Honours even in tense local derby as Kelly strike earns Peter's a draw

THERE was very little to separate these two powerhouses of local junior football as Willow Park pipped their biggest rivals to last season's league title. And this pattern didn't change when the sides clashed in the third round of matches in this year's senior division at a rain drenched McCarthy Park last Sunday. Willow took the lead in this intense and often enthralling contest when Mickey Kelly put the ball past his own 'keeper in the 22nd minute, but the pattern of the game changed very much after the sending off of the visitors' right winger Colm Hyland eleven minutes before the interval. St Peter's huffed and puffed for large periods, trying to break down Willow's well organised and hugely admirable defence in which central defenders Ronan Frawley and Jimmy Mullally were imperious, and looked to be reaching a point of pure frustration when Adrian Carberry had his 52nd minute penalty brilliantly saved by Ian Bolger. With so much local pride at stake and with last season's titanic title struggle still fresh in the memory, the game was always going to have a little bit of edge and, unfortunately, it threatened to boil over following Hyland's sending off. A brief fracas involving several players from both sides broke out when St Peter's manager Michael Collins took exception to Hyland's challenge on Aidan Warde and raced onto the field of play, behaviour which ultimately led to Collins also getting dismissed from the home side's dug-out. Surprisingly, no other players were booked or more sternly dealt with when the dust settled and tempers subsided. St Peter's eventually broke Willow's resistance in the 77th minute when substitute Alan Kelly's low driven free kick took a slight deflection on its way into the bottom corner of the net. Willow came into the game knowing that St Peter's had failed to get the better of them on three occasions last season, most notably in the dramatic title deciding play-off at the end of the campaign. And they sensed a notable victory was on the cards again on 22 minutes when St Peter's 'keeper Lukas Goraus misjudged a corner kick and in the scrappy aftermath of his hesitancy, Mickey Kelly diverted the ball into his own net. Earlier in the contest, Patrick Craughwell's long range volley went close while Declan Fallon wasted a couple of well placed free kicks by completely missing the target. Craig Tone, a slightly surprising but truly justified selection as a forward, almost slipped Colm Hyland in past the home defence but his slide rule pass was intercepted by Aidan Warde. Both teams went into this important game without key players. For St Peter's, Stephen Mullan couldn't take his place in the squad due to illness while Tom Silke was also unavailable. Willow, meanwhile, were without influential pair Brian Frawley and Gary McHugh. Fallon was again wasteful with a free kick right on the edge of the penalty area on 24 minutes before a movement involving Aidan Hyland, Mark Nicholson and Benny Magennis almost brought about a second goal for the visitors. Willow were playing the better football at this point but St Peter's were lifted by Hyland's justified red card in the 34th minute. Two minutes later, Brian Caldwell would have expected to score from close range after a corner kick fell kindly into his path but his side-footed effort was blocked by Bolger. St Peter's tails were up now and Mark Sherlock's rasping drive was tipped onto the crossbar and over by the impressive Bolger. Jimmy Mullally also had to make a last gasp tackle to prevent St Peter's equalising on the stroke of half-time as Willow managed to hang on until the break. The home side looked somewhat devoid of creative ideas in the early stages of the second half, as Willow formed a well organised and disciplined defensive resistance. Frawley and Mullally tackled, hurried and harassed the opposition, while Nicholson clocked up some astoundingly impressive mileage in midfield. Tone and Aidan Hyland still offered a good attacking outlet and quite how neither could convert from six yards, when Goraus made a terrific double stop, was extremely surprising. That double miss came hot on the heels of Carberry's missed penalty in the 52nd minute when Bolger went full length to brilliantly push the experienced full back's spotkick away from goal. The penalty had been awarded after Caldwell went down under a challenge from Ronan Frawley. St Peter's made a double substitution to try force the issue and both Niall Scullion and Alan Kelly made positive impressions. On 58 minutes, Nicholson slotted the ball in behind St Peter's defence but Tone just couldn't reach the ball as Goraus raced from goal to clear the danger. On 65 minutes, Mickey Kelly was left unmarked from a corner kick but headed tamely at Bolger. Five minutes later, Nicholson's long range drive took a slight deflection and Goraus had to dive across his line to push his effort wide. When the usually clinical Mark Sherlock blazed well over the bar from just inside the box on 72 minutes, it seemed Willow's organisation and effort would be rewarded with three valuable points. But Alan Kelly's low drive, given after referee Tony Warde awarded a hugely debatable free kick on the edge of Willow's penalty box, found the bottom corner of the net via a deflection. The free kick award was one of several refereeing decisions - including the earlier penalty - which puzzled the Willow Park contingent on the day, but ultimately their team clung on to capture a hard earned point against a side most likely to threaten their status as Combined Counties league champions. St Peter's: Lukas Goraus; Declan Fallon, Adrian Carberry, Mickey Kelly, Brian Carr, Damien Rushe, Dave Donohoe, Patrick Craughwell, Mark Sherlock, Brian Caldwell, Aidan Warde. Subs: Niall Scullion for Donohoe (57 mins), Alan Kelly for Warde (57). Willow Park: Ian Bolger; Robbie Shine, Peter Sherlock, Jimmy Mullally, Ronan Frawley, Michael Harney, Colm Hyland, Mark Nicholson, Craig Tone, Benny Magennis, Aidan Hyland. Subs: Mark Rigney for Harney (65 mins), Robbie Egan for Magennis (67), Gareth Gaffey for Tone (90). Referee: Tony Warde.