February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The Bronx outfit overcame a shaky start at Msgr. McClancy High School to hammer Shamrock 4-1 and take sole possession of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League’s Metro Div. 1 leadership.
Krimean Turkish, who’d started the day level on points with Lansdowne, were shocked 2-1 by lowly Central Park Rangers, leaving the Bhoys two points clear of Kandia, 2-1 victors over Manhattan Celtic, at the top.
Bart O’Rourke raised early hopes of a first win for bottom side Shamrock, now 0-4-1 (win-loss-draw), when he shot the Rocks ahead during a good spell in the opening 15 minutes. However, Lansdowne slowly worked their way back into the game, on a waterlogged surface, and managed to tie it up before the interval. Forward Mogo rose from the ground after being taken down in the box to convert the ensuing penalty (40th).
On resumption, a C.J. Doherty throughball released John O’Driscoll for Lansdowne’s second (52nd). Andrew Solkin (65th) then extended the lead to 3-1 before Doherty iced the victory in the 85th minute.
Said Lansdowne President Eamonn Duffy: “We were bad in the first 15 minutes. But once we’d settled down, we started putting the ball in the net.”
Sean Keogh offered a brutally candid assessment of Shamrock’s capitulation. “They were just better than us,” he said. “We got an early lead and they came back to win.”
Lansdowne improved to 4-1 (12 pts), while shaking off — for now — the challenge of Krimean Turkish (3-2, 9), who gave up a second half lead in their 2-1 defeat by CPR at Red Hook.
Cem Sahin (50th) had the Turks ahead before Vladimir Thelisma and Steve Roberts brought Rangers back. Krimean drop to third on the standings.
CELTS CLIPPED
Middle-of-the-table Manhattan Celtic (2-3, 6) put up a gallant fight in a 2-1 loss to Kandia at East River Park. Down 1-0 from Chris Pandari’s 35th minute strike on the break, Celtic attacked relentlessly for the rest of the match.
There was a spectacular overhead kick by Keith Doyle that went close with half time approaching, and winger John Chapman’s pinball equalizer (50th) that hit the crossbar, a defender and then the net.
Celtic went on to produce a frenzied finish once Kandia goal-ace Layton Mattis had made it 2-1 (60th), stretching the visiting goalie with shots by John Marron, Ian Woodcock, Jonah Cohan and Dane Stefan Nyvang.
“Their goalkeeper saved them,” noted Marron, who came on when Thierno Diallo pulled a hamstring. “We had the better chances and played pretty good but just couldn’t get the final shot in.”
Celtic finished with ten-man after the ejection of English sweeper Guy Gettens for a professional foul (75th).
With the result, Kandia (3-1-1, 10) climb into second position in Metro Div. 1.
GAELS COLLAPSE
It was another frustrating Sunday for Astoria Gaels (1-1-3, 6) who ended the afternoon 6 points adrift of Lansdowne after blowing a two-goal lead in a 2-2 tie with Gotham FC in Brooklyn.
Gerald O’Brien (15th) and midfielder Seamus Pilkington (50th) seemed to have three vital points in the bag at Red Hook, but alas.
First Gaels’ usually dependable goalie John Watters dropped a corner-kick, allowing Tony DeLorenzo to pull one back. Then Stuart Kaiser leveled from another corner 15 minutes from time.
Gaels rallied for the winner after that, but despite the best efforts of MVPs Nestor Allen and Derek McKenna, goals were not forthcoming.
“We threatened and threatened and threatened, but couldn’t score,” manager Dave Browne lamented.
In Metro Div. 2, Andy Stewart Jones had ASA McCarthy’s face-saver in a 7-1 shellacking by leaders Clarkstown SC (4-0-2, 14) at Wards Island.
ROLLER COASTER
What’s shaping up to be a see-saw season for Shamrock’s First Division team took a bad turn at St. John’s University last Saturday where the Rocks were thrashed 3-0 by leaders Pancyprian Freedoms.
Rocky Bojovic (3rd) and Julio DeSantos (40th, 44th) did the damage on a rainy night.
Shamrock (1-3-1, 4) remain third from the bottom.
At Travers Island, New York Athletic Club were surprisingly held to a 1-1 tie by Central Park Rangers after the latter’s Will Tidey (80th) pegged back Khouri Mullins’ 65th minute strike.
“Disappointing result. We were the better team and deserved to win,” said NYAC coach Ronan Downs.
Second-placed NYAC, whose reserves prevailed 5-1, fall three points behind Pancyprian (4-0-1, 13).
Also in Division One, Rob Lubin (80th) earned the Mike Fitzgerald coached Manhattan Kickers a 1-all tie with Barnstonworth Rovers at Roosevelt Island.
OVER-30
Danny Shields (30th) and Sean Conagahan (70th) scored in a 2-1 decision over SC Eintracht at the Shore Road Field that kept Brooklyn Celtic (4-1, 12) in pursuit of Over-30 West pace-setters New York Greek-American/Atlas.
Ronald Gotz replied for Eintracht.
The Greeks dispatched BW Gottschee 5-1 at Flushing High School, with Memo Cortes (two), Rosario Simeone, and Lucio Russo accounting for some of the goals.
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