Luckless defeat for Rearcross ‘B’ by odd goal in five

Rearcross B welcomed Ardcroney B for their opening league game of the season, which turned out to be an evenly fought contest. Rearcross were fastest out of the blocks with nice passing moves without really having any shots on target. A good move on the 20th minute saw Rob Harrington collect the ball in the middle of the field, he played the ball out wide to Paddy Ryan who in turn fed it through to Oisin Kelly, who got to the end line and fired his cross back to Rob Harrington who had continued his run, his shot however was well saved by the keeper and there was no one there for the rebound. Ardcroney who looked dangerous on the counter attack found themselves 1 nil up on the 25th minute, when a mix up in the Rearcross defense saw Ross Hughes pick up the ball on the edge of the area and his daisy cutter shot found its way to the corner of the net. Shell shocked Rea found the going tough for the next 10 minutes as Ardcroney were turning the screw and looking to double their lead. They nearly did when the dangerous Ross Hughes found himself one on one with the keeper and he flicked the ball past Brian Hammersley and looked destined to finish to an empty net only for Willie Mackey to get back to make a heroic block. This seemed to spur Rea back into life and they got the equaliser with 5 minutes left in the 1st half with a well worked move from back to front. Willie Mackey picked up the ball in his own area and fed it out to left back Eoghan Kavanagh who played the ball down the wing to Colm Carey whose delightful flick around his marker saw him driving at the defence. He played a quick one-two with Paul Carey who got his head up and his pinpoint low cross found Paddy Ryan at the back post whose first time strike finished to the corner of the net giving the keeper no chance. A great team goal.
The 2nd half couldn't have started better for Rea as within a minute of the restart they found themselves 2-1 up. Colm Carey chased down what seemed to be a lost cause when the Ardcroney keeper had the ball at the edge of his own area. His blocked clearance fell to Paul Carey whose first time volley went into the empty net. In an action-packed second half, the next chance fell to Ardcroney to equalise when their striker was upended in the box and they were awarded a penalty. However, the resulting penalty was sent high and over the bar. Ardcroney did get the equaliser soon after though. A throw in from the left-hand side saw the ball end up in the Rea box and after a flick on from Ross Hughes he collided with a Rea defender. The ref pointed to the spot, before Ross Hughes dusted himself down and rifled the ball into the top corner. Both sides pushed hard for the winner but it was Ardcroney who found it with 5 minutes remaining. A corner was swung in from the right-hand side and Ronan Clifford rose highest as his looping header found its way to the net. Rea pushed to get the equaliser but it wasn’t to be. Harsh on the home side as a draw would have been the fairest outcome. Great to see the home side blooding some younger players.

Rearcross ‘B’: Brian Hammersley, Eamonn Devitt, Eamonn Wade, William Mackey (Capt), Eoghan Kavanagh, Robert Harrington, Max Carroll, Colm Carey, Oisin Kelly, Patrick Ryan, Paul Carey
Subs: Paul Ryan, Jayden Healy, Felim Deegan, Aidan Bryan, Taylor Light, Gary Ryan, Michael O’Connell

Ardcroney ‘B’: T Duffy(Capt), E Courtney, P Hayes, D Slattery, M Mikalajunas, S Hayes, K Boyle, K Dervan, R Hughes, A Sebastiao, L Jones
Subs: R Clifford, A McGrath, P Gallagher, C Hayes.

Referee: Colin O’Gorman

Report by Robert Harrington