Seniors Held by Atletico

Fenit Samphires FC Senior Team 2013/2014

Denny Premier B

Fenit Samphires- 0

Atletico Ardfert- 0

On Sunday morning we played out a tense local derby as we hosted Atletico Ardfert in Samphire Park. With the vast majority of Ardfert’s players having played with the Samphires in underage and senior teams, we knew we would be in for a difficult game. The game started at a frantic pace with tackles flying in all over the pitch with both teams trying to established their dominance. We eventually settled down and began to play some decent football with Peter McCarthy and Jack Savage using the ball well to feed our strikers Kevin Walsh and Ger McCarthy. In truth, we looked more dangerous when we got the ball wide as our wingers Daniel Clinton and Bill Mullins were causing problems with their direct running and our full backs, David O’Sullivan and Ruairi Kelly, supported the attacks well. Midway through the half we lost Peter to injury and he was replaced by James Sweeney. Clear cut chances were few and far between for both teams throughout the half with neither keeper being seriously tested.

The second half continued in the same pattern as we looked to play the ball wide while Ardfert were more direct in their play. Both Darren Lynch and John Maher were outstanding at the back as they dealt very well with any attacks. Bill was looking dangerous as he was combining well with Ger and Kevin but we still couldn’t carve out any decent chances. At the other end we were being kept on our toes as we had to defend several corners, but Eoghan O’Brien in goal was commanding in these situations as he made some important catches. It looked as though one goal would be enough to win the game and both teams kept pushing for it. We introduced U17 players David Murphy and David Egan for their senior debuts and they both acquitted themselves well. Late in the game Jack hit a decent free kick which tested the Ardfert keeper but this was the best chance we could create and the game ended in a stalemate.

Many thanks to Ardfert for a competitive, entertaining game and thanks to referee Mike Dempsey for officiating.