CSL Roundup Downs’s NYAC top St. Barnabas for Cosmopolitan league cup

By Jay Mwamba

It was New York Athletic Club’s sixth Cosmopolitan Soccer League title since 1994 and probably their most improbable. But for Ronan Downs, it was his sweetest as NYAC’s dynasty-making coach.

"I never said it, but I didn’t give us much chance of winning this [title]," Downs said after NYAC had defeated St. Barnabas 5-2 at Travers Island last Sunday to bag the 2000-2001 First Division championship. "We’re delighted to win.

NYAC triumphed in dramatic fashion. They got off to a whirlwind start, going up 3-0 after eight minutes, but then slowly ceding ground to the battling Saints before an Andre Parris goal 10 minutes from time killed off St. Barnabas.

"They played their hearts out," Downs said. "The most notable aspect of the game is that Barnabas came out to play.

"We had an absolutely worse than horrible start," said St. Barnabas’ Aiden Dennis, one of several reserves drafted into the first team for the Saints’ final match of the season.

NYAC went at them from kick-off and connected through John McCallion (2nd, 8th) and midfield dynamo Gregg Smalling (4th).

But it wasn’t until Smalling made it 4-0 in the 35th minute that St. Barnabas got going.

Said Dennis: "From that moment it was about trying to restore some pride or collapsing."

The Saints chose the former and were rewarded for their efforts before halftime when C.J. Doherty pulled a goal back from a free kick. Freddy Fitzpatrick reduced the deficit to 4-2 on the hour and save for another couple of close misses, Dennis said, St. Barnabas would have been right back in it.

"At one stage when it was 4-2 we were dominating them," Dennis added. "Then they scored 10 minutes from the end and that killed us."

Downs acknowledged the Saints’ second-half dominance saying: "They were periods in the second half when they controlled the game. They played very well."

In the end, it was NYAC’s championship pedigree that prevailed. "They’re definitely a good side. Very fit, too. They deserved to win," Dennis said.

As championships go, it was pretty sweet to win this one," Downs said. "We were out a few weeks ago. But beating [New York] Albanians turned it."

Albanians (15-3, 45 points, who finished second to NYAC on goal difference,

appeared on target for their first championship in 12 years with three games

remaining when they lost 3-2 to Downs’ men.

That vital win for NYAC, followed by a decision by the league to award the defending champs three points from an abandoned game against Banatul last

fall, set up Sunday’s decider with St. Barnabas.

"I’m pleased with how it ended," remarked Downs, who will now go down as one of the Cosmopolitan League’s most successful coaches.

Downs, a Dublin native, previously led NYAC to CSL titles in the 1994-95, 95-96, 96-97, 98-99, and 99-2000 seasons.

Celtic run

Brooklyn Celtic turned on the heat in the second half to shut out Brasil S.C. 4-0 at Fort Hamilton Army Base and reach the final of the "B" Division playoffs against Athletic Club’s Over-30 side.

Jim Murray gave Celtic a 1-0 halftime lead before Sean Conaghan and the irrepressible Paddy O’Sullivan, who’s 47, tallied twice on resumption.

"They’re a pretty good team," O’Sullivan said of the Brazilians.

Celtic are also through to the final of the Saunders Cup, which they will dispute with Guyana Veterans "A" next month.

League Cup

The preserve of Shamrock S.C. for the last two years, the League Cup is now in the possession of Pancyprian Freedoms, who beat Ripensia-Romania 3-1 in the final at St. John’s University.

Nikolas Paraskevopoulos, Mark Reeves and Anastasis Polydefkis struck for Pancyprian, former perennial champions in the Hellenic League who have just completed their rookie season in the CSL. Adrian Ionete was the Ripensia scorer.

"The season didn’t go too bad," Pancyprian GM Lefteris Eliasdes said. "We’re not happy that we didn’t win the championship, but we’re looking for a good run next season."

Ripensia boss Anghel Popa said his club was hobbled by injuries and work commitments going into the final.

"I didn’t have all my guys, but it was an even game," he said.

Ripensia Cup

Popa hopes that his men will make up for their League Cup disappointment by retaining the Ripensia Cup they lifted last year. This year’s tournament takes place over two weekends (Aug. 18-19 and Aug. 25-26) at Grover Cleveland High School in Maspeth. He expects 16 teams to participate in the event. Call (917) 952-4253 or

(212) 639-9642 for details.