25.01.07           7-A-SIDE RESULT 24.01.07 – Tuborg Magic 0 – 0 O’Carrolls

 

A 0-0 draw last night against a team we really needed to, and should have, beat. The Christmas break may well be the worst thing that could have happened to some of us, there were still some tired legs out there. A frustrating first half saw plenty of attempts from distance dragged high and wide, when the extra pass may have produced an easier goal scoring opportunity. Tuborg didn’t offer much in the way of goal threats; they were resigned to long balls that were mostly dealt with comfortably.

 

Second half and OC’s upped the pressure and created the big majority of chances. Unfortunately the shooting boots were missing last night as every attempt missed the target or struck the keeper. Tuborg found themselves with a couple of decent opportunities as OC’s pushed on, but they failed to convert any of these to goals. The frustration was boiling over for OC’s, and that’s when we’re our own worst enemy.

 

With all of our remaining fixtures pitting us against teams from the top half of the table, we really need to find our scoring touch if we want to make an impression on this league. Time to prove ourselves – next week against Go Feet would be a good time to do it!

The Editor

 

        18.01.07           7-A-SIDE RESULT 17.01.07 – O’Carrolls 2 – 0 Bhoys

 

The 2007 campaign kicked off last night with a 7-A-Side fixture against bottom placed team, Bhoys. Incidentally, our first game of 2006 was on the exact same pitch against another Celtic-related team, Bohz Boys. OC’s ran out 3-0 winners that day.

 

With some of the lads having not been involved in a competitive game for over 6 weeks, (add to that all the extra Christmas lbs) and a slow start wouldn’t have been too much of a surprise. However, we took the lead inside the first couple of minutes with some great passing football. After some neat play between Gus & Tom on the right side, Tom played James in with a perfectly measured pass and the top scorer tucked the ball home, 1-0. Then tiredness set in. We found ourselves stretched on numerous occasions for the remainder of the half as Bhoys came more and more into the game. OC’s did create chances, but it was always an overhit pass or one pass too many. Some desperate defending and a little luck kept the lead at 1-0. Matt played his part, convincingly claiming every ball knocked into the box.

 

Second half and it was more of the same. Bhoys were playing some good football and carving out chances. Some better finishing could have seen them get on the scoresheet. There were some hand-in-head moments at the back with a couple of silly errors nearly gifting the Bhoys an equalizer. With Bhoys pushing on, OC’s found themselves breaking with 2 or 3 men over on a number of occasions, but we spurned some really good opportunities to kill off the game. We really needed a second goal, and with about 5 minutes to go it came. A sweet long ball from Gus picked out Olly on the right, and with great composure he lifted the ball up over the oncoming keeper and found the back of the net. Terrific finish, and game over at 2-0.

 

Not the most convincing performance, but after the Christmas break, a sluggish start was not the biggest surprise. It’s a hard earned valuable three points that should put us amongst it. Next week, Tuborg Magic.

The Editor