February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The forward struck Shamrock’s first goal after 15 minutes and sealed Guyana’s first loss with a superb finish to a Paddy Gerathy and Dex move 15 minutes from time.
Bingo O’Driscoll and Paddy O’Connor, both in the line up after missing the Rocks’ 6-1 set-back to Sporting Astoria, combined for the second goal, with the latter floating in a corner that the former nodded in (35th).
Julian Cambridge pulled one back for the Caribbean side before half time.
Late in the match, Shamrock veterans Owen Sweeney and Eugene Smyth came on and gave a good account of themselves.
Coach Robbie Walsh was naturally pleased by the result, the Rocks’ second win in Metro Div. 2. action since dropping down from the First Division at the end of last season.
“It was a good battle, the lads fought hard,” he said.
Even more inspiring was the return of key players, including forward Paddy Gerathy, back in the fold after a year away.
The result kept Shamrock (2-2-2, 8) in a three-way tie for third place in Metro Div. 2 (West) with SC Eintracht and 8 Mile Creek.
VETS HELD
Earlier at Msgr. McClancy, Shamrock’s Over-30 team ground out a goalless tie with BW Gottschee in a ‘B’ Division fixture.
“We missed many chances,” said coach Sean Keogh, whose men (0-2-2, 2) remain winless.
CLIMBING CELTS
Manhattan Celtic (3-2-1, 10) climbed into third place in Division Two on the back of a 6-1 thrashing of NIFA at Pier 40.
Barry McConnell (20th, 40th) gave Celtic a 2-0 half time lead and on resumption, “Great Dane” Stefan Nyvange (48th), Michael Thomas (70th, 75th) and David Linn (85th) saw off NIFA.
“NIFA have some good players but a lot of them played both games,” noted Celtic chief Ian Woodcock, whose reserves came from 3-1 down to prevail 4-3.
Robert Alexander, Freddy Etsiakoh (two) and Brian Lewis tallied for the Celtic seconds after Philip Roche (two) and Achat Dukenson had NIFA cruising.
“A good performance by both (Celtic) teams,” said Woodcock.
LUCKLESS LANSDOWNE
Lansdowne Bhoys’ frustrating season continued when Damian Mescall’s 54th minute penalty miss at Tibbets Field in Yonkers proved costly in a 2-1 loss to Mike Fitzgerald’s Manhattan Kickers.
Mescall actually converted the spot kick on his first try, but the referee ordered it retaken saying she’d not blown the whistle. Unfortunately for the usually inspirational player and Lansdowne, his second attempt, which could have canceled out Hussein Nasreddin’s (47th) goal for Kickers, was off the mark.
Nasreddin’s second strike (67th) proved to be decisive after Dessie Beattie fired home an Anthony Gerald rebound from six yards (85th).
“We’re beating ourselves,” said coach Paul Doherty. “It could easily have been 2-2 but believe me, we squandered chances.”
Doherty is confident though that Lansdowne’s bad luck won’t last forever. “We’ll turn the corner,” he vowed, after lauding his players.
The last place Bhoys fell to 0-5-1 (1).
BAD DAY
“Not a good day.” That was Aidan Corr’s take on his reserve side’s 6-1 rout by Kickers in the opener at Tibbets Field.
Corr could only muster 11 players and after one hobbled off injured, played half the game with ten men.
Pete McGinn grabbed a late consolation (85th) after Elliot Brook (10th, 24th), Joe Whiteman (15th, 38th), Andres Garcia (56th) and Scott Conti (82nd) had pulled the visitors away.
SINKING GAELS
Banatul’s Ardi Barbu struck an 87th minute winner at Commodore Barry Field in Brooklyn to consign Astoria Gaels to a 2-1 defeat.
Barbu had earlier canceled out Glen Richie’s ice-breaker for Gaels (20th), who slipped to second from the bottom (1-3, 3) in Division Two.
In the reserve encounter, JP Milligan, Brendan Rielly and Steve Maher earned Gaels a 3-1 victory.
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McCARTHY FALL
In Metro Div. 1, John Davidson (20th) connected for lowly ASA McCarthy in a 2-1 defeat by New York Wanderers at the Grand Street Field.