November 21, 2015
8:00 PM
Randall's Island
2 -- 0
Simon Kearney 5', 55'
STATISTICS
11 (4) SHOTS (ON GOAL) 7 (2)
3 CORNERS 1
18 FOULS COMMITED 19
3 YELLOW CARDS 1
0 RED CARDS 0
1 OFFSIDES 4
Simon Kearney bags a brace to push Manhattan Celtic past Shamrock SC as the two Irish based clubs clashed in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League's first division.
Coming into this game, NY Shamrock SC were red hot of a two game winning streak while Manhattan Celtic F.C. hadn't won a game since Oct. 11th.
Manhattan went against the odds and defeated Shamrock SC 2-0 Saturday night at Randall's Island.
Kearney netted one in each half and the defense behind him was rock solid all night long, limiting Shamrock to only two shots on goal.
"It was nice to get the three points, good two goals," Kearney said after the game. "The team played well, it's all [about] the team's performance, anything else is micro, I would say."
Though they gained three points, Manhattan remain in fifth place with 12 points. Shamrock remain in the same position as well, sitting in fourth place with 14 points-- throwing away the opportunity to jump to third place over Everton FC Weschester Eagles after this loss.
Manhattan pressed Shamrock from the start. Their effort was rewarded with an early lead.
Shamrock's pressured right back Santiago Rigby released the ball back to Stuart Colbert in his own box. Colbert played the ball across the goal, his pass was intercepted by Kearney, who blasted the ball past keeper Julio Tsasse in the fifth minute.
Shamrock came close to equalize just one minute later. Darren Freeman's freekick looked like it was curling in the lower far post but Ryan Katzfey dived at full stretch to keep his side on top.
Micheal McGreevey also attempted to level things up for Shamrock as he sprinted to a through ball with only keeper Katzfey left to stop him on a couple of occasions in the first half. But McGreevey was denied by the referee's late whistle for an offside, again and again.
Thus, Manhattan had a 1-0 advantage heading to the break.
10 minutes after the restart, Kearney would complete his brace. Aboubacar Kaba was brought down from about 23 yards out.
Scott Rowling stepped over the freekick and hit an inswiging ball, that Ibrahima Faye attacked with a glancing header. His header bounced in front of the far post for Kearney to tap in the net.
When asked about his goal, Kearney said: "I always expect to get the ball... This is the almighty center back [pointing at Faye] who laid everything on the play from a set piece so you always expect him to win it and if he doesn't win it, he'll tell you why not."
Shamrock's only two chances to cut the lead down were: Zach Gosse's 67th minute glancing header that went inches wide and Tom Manz's strike, that whistled past the wrong side of the post as well in the 81st minute.
Despite these two chances the Celtics defense was spotless. Defender Faye was content of the clean sheet, "It [the clean sheet] was good. We tried our best, we did what the coaches was telling us in practice. We came in the game and manipulated, so we got the result."
It could've been 3-0 but Kaba missed a golden opportunity late in the game. The forward was one-on-one with keeper Gavin Joyce. Joyce threw himself down on the turf to save Kaba's shot with his foot.
3-0, 2-0, either way Manhattan walk out of the park victorious. "We're very happy today with the team's performance," coach Matthew Kane said. "Our movement without the ball was excellent, we gave a lot of options, and before that's where we struggled.
"I thought defensively without the ball we were superb, and that's what won the game today."
Manhattan will try to keep up this momentum as they face NY Pancyprian Freedoms on Dec. 13. On the other hand, Shamrock travel to Tibbet Brook Park to take on league leaders Lansdowne Bhoys on Dec. 12 at 8 p.m.
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