Churchill vs Fossa Co. League 9/5/15
Following Churchill’s thrashing of Cromane in the last round, the home team were on the wrong end of a comprehensive defeat on Saturday evening from a very impressive Fossa side.
Though Churchill led by 2 points to 1 after 5 minutes, with points from Cillian Fitzgerald and Conor Daly, that was the last time they were to lead in the match.
In fact, it was to be the last time they scored in the first half. Churchill’s main tormenter on the night, Paudie Clifford (who finished with 3-3) got his side’s first goal after 6 minutes and Fossa owned the scoreboard for the rest of the half. The game was effectively over by half time, as Fossa scored another 1-8 without reply, with their second goal coming from Kevin Sullivan.
In fact, it could have been a lot worse for Churchill as Paul O’Sullivan pulled off some great stops to keep his team from falling even further behind.
Half Time: Churchill 0-2 Fossa 2-9
Though Churchill opened the scoring in the second half, with a free from Ivan Parker, Fossa killed off the game in the 32nd minute as Clifford again found the net after scything straight through the Churchill defence untouched and planting the ball in the corner of the net.
Clifford got his hat-trick in the 39th minute as he finished a breaking ball to the net. To their credit, Churchill didn’t give up and controlled possession for the rest of the game, though they found it hard to break down the Fossa defence, who employed a sweeper system to good effect.
Churchill had a number of goal chances, but only took one when Ger McCarthy converted a penalty in the 55th minute. Fitzgerald and Daly tried hard and finished with 3 points each and subs Brian Hill and Mike O’Brien pitched in with points, as did Chris Hurley.
With 2 defeats, Churchill can’t afford too many more slip ups and certainly will need to improve on this performance if they are going to be challenging for promotion. On the other hand, Fossa, who were organised throughout, will be one of the favourites to make the step up to Division 3 on the basis of this display.
Full Time: Churchill 1-10 Fossa 4-10
Churchill: Paul O’Sullivan, P.J. O’Mahony, Peadar Stack, Mitchell Holland, Matt Finnerty (Mark O’Connor 35 mins), Cathal Rogers (Mike O’Brien 43 mins, 0-1), JJ Prior, Ciaran Crowley (Mikey Brennan 35 mins), Jack O’Connell (Shane Crowley 41 minutes), Ivan Parker (0-1f), Keith Rolls (Brian Hill 41 minutes, 0-1), Chris Hurley (0-1), Cillian Fitzgerald (0-3) Ger McCarthy (1-1, 1-0 pen, 0-1 f), Conor Daly (0-3)
B Team:
Churchill’s Senior B team play their first match in the Junior League away to Ballyduff on Friday night 15th May at 7:30pm. This is a chance for fringe players from the Senior team and other players to get regular matches for a number of weeks during the summer. Please note that anyone wishing to play must pay their club membership (if they haven’t done so already) before they will be allowed to play.
