Samphires 6 Park B 4 – A great match for the neutral. It had it all – 10 goals, 2 penalties, crazy defending, great skill and courage on both sides but high tension stuff if you happened to be a supporter of either team. In the first dry day since anyone present could remember our lads played the Park B team in the league last Saturday. The game started at a hundred miles an hour and there didn’t seem to be any Christmas after effects for 10 minutes as both sides slugged it out. After 5 minutes we had missed 2 one-on-ones with their keeper when both our strikers Sean and Cian managed not to score when a goal seemed inevitable. In addition we got in behind them on another few occasions but the final ball was not what we would have hoped for when it mattered. After 12 minutes though Sean scored after being set up by Cian who worked unselfishly throughout. Our midfield were on top at this point of the game and we looked the more likely to score which we duly did when David Egan slotted after being set up by the impressive Ryan Dolan from midfield. At this point it seemed we would go on to dominate the game but the Park had other ideas and took the game to us.The Christmas after effects kicked in for us now and we played on the back foot. Some excellent defending by the back 5 of Eoghan, Jamie, David, Bobby and Johnno kept them out for a while but after some intensive pressure we conceded a goal. We came back strongly after this and pushed again and like our opponents had done to us we now scored after an intense attacking period when Jack scored after some clever interplay by Ryan and Cian. For the last 10 minutes of the first half we didn’t do ourselves any favours with sloppy passing out the field and more basic defensive errors which were punished clinically. Their second goal came as a result of us not clearing our lines from a corner when we had 2 chances to do so and this is not the first time this season this has happened. To compound matters we let in a third just on half time when some of our defence tried to play the offside trap and some didn’t. At half time we introduced Jimmy in midfield and Eric at centre back to try and steady the ship but it must be said the lads who were subbed were 2 of the Under 14s and both played well in the first half. Jimmy added a bit of steel and Eric with his electric pace wasn’t going to be outrun in defence. The second didn’t start well for us as the Park took advantage of the wind and we had to be happy with playing on the break. Eric and Johnno in the centre were solid for us and Ryan, Jack Mac, Padraig and Jimmy in midfield tried hard individually but maybe not so as a unit and we will have to address this at training over the next few weeks. The gaps both in defence and in midfield eventually led to a 4th for the Park from the spot after the ref adjudged we were pushing in the box.The Park were good value for their lead especially as they were 3-1 down after 20 minutes. But the big thing we will take from the match is that from this point on we moved up a gear and attacked with urgency. Our fellas began from the keeper and his defenders with some good passing through the midfield and with Ryan now on the right being fed by the 2 Davids we made inroads into their box. Eventually we got through and just as David Egan was about to shoot in the 6 yard box he was felled and Ryan stepped up to score coolly from the spot. So level again. Who was going to strike next? The answer to this question was answered by Cian who after another scorching run after Gordon had cleverly put him away down the wing, put us 5-4 up with 10 still on the clock. At the other end David and Jamie, the 2 “old hands” at the back, had to make many timely interceptions and Eoghan had to be smartly off his line to smother the opposition when the defence was breached. Then with 2 minutes Antoin passed to Jimmy who did a clever dummy which not only fooled the Park but fooled his teammates too as we all thought he was going to shoot. The defence opened up in front of him, he needed no second invitation and went in to score.