History made in Castlebar but no points won by Celtic
GROUP 1 Castlebar Celtic 1 McGahon 81
Derry City 2 Scullion 21, Cusack 79
Daniel Carey Castlebar LAST Saturday’s Rome derby between Lazio and Roma produced six goals, three sendings-off, an on-field brawl and mini-riots in the stands. Castlebar Celtic’s debut in the League of Ireland A Championship wasn’t quite as eventful – and was, mercifully, more peaceful – but it certainly didn’t lack incident.
It’s surprising in retrospect that there were only three goals on Saturday night in Celtic Park. Derry City might have had three in the first quarter, while the home side will feel they should have scored at least once before Enda McGahon got the opening strike of their new adventure. Remarkably, the former Manulla man twice went close after that 81st minute goal. Throw in a couple of penalty appeals at both ends and you can see why none of the crowd got bored.
The Derry City reserve side made the early running, with lively striker Seamus Cusack twice going close within minutes of the start. His first effort crept narrowly wide, while his second was saved superbly by Danny Kirby. Celtic striker Seán McHale looked to have been pulled back in the penalty area as he tried to profit from a defensive error, but referee Eugene Deering waved away local appeals for a penalty.
The Candystripes made the breakthrough midway through the first half. James McClean linked up with Seamus Cusack, who set up the impressive David Scullion for a well-taken goal. At this point Derry looked to have the edge in terms of technique and speed of thought and action, and it was difficult to argue with the 1-0 half-time scoreline, although Celtic appealed unsuccessfully for another penalty in the 32nd minute for hand ball against Shane McElhinney.
Seán McHale had two decent chances soon after the restart, heading over from Pat Fitzgerald’s well-struck cross, and having a shot saved at close quarters after Aidan Walsh had played the final pass in a well-executed counter-attack. In between, Derry claimed that Stevie Ryan had tripped Seamus Cusack, but the northerners had to make do with a throw-in.
Declan Kilkelly introduced Danny Broderick and Peter Dravins in a bid to freshen things up, but Derry came within an ace of scoring on two occasions around the three-quarter mark. Stevie Ryan cleared David Scullion’s effort off the line, while Danny Kirby made a tremendous stop from John Bonner’s volley.
At the other end, Seán McHale tumbled in the box following Ger O’Boyle’s long ball, but this wasn’t a night for penalty awards. Celtic had a half chance after Pat Fitzgerald’s free kick was blocked, but were lucky to escape when Scullion seemed certain to score at the back post, only for the ball to go wide.
As the evening turned cold, a Derry mentor took exception to an offside decision by assistant referee Jimmy Blake, who warned the man in front of the dugout that further protests could lead to expulsion.
The second goal the away side sought arrived 11 minutes from time. The free kick which led to the goal seemed a harsh call for hand ball against Aidan Walsh, but in any event, James McClean fired a rasper, which Kirby managed to touch onto the crossbar, but Seamus Cusack was on hand to score from the rebound.
It seemed to be a case of ‘game over, ball burst’, but Celtic weren’t going to go down without a fight. Within two minutes, it was 2-1. Ger O’Boyle fired the ball in, James Minogue’s header came off the post, and Enda McGahon – the last substitute to be introduced – netted the follow-up. Celtic Park erupted, and the Hoops played the closing stages with a dash that unnerved the Ulstermen.
McGahon almost bagged his second goal two minutes later, but his snapshot from the edge of the box was saved by Conor Browne. A further two minutes later, the lively sub went close again from a similar range, managing to get arc in a shot while backtracking, but the ball fell just the wrong side of the bar.
So, a disappointing outcome to Celtic’s first outing in the League of Ireland’s third tier, but there were reasons to be cheerful too.
CASTLEBAR CELTIC
D Kirby, P Fitzgerald, G O’Boyle, J Minogue, S Ryan, A Neary, C Rowland, A Stevenson, S McHale, A Walsh, R O’Boyle.
Subs used: D Broderick for R O’Boyle (48 mins); P Dravins for Rowland (59 mins); E McGahon for McHale (76 mins).
DERRY CITY
C Browne, A Devlin, J McClean, S Elhinney, S Sharkey, D Scullion, K Deery, M Nicell, S Cusack, J Bonner, D McAuley.
Subs used: K Ruddy for Devlin (66 mins); A Clarke for Cusack (91 mins).
Referee: E Deering (Roscommon)
