Midleton approached this game against fellow top 4 team Glounthaune with some trepidation having given their worst performance of the season last week when they were deservedly well beaten by lowly Richmond. However what a difference a week can make sometimes!
The heavens opened just as the match started but this only seemed to inspire both teams and they went at it with gusto. It was end to end stuff with some hard but fair tackling. Halfway through the first half Midleton appeared to take control of the game and several chances came and went but luck was not on their side. Then a long ball through the Midleton defence caught several defenders napping and a Glounthaune forward coolly finished to give them the lead. Midleton then dominated for the rest of the half but a combination of good defending and some poor finishing meant the teams went into the break with Glounthaune leading 1-0.
The second half began in the same manner that the first half ended and after a couple of minutes Chiggie Igbanusi battled through the defence to find himself one on one with their goalkeeper. Chiggie finished the ball to the back of the net with a stylish effort and Midleton had a deserved equaliser. Midleton kept the pressure up and with some 20 minutes remaining Ossie scored a great goal by beating a defender on the edge of the box and finishing with a fantastic shot to the top right hand corner of the goal from about 20 metres. This effort is surely a contender for goal of the season.
From there on defending the lead was the order of the day and some great clearances by David O'Sullivan and Damien Pakela in particular ensured Glounthaune's forwards were feeding on scraps. Midfield was outstanding and while Daire Daly and Michael Curtin received yellow cards this merely demonstrated their commitment to the cause. Harry Wall was everywhere and Alex Marij dominated on the left. No further goals were scored and Midleton guaranteed a third place finish in the league with this 2-1 victory. Both sides must take immense credit for serving up a great game in such bad conditions. However special mention must go to the man of the match in what was possibly his last match. Ossie who, aside from his goal, dominated firstly as a defensive midfielder and then as centre back and gave a tremendous performance overall.
Coming into back to back games against one of the weaker teams in the league should have allowed Midleton to build up goal difference and confirm their position in the leading group. Instead, they struggled in both games against inferior opposition.
In the home game they were sloppy at the back throughout and missed numerous opportunities. Indeed, Richmond took the lead before Alan Swarbrick restored parity on the half hour. Alan has a real eye for goal and whilst they may not be spectacular, they show his intelligence for finding space. Ossie then took over, scoring two fine goals to give Midleton a 3-1 lead. In the second half, Midleton created chance after chance but determined defending and an ability to hit the goalkeeper kept the score down before Matt added a fourth. However, Midleton managed to concede a second against an injury hit 10 man team through ill-discipline and bad marking.
The return fixture produced a worse performance and few people come out with credit. Midleton conceded 3 first half goals through sheer ineptitude, a lack of tackling and marking. A very poor referee and an atrocious pitch (a poorly cut field) could be offered as excuses but against a team that was willing but with little ability, there could be little offered in defence. Midelton have all the ability but at times lack physical presence and the hard work needed to be consistent even on bad days. The referee gave Richmond a dubious penalty (for a slight tug yards outside the box) and despite two clear attacks on Alex Marij (the stand out player on the day) refused Midleton any such luxuries. His decisions heavily favoured the home team and some decisions were simply mystifying and led to frustration with eventually Ghiggie being dismissed for continued petulance. Alan Swarbrick brought Midleton back into the game with a poachers goal but the rally never came. Midleton eventually went down 4 - 1.
This sounds like an easy win for Midleton but was never so. Midleton laboured in this game and were really dragged into a game of endless line balls by the visitors who play a very limited game. Nothing better illustrated this than 5 minutes of throw-ins in the right hand corner of the pitch. In the first half, Evergreen carved out a number of half chances and corners but Aaron Harte was in full command of his goal and there was never a real threat. Craig Ryan had a good game on the right of defence and was ably supported by Ryan Higgins. When Midleton did decide to actually play football they did look a threat and Chigozie was a point of real danger with his pace and willingness to shoot. Midleton got the break before half time as Chiggie took a ball down the right and crossed in. Conor Moloney finished the cross with a good header beyond the keeper. And that should have been it.
The second half was one way traffic and Evergreen hardly crossed the half way line. However, Midleton could not quite fine the right final ball. Eventually class told and Midleton scored two late goals before the ref blew early to put Evergreen out of their misery as they looked very tired and were leaving spaces all over the pitch. Alex Marij calmly put a penalty away after an atrocious foul and then finished the day by running through the centre and passing the ball beyond the keeper. Chiggie and Alex had great games. Dylan Finn-Hannon, Damina Pekala and Craig looked strong in defence and Harry Wall gave his all as usual. Like Jordan Henderson for Liverpool, Harry's work sometimes go unnoticed (apart from the odd glaring miss as in this game). Midleton should be looking to win the rest of their games and prepare for harder challenges ahead.
Midleton let themselves down badly in the last game between these two teams and got a right thumping. This time, the team seem to be getting going after the enforced winter break and had the best of this game. Indeed without the help of two wonder free kicks from the Avondale star player, Midleton could have won this easily. Midleton began with some control but after conceding a dubious free kick (one of many) on the edge of the box, the number nine planted an unstoppable shot into the corner. Midleton had learned of this players expertise and David O'Sullivan and Ossie did a great job of keeping him quiet apart from his free kick deliveries. Midleton got a well-deserved equalizer when Chiggie hit an unstoppable shot from 30 meters. Chiggie was a real handful throughout until injury and exhaustion got to him in the last quarter. Damian Pekala, Dylan-Fin Hannon, Michael Curtin and Ossie were the stars of the show forming a solid central defence and midfield cover that forced Avondale into pumping the ball aimlessly up the field and in the second half Midleton snatched the lead.
Alan Swarbrick looking more like his old self and chasing a long ball got the ball under the keeper to role in from the edge of the area. Daire Daly and Harry Wall worked relentlessly to stop any wing attacks and Midleton looked comfortable. Then the referee intervened. Ossie executed a perfectly timed back foot challenge to rob the number 9 of the ball and launched a counter attack. However, for some reason he was called back for a free kick which was swept in for an equalizer with 5 minutes left. This game showed that Midleton are a match for any team in the league and should aim to win all their remaining games.
After two recent defeats, Midleton needed a win here and duly obliged in a wet and muddy field in Douglas. At the best of times, Kennedy Park can hardly be described as an appropriate soccer pitch but in pouring rain, an absence of changing rooms and a tough slope, it resembles challenge rather than someone to express the merits of passing football. Douglas offered little but scored the first goal with their only shot of the game after Midleton created a host of chances. Compared to previous games, the midfield looked stronger and Alex Marij in goal organized the defence superbly which kept the chances to a minimum. Damian Pekala was super at centre half, and despite a couple of times when he lost the ball, he kept nipping in front of attackers and then moving out to set up attacks. David O'Sullivan also found some form and delivered some great free kicks and crosses from the full back position.
And Midleton launched attack after attack and despite the pitch were quite fluid with passing moves involving Ossie, Conor Moloney, Michael Curtin and Harry Wall. Chigozie was a willing runner and set-up a number of chances before Ossie eventually scraped the equalizer. In the second half, Daire Daly came into his own and began to tease the defence with telling crosses but the Douglas defence did well to somehow block everything. Harry Wall must have thought he had scored when the keep made the most remarkable save from a dipping volley from the edge of the box. Eventually a goal had to come and Craig Ryan got reward for his all is hard work to beat the keeper with a swerving shot. Eventually, Midleton scored the third towards the end. Michael Curtin hitting a well-placed shot from a knockdown. In truth Midleton could have scored several more, some misses, some just wide and some good last-minute defending kept the score down. However, this should boost confidence going forward.
Midleton made the journey to Evergreen full of confidence after a recent run of clean sheets. However it soon became clear that this confidence was misplaced as Evergreen took the lead midway through the first half. A lucky deflection from the back of Alex Marij following a Luke Carroll corner saw Midleton equalise but another strike from Evergreen saw the home side go into the half time break leading 2-1.
Early in the second half a shot from Conor Moloney was saved by the keeper but fortunately rebounded back off Conor into the empty goal to leave the scores level at 2 apiece. Once again though Midleton conceded and at 3-2 down looked to be in a bit if trouble. Straight from the kick-off Michael Curtin played a through ball to Chiggie who blasted his shot to the net for Midleton's third equaliser of the game. This was the turning point of the game and Midleton clicked up a gear. A great header from Daire Daly saw Midleton take the lead for the first time and when Conor Hegarty coolly converted a chance created by Osman's long ball things were looking comfortable at 5-3. There was still time for another goal by Chiggie and a couple of missed chances and the game finished 6-3. After the poor first half all the players played well. Harry Wall in goal had no chance with any of the goals conceded and the defence got on top led by Osman. Midfield dominated for the last 30 minutes and our forwards definitely clicked in the second half.
Another good day for the Midleton lads. The team had to grow into this game as Douglas had a huge and physical size with some suspicious 6 footers in the team. Douglas played a simple kick and rush game and their size gave Midleton some problems with Harry Wall making some fine reaction saves to keep them at bay. However, Midleton's finer touch and pass and move game began to work and they started to play around the Douglas midfield and centre backs and made a number of chances before Conor Moloney struck his first for the club halfway through the first half, calmly driving past the keeper after a solo run across the box. After that Midleton dominated and could have added a couple more before half time. Conor and Damian Pekala wee dominating in attack and fine balls from Luke Carroll were causing a host of problems.
In the second half the traffic was all one way with Midleton breaking the line of defenders almost at will before Conor scored his second, almost a copy of his first, a fine finish after good control. Harry Wall, relieved in goal by Alex Marij who had a good first half, Daire Daly, Luke and Cal Bawden were providing real threat down the wings and Michael Curtin was his usual all action himself in the middle and Midleton soon added a third. Conor teeing up Daire for a side foot finish. Damian got a well-deserved fourth with a great finish. Midleton could have had more and only a great performance by the big keeper kept the score down. Ryan Higgins almost had a fifth to round things off but by now the Douglas team were reduced to aimless punts away from goal. Conor was the man of the match, his first start as striker. He showed great running and control and showed great intelligence linking defence and attack. Everyone played well and the team has real strength in depth.
After scoring 15 goals in their first three games, this proved a much tighter affair with Midleton edging the contest with a brilliant effort from Alex Marij halfway through the first half. The Blarney team were big and strong and played agricultural football, lumping the ball forward at every opportunity. Luckily for Midleton the defence were watchful and in truth Jakob had little to do in goal but he was always sharp and alert, cutting out danger early. Ossie was great in Defence and Craig Ryan had a good first outing of the season and David O'Sullivan was his resolute self on the left.
In midfield everyone worked hard, Alex, Daire Daly and Harry Wall worked tirelessly and the substitutes Ryan Higgins and Conor Moloney did their bit. Up front, Chiggie and Alan Swarbrick worked like Trojans, always hassling a solid defence and whilst Chiggie had the beating of them, he left his shooting boots at home and on another day he could have made the game safe. As it was, Midleton were holding out in the last 15 mins under the aerial bombardment. It looked at times like the concentration might go but there was always somebody to put the foot in. Killian Leahy did well as a substitute right back and Ossie and Damian Pekala won everything in the air. The game will be remembered for Alex's brilliant goal. Escaping down the right and hitting a fierce drive over the keeper into the corner. A goal to win any match. However, man of the match was captain Michael Curtin who worked ferociously and tackled like a demon. A hard won but deserved victory.
This was a great start to the season, an easy victory played out in some style. This is a much improved showing from last year, the team looks solid through the middle and Bryan McHugh and Osman Momba have added security in the middle of the back four and both had faultless games here, though in truth they will be tested more than this. The midfield looks stronger and pacier. Michael Curtin had his normal solid game and was the reliable midfield anchor but was well supported by Harry Wall, Daire Daly and Cal Baldwin as well as Luke Carroll, Conor Moloney in the second half. Up front, the rapid Chigozzie seems to have added another yard of pace and at times is simply breathtaking. Chigozzie it was who opened the scoring as he outpaced the defence before Cal Baldwin tucked a shot from near the touchline in of the far post to make it 2-0 at halftime.
In truth it should have been five or six and Chiggie and Damian Pekala ran the defence ragged. The team passing was sharp and down the right, Daire, Harry, Michael kept the ball well. In the second half, Alan Swarbrick gave the game a score more reflective of the home teams dominance and scored a fine hatrick. Michael added a sixth to round things off. Shane Veillard had a neat game at right back before moving up front making a goal and almost scoring himself. David O'Sullivan played well and substitute defenders Aaron Harte and Conor Hegarty came on and showed similar efficiency. A fine attacking performance but honours must go to Osman and Bryan that formed the stability at the back that allowed the other players to express themselves.