Denny Premier A
Fenit Samphires-2
Oisin O’Brien, Ivan Parker
Castleisland-1
Our seniors kicked off their season with a good win over Castleisland at an immaculate Samphire Park on Sunday morning. Conditions were ideal for the game and we were bright from the kick off, seeing a lot of the ball early on. Peter and Dano were dictating play from the middle throughout the half as they looked to unleash Bill and Oisin on the wings. Both wingers were dangerous in possession and linked up well with Ivan and Ryan up front, as we created a couple of half chances in the first half. Castleisland grew into the game as the half wore on but our back four dealt with their direct passing quite well. Darren, Rob, John and Klaudio built possession well from the back as well and our fullbacks in particular seemed to be readily available when play got tight in the middle of the field. We took the lead later in the half when Oisin volleyed home after a cross was looped to the back post. Our lack of match practice started to tell towards the end of the half as some of our passing was going astray, but we took the lead into half time.
The second half continued in the same way with our opponents starting to link up a bit better with their front players. We soaked up the pressure quite well and broke very well on occasion through Ivan, Ryan, Bill and Oisin. Our second goal arrived midway through the half when Ryan showed blistering pace to beat a couple of defenders before picking Ivan out with a great cross, and he made no mistake as he headed past the keeper. The visitors piled the pressure on as they looked to get back into the game. Eoin in goals made an outstanding save when a long free kick beat everyone but he reacted smartly to turn the ball away. Unfortunately we conceded soon after when a stray cross ended up in the top corner. The gaffer introduced fresh legs with Luke Moynihan coming on and his energy helped us regain control in midfield. Our opponents continued to press for the equaliser but we defended superbly as a team througout the half. Thomas Lenihan was introduced as well and he helped us to hold possession well at a time we really needed to. Eoin showed great bravery as he claimed another long ball in a crowded penalty area to relieve some pressure and we held out to claim the three points.