Balscadden FC 5 -0 St Vincent’s Hospital FC Ringscommon Sports Centre, Naul, Dublin
Leinster Senior League Saturday 1B
2 November 2019
It was a day to forget for St Vincent’s Hospital FC as they travelled to a well-organised Balscadden team from North Co Dublin. The day started off poorly when a tailback on the M50 resulted in a number of starting players struggling to make kick-off in time. Following a brief warm-up, a lacklustre start for the doctors ensued. They found themselves one-nil down inside the first two minutes after a ball fell kindly to the Balscadden centre forward, who dispatched it into the bottom corner of the net with his first touch of the game.
The home side doubled their advantage 10 minutes later after some nice link-up play by the Balscadden midfielders created another opening for their dynamic centre forward, who headed home, leaving Vincent’s keeper Louis John Bourdiol with no chance. Vincent’s settled into the game after this naive start and enjoyed their best period of the match up until half time. New Vincent’s signing Brian Gaffney performed strongly throughout and was very hard-done-by when the referee waved play on after he was taken down in the box. Vincent’s were left wishing ‘VAR’ had reached the Leinster Senior League.
The second-half started the way the first-half began, and Balscadden capitalised on some sloppy passing and found themselves through on goal once more, this time with the Balscadden right winger driving a firm, low shot into the bottom corner of the Vincent’s net. Any glimmer of hope that Vincent’s had of salvaging something from the game was dashed 15 minutes into the second half when the Balscadden central midfielder found the top corner of the net with a 25-yard screamer from outside the box. With confidence brimming in the Balscadden camp, the ruthless finishing in the final third continued with another neat finish from the Balscadden centre forward, who completed his hat-trick with 15 minutes before the final whistle, with the score finishing 5-0. To Vincent’s credit, they battled all the way until the final whistle. Cardiology registrar in Vincent’s Hospital, Rory Durand, produced two fine saves from the Balscadden goalkeeper, while John Cosgrove also came close, with his clean strike just rising above the crossbar.
Vincent’s encouraging cup form of three wins from three outings is in stark contrast to their poor league form, where they have yet to register any points from their opening four games. Competing in Leinster Senior League’s fourth-highest Saturday division was never going to be an easy challenge. In order for Vincent’s to avoid relegation this season, it is imperative that they pick up some wins between now and Christmas. They will be competing in three different cup competitions over the next three weeks, all on home soil. Despite the despondent mood in the squad after this heavy Balscadden defeat, the next three games give the squad an opportunity to regain some confidence before the league restarts at the end of November.
Matchday Squad: Louis John Buordiol, Barra Neary, Kieran Keane, Paul Bourke, Colm Kirby, Brian Gaffney, Cian Ward, Edward Wrynn, John Cosgrove, Mark Dwyer, Rory Durand, David Kennedy, Paul Lynch.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.