CRU 3 – Shiner 1

One a day where summer seemed to be on hold and the cool weather was a welcome surprise, Cameron Road bounced back from last week’s embarassing defeat to win our last game of the season against Shiner FC 3-1. 

We controlled the game for the first 20 minutes or so, partly because Shiner started off a man down, but also because we were playing some good passes, switching the ball around and making runs into their box. We were creating chances early, the first one saw Billy whip a perfect cross into the box, but I managed to botch the header instead of putting it on goal. On the left hand side, Dermot was reeking havoc and tormenting Shiner’s right back. He got our first goal early on by finishing off a marauding run and beating the keeper to the near post, who actually made a play on the ball, but the Irish spin that Dermot put on it must have caused it to slip through his fingers.

After Dermot’s early opener he decided to play the set up man when he assisted on Ryan’s superb strike to double our lead. It was good to see one of our all time leading scorers get back on the score sheet, especially after Willis gives so much effort on both sides of the ball. But at 2-0, we weren’t quite finished in the first half. Operating on the right hand side, Billy played in a beautiful Clark Field lob for Dermot, as he had a few steps on his defender. With Billy’s pass hitting him in stride, Dermot took a crack at the ball and sent a blazing shot into the back of the old onion bag and we were flying high with a three goal advantage. Two goals and an assist, not a bad way to spend the first 30 minutes.

It wasn’t all a walk in the park though, with a little help from my ill-timed tackle from behind, Jay had some work to do pushing a Shiner free kick wide to close out the half and protect our lead. And to be fair, Shiner fought back and controlled a lot of the first half after our initial dominance, but our D stood firm. 

Funny at how the half time mood is much improved when you’re sitting on a three goal lead rather than a four goal deficit. 

For most of the second half we tried to pass the ball around and control our advantage. Early on though, we actually had a few breakaway counter attacks that nearly resulted in a few goals. Luke came closest with a wicked shot and header in back-to-back possessions. 

Shiner did manage to get one back though. A shot came of the post and they snuck one in, but it never seemed like they would get much more than that. 

All in all, it was a fine way to close out the season with a win. 

Man-of-the-Match: Setting the tone for the game with two goals and one assist in the first 30 minutes, Dermot wins this week’s award – not to mention the fact that he pretty much a model citizen on the pitch and wasn’t booked once. Cheers to ya Derm.