Fireworks in the Park as Poulfur and Castletown clash
There were fireworks both inside and outside St. Patrick’s Park last Tuesday as Poulfur took on Castletown in an explosive Allianz Cumann na mBunscol Rackard League MiniSevens Boys’ Football Final.
Poulfour bolted out of the blocks with a display of pace, power and precision. Within the opening minutes they had carved out many chances and with scores through Kyle Baker and Kean Molloy they quickly went three points ahead. This stranglehold on the lead became significantly stronger when midfielder Cilian Byrne blasted an unstoppable shot into the net.
Castletown on the other hand were all at sea. Despite their best efforts, a chance didn’t come their way until the seventh minute. Even then, their shots seemed to go just barely wide or were expertly saved by Poulfur netminder Finn Brennan Pilkington. The goal that was badly needed to get them back into the game came from Doran Daly O’Toole and this gave them a glimmer of hope going into half time.
True to form and their fighting tradition, Castletown came out for the second half and made an astounding comeback. Doran Daly O’Toole was once again to the fore when he put a point on the board. But, it was his stunning top corner goal that really caught the eye. The goalscorer then turned provider when he set up Niall Condren for a similarly impressive top corner effort to ensure a thrilling finale to the match. With the scores at 3-1 to 2-5 it was all to play for.
It was now Poulfur’s turn to respond and that they did. Castletown goalie Niall O’Shaughnessy produced two excellent saves to keep the game alive. One of these was a very brave block about twenty yards from his goal line. The best that Poulfur could manage against a tough Castletown defence was Cillian Byrne 45 to steady the nerves.
There was still work to do however and a tough tackle was required to deny PJ Crotty as Castletown attacked late in play. The resultant free was tapped over to put the minimum between the teams but the clock was ticking. There was a late sideline chance to engineer an equaliser but Poulfur were never going to let their grip slip on the cup and they emerged as worthy winners after an exciting half hour of football.
Poulfur: Finn Brennan Pilkington, Conor McLoughlin, Bill Nunan, Cillian Byrne, Morgan Ellis, Kyle Baker, Kean Molloy, Jamie Waters, Conor Folan, David Conway, Lennon Foley, Paraic Gleeson
Castletown: Niall O’Shaughnessy, Ross Higgins, Jack O’Gorman, Gavin Kelly, Michael Kavanagh, Doran Daly O’Toole, P.J. Crotty, Niall Condren, David Byrne, Gracjan Gurlowski