, Ciaran Dunne, Colin Flynn, Dave Peavoy, Niall Fagan, Sam Kelly, Thomas Keaney, Daniel O‚Neill

Managers- Gerry Dunne, Barry Flynn, Brian Lambe

Malahide United- Niall Cassidy, Adam Curtis, Niall Lynch, Daniel Lynnot, Mark Grehan, Ian Reynolds, Ian Molphy, Simon Chase, Dave McGuinness, Dean Mooney, Gavin Brennan, Robbie Brennan, Sean Donegan, Ronan Sweeney, Niall Kennedy

Managers- Dominic Molphy, Aidan McGuinness