February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Astoria Gaels suffered their first loss this season, 3-2, to last season’s division winners, Barnsworth Rovers, last weekend.
The Gaels started well, winning midfield, and were rewarded after 20 minutes with a defense-splitting pass by Mark Kelly that found Derek McKenna. McKenna deftly lobbed the ball over the Rovers’ goalkeeper to open the scoring.
The Gaels lost their direction during the next 15 minutes and were punished by a 15-yard drive that leveled matters.
Within five minutes of the start of the second half, Barnsworth scored their second goal. With the Gaels finding it hard to play their own game, the opposition pounced on an opportunity to score their third from 12 yards on the 15-minute mark.
The Gaels, in their customary fashion, battled back and found their game. A Nestor Allen throw found McKenna 20 yards out. He then turned and struck a thunderous shot that flew to the low right hand corner of the net to bring the Gaels to within one.
The Gaels played their hearts out for the last 20 minutes and were unlucky not to be rewarded with efforts from Allen and a Vivian White drive.
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Man of the Match Joe Harris didn’t put a foot wrong at left-back. Others who played well were Dermot Moore, Niall Sugrue and Kevin Nagle.