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Alan Conlon League Shield Round 1

Corbans Celtic FC 4 Enfield Celtic FC (O35s) 0

Corbans Celtic Cruise Into Next Round with Four-Goal Victory

An action-packed opening round of the Alan Conlon League Shield saw Corbans Celtic FC secure a convincing 4-0 victory over Enfield Celtic FC.  While the scoreline reflects a dominant win for Corbans, the match was a hard-fought battle where weather conditions and clinical finishing ultimately decided the outcome.

The match began with both sides eager to sound each other out. Enfield’s Over 35s started brightly despite facing a tough, senior Corbans side and battling a strong first-half wind.  The opening 20 minutes yielded few major opportunities as both teams worked hard to find their rhythm on what Corbans reported as a lovely day for football.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 18th minute. Aidy Thomas struck beautifully from close range to put Corbans ahead, capitalizing on an assist from Mark O’Rafferty. Enfield responded spiritedly, quickly carving out two decent efforts on goal, but luck was not on their side.  Corbans settled into a flowing midfield game and struck again just after the water break.  In the 27th minute, the O’Rafferty-Thomas partnership clicked once more; O’Rafferty played Thomas in, and the forward made no mistake, slotting home his second of the day to send Corbans into halftime with a 2-0 lead.

With the wind at their backs in the second half, Enfield threw everything they had at the opposition. 

They enjoyed great spells of possession and created more chances, but they found a resilient Corbans defence.  The backline of Alan Coady, Gary Coady, Liam O’Shea, and Dylan Coady stood firm, ensuring that Corbans goalkeeper Ronan Coady remained largely untroubled despite Enfield's persistent pressure. As Enfield pushed forward, Corbans took advantage of the space and utilized their bench to devastating effect. 

Carlos Pedro replaced Dylan Coady and made an immediate impact, marking his debut for Corbans Celtic with a goal thanks to a brilliant assist from the constantly threatening Travis O’Neill. The victory was sealed in the 79th minute with a moment of brilliant teamwork. Eyeing a hat-trick, the unselfish Aidy Thomas chose instead to play in Mark O’Rafferty, allowing the provider of the first two goals to get on the scoresheet himself and wrap up a 4-0 win.

Despite the tough day at the office, Enfield showed immense heart, with Johnathan Leddy and Joey Grehan turning in excellent performances as their top players on the day. Ronan Coady was brilliant in goal to secure the clean sheet, while Travis O’Neill was a constant threat and had a super game. 

However, Man of the Match honours safely went to Aidy Thomas for his two goals and unselfish assist.