Another One Slips Away

UCFL Div. 3
14 May 2012

Terenure FC 3rds 2 - 3 Grant City

If I’m looking at things positively I suppose I can say we’ve been entertaining in our last few games, going down 3-2 on Wednesday, a 3-3 draw on Saturday and another 3-2 loss on Monday. As with most games this season we started slowly against Grant, they’re a big, physical, team and we played into their hands with rushed panicky play, never getting the ball down on the grass. As the half progressed we started to find some confidence and began to hold onto the ball better and create some chances in the Grant half. One of the best fell to me as the defenders misjudged a ball over the top, unfortunately I also misjudged the finish and then left the second attempt to someone else when I shouldn’t have hesitated and finished it myself. We got behind Grant a few more time before the break but didn’t convert and Grant failed to score at the other end so we went in level at half time.


After a positive start to the second half, we sabotaged ourselves once again with an absolute sucker punch of a goal. We failed to fully clear a Grant attack and they recycled it to a player wide left, his cross was met with hesitation from our defence and keeper and the Grant striker beat them all to the ball to head home. We were on top in the game at this stage so it was important not to panic and concede again, but, of course, we did. Another soft goal it was too, a free header from a corner, as we failed to defend a set-piece for the umpteenth time this season, much to everyone’s frustration.

This time the response was better though and we continued to pass the ball relatively well and chances were falling our way and not going in. It eventually took and individual piece of magic from Peter Moran to get us back into the game, as a took the ball wide left, shaped to cross, then delivered a perfect strike into the far top corner. After the goal we continued to push forward but started to leave big openings at the back and Grant exploited this in the last few minutes as they beat the offside trap and their striker eventually finished, despite Shane’s valiant attempt to keep him out.

Once again this team showed it has some character as heads refused to drop and we went straight back on the attack, but the eventual reward arrived too late. Brían Gallagher popped up at the back post with a great finished, but the referee’s watch showed just a minute remaining and that wasn’t enough to find an equaliser.