Originally Posted by
AlanOB
Carew Park 3-4 Janesboro
Janesboro deservedly took all three points in this encounter yesterday afternoon, delivering Carew's first defeat of the season in the process, and a huge blow to their title hopes.
This was certainly the best performance that I've seen from the Boro this season, with Lyons and Donnan getting the better of the midfield battle in the first half - no mean feat away to Carew. We're used to seeing the home side dominate possession this season, but yesterday they looked disjointed - Cyril Maher had a poor game and the combinations between him and Pa Boyle were few and far between, with the latter's positioning often a bit too high relative to his team-mate. Jonathan Grant was forced to drop very deep on a number of occasions to link the play.
Janesboro on the other hand were looking unusually cohesive. I've argued for a Lynch/Clarke combo here before, and it certainly paid off yesterday. Lynch was typically adept at dropping off and linking the play. Often however, Clarke was doing the same, something he's been guilty of in the recent past. He's a penalty box striker and it was no surprise that when he finally ran the inside right hand channel, it resulted in a penalty (conceded by Mark Slattery) and his first goal.
Carew were looking threatening on the break however. Jamie O'Sullivan was playing a clever game positionally, dropping slightly deeper to tempt Wayne O' Donovan out of position. Wayne mostly stayed put, and on a couple of occasions, the space that Sully was given led to goalscoring opportunites, with striker John Connery combining with him well. Connery's movement was to result in the equaliser, skinning McGarry down the inside right channel before firing a cross/shot across goal, which was palmed out by Glasheen into Grant's path. 1-1.
The second half started perfectly for Carew, when Pa Boyle scored a sensational direct free kick from close to the byline. The first half pattern continued however, with Boro dominating possession of the football, and it was no surprise when they leveled. A ball in from the right was missed by keeper Ronan Power and it fell to unmarked substitute Declan Nash who had just been introduced for the injured Lynch. Recriminations followed in the Carew line-up before the restart - never a good sign. We haven't really seen Carew tested like this psychologically in the league this season and they didn't seem to be passing.
Soon after, it was 2-3. A speculative ball played forward was missed by the onrushing Power, who had come quite a distance off his line. Shane Clarke had the relatively simple task of slotting into an empty net for his second. He then completed his hat-trick with a fine header from a set-piece, and delivered another (now trademark) aggressive celebration. 2-4. Connery got in down the inside left channel shortly afterwards and delivered a shot from an acute angle that was deflected in by Glasheen. 3-4.
Carew by this point had removed Maher and brought on Steven Grant but they still couldn't get a grip on the game from a possession point of view. Boro introduced Adrian Healy in the middle for left winger James Hayes. Nash went left and Donnan went behind Clarke in a 4-2-3-1/4-4-1-1. This was a sensible move and seemed to be quite effective. Carew introduced Somers at left back (bizarrely), shuffling their whole defence in the process (Slattery went to right back, Kett to centre). Working out the logic of that was difficult and it almost gave Boro right winger Waters a couple of opportunities to get in on the break. Eventually Kett was moved back to left full, with Somers going to the left wing, and he delivered a couple of dangerous crosses from that position late on, one of which resulted in a free header for Steven Grant which could easily have levelled matters. Of course Declan Nash also had a chance one-on-one on the break which could have killed it off altogether.
A disastrous result for Carew, especially considering Pike's 7-2 away win against Fairview. Boro on the other hand are hitting form at just the right time and will have confidence going into their Munster Junior quarter final this weekend. They certainly seem to have hit upon a balanced XI, with the Lyons/Donnan and Lynch/Clarke combinations looking far more effective than others I've seen from them this season. It could be argued however, that if he's available, Lee O'Mara might be the better partner for Tom Clarke at the heart of the defence against Clonmel.
Disclaimer: This is written from memory. I don't take any notes. There will be minor errors.
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