February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Jay Mwamba
St. Barnabas eked out a 1-0 victory over Shamrock S.C. in a fiercely contested Cosmopolitan Soccer League (CSL) First Division match played with local derby intensity at Downing Stadium last Sunday.
The Saints scored early — Jim Ford tapping in a Larry Toner rebound after 15 minutes — and then rode goalkeeper Ronny Driscoll’s brilliant form to notch their third straight win.
"Their goalie was magnificent," said Shamrock midfielder John Guildea. "He was the difference between us not getting a tie."
Midfielder Mick Hennessey was another standout for St. Barnabas (4-2-1, 13 points), who climbed into fifth position, eight points off the pace, but with three games in hand. Shamrock, meanwhile, dropped to eighth place (3-6-1, 10) in the 10-team First Division.
Said the Saints Larry Carolan: "It was a sweet victory. We proved that we are the better team."
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St. Barnabas won the first meeting 3-0, but lost all three points to Shamrock after the league ruled that they had used an unregistered player.
The reserve match last Sunday finished in a 2-2 tie. Shamrock led 1-0 on Kevin Brennan’s goal, then Saints went up 2-1 through Michael Flood and Sean O’Flynn, before Brendan Riley’s free-kick earned the home side a point.
Point game
In the Third Division, Shamrock’s goalless tie with Turkish club Sunnyside Genclik saw their lead at the top cut to one point by Guyana Juniors (21), who dispatched Solas 3-0. Christopher Stewart, Tallo Hudson and Kester Darlington scored for Guyana.
Lansdowne rattle
Lansdowne AC’s form and poise deserted them in a big way at Van Cortland Park where they had two players red-carded in a 3-0 defeat by Mike Fitzgerald’s red-hot Manhattan Kickers.
Norman Pile (30th) had Kickers ahead at half time, before a brace by the Gabonese-born Philip Renombe (61st, 80th) on resumption finished Lansdowne off.
"They’re a very gritty team and fight hard," Fitzgerald, Kickers’ coach and first team goalie observed. "It might have been a different story if they had 11 players."
Lansdowne, who dropped to 2-3-4 (10) but remained fifth in Division Two (West), had a player sent off in each half.
False start
Derek McKenna (15th) gave Astoria Gaels a strong start against Concord Sporting Club, and for long minutes, the beleaguered Second Division side was able to hold its own.
Concord, however, ran off 7-1 winners after a display of clinical finishing. Aliy Yermolenko (four), Michael Mesheraikov, Victor Vechnaikov and Arthur Sadykov scored.
"The result did not justify the game. A tie would have been a better result," said Jimmy Ralph, who has been more than candor in his assessment of Gaels this season.
Reserve power
New York Athletic Club’s reserve players came through once again for coach Ronan Downs in NYAC’s 3-2 win over Banatul.
Greg Smalling (47th), reserve midfielder Tim Harding (49th) and reserve goalie Michael Coughlin (70th) were on target for the champs at the Metropolitan Oval.
"The reserve players who came in are the heart of the team," Downs said of Harding and Coughlin, who’d featured earlier in the NYAC reserves’ 3-2 loss.
Pyrrhic victory
First Division leaders New York Albanians stretched their winning streak to six matches, but at a cost. They lost 17-year-old goalie Nick Dedvukaj with three broken ribs in a 3-2 decision over Fairfield/Westchester United in the Bronx.
"He’s the only goalie we have," lamented Joe Shkreli, whose worst fears were underscored by Fairfield’s spirited fight-back after Dedvukaj was stretchered off in the 50th.
Trailing 2-0 to strikes by Ronald Dembo (15th) and Rocky Bojovic (38th), Fairfield came back to tie the game through Giovanni Capelini (55th) and Charles Balsamo (70th). Mirsad Husseinovic, however, stole it for the Albanians with a killer free-kick two minutes from time.
The Fairfield reserves won 1-0.
Dinamic duo
Twin strikers Tony Camaj (15th, 60th) and Mured Ibrahimov (25th, 70th) led New York Dinamo to a 4-0 romp over New York Croatia in Boonton, N.J. Dinamo (5-1-3, 18) climbed into second position.
At Little Bay Park, Karol Sciborowski (55th) and Mariusz Kulescza (87th) scripted Polonia’s 2-1 upset victory over New York Hungaria, who dropped into third position (15). The Hungaria reserves prevailed 1-0.
Second Division
Santo Russo helped CD Iberia (19) stay a point ahead of his former club Manhattan Kickers with a goal in the Division Two East leaders’ 2-0 win over Bergen Kickers at Randalls Island.
Juan Carlos Fontenada had the other goal for Iberia, whose reserves won 3-1.
Third-placed S.C. Eintracht improved to 5-1-1 (16) with a 3-0 result over B.W. Poughkeepsie at Roosevelt Island. Tony Alessandro (10th) and Eric Oram (38th, 75th) starred. The reserve fixture ended in a 1-all tie.
Andy Horan (25th), Stavros Zomopoulos (75th) and Per Holmberg (85th) led Barnstonworth Rovers past Clarkstown 3-1 at the Kennedy Field.
Rovers took the reserve game 2-1.
Nags squeaker
Marcus Davidson’s 55th minute goal was enough for Nag’s Head United to squeeze out a 1-0 decision over Homenetmen at Randalls.
The Nag’s reserves lost 4-1.
Western front
Pace-setters Ripensia-Romania thrashed Ukrainian S.C. 5-0 at Grover Cleveland High School in Maspeth for their sixth win (18). Adrian Ionete and Razvan Anghel each had a brace, while Michael Schiop added the fifth. Ripensia’s reserves won 2-1.
50 and counting
Koha (17) remained a point behind Ripensia with a 6-2 rout of New York Wanderers at McCarran Park.
Among the Koha scorers was 50 year-old Tahir Orahovic who played the last 15 minutes. Fatos Selimi (two), Nikolla Gjokaj (two) and Ismet Gilaj also connected.
The reserves drew 2-2.
Third Division
Dan Ceabuca (20th, 70th), Robert Credulescu (29th) and Dichi Micica (58th pen) kept Ridgewood undefeated with a 4-1 romp over B.W. Gottschee at Randalls Island. John Figueroa (78th) got Gottschee’s face-saver.
Brooklyn Stars knocked off FC Fenerbahce 5-0 in an all-Turkish clash at Red Hook with goals by Erdinc (three), Senol Ozer and Hakan, while Chile FC hammered another Turkish side Anatolia 4-1.
Krimean first
Krimean Turkish downed Jersey City FC 3-1, courtesy of Ali Gul (15th, 75th) and Gunduz Aydemir (60th), for their first win of the season. Gerry Smith was the Jersey scorer.
Barnstonworth Rovers also picked up their first win, at the expense of Jam’s whose Kyohei Tokoro scored in a 2-1 loss. The CSL’s other Japanese club, SICJA took out CD Iberia 5-1.
Metros edged
Sergio Rivera gave Scala Brasil a 1-0 win over G.H. Metros in a clash between the Over-30 Division’s top two teams, at Randalls.
"They scored after 12 minutes then we were all over them. They are a good team," said Metros coach Rory Finn, whose first-placed side (East) lost for the first time.
"Our team is doing well," Ruy Reis of West frontrunners Brasil, noted.
Fairfield/Westchester, second in the East with 14 points, crashed 4-2 to Pele Masters. Denis O’Leary and George Saghir scored for the former, while Orin Frazier, Ray Obermuller, Clairmont Chung and Glendon struck for Masters.
Ata Salamanca’s late goal (88th) steered B.W. Gottschee past Athletic Club 1-0 at Randalls. Earlier at Randalls Island, Elias and Steve Grech had scored for Pancyprians in a 2-1 result over Eintracht, whose Mohamed Ata replied.
In other Over-30 action, Jerry Lee (two) and James Callendar tallied in Guyana Veterans’ 3-0 victory over Serbia, while New York Greek-American/Atlas trounced Banatul 5-2 with goals by Jose Luis Leva (three), Gus Tsirkas, and Ernie Apostolikis.