Hodson Bay Rhinos march on despite stern St Francis resistance

With the weekend a washout across many sporting events, Saturday morning's ADSL U-10 encounter at Iona Park between St. Francis and Hodson Bay Celtic just about survived the inclement weather. There was still some surface water on the pitch by the time kick-off rolled around but not too much to deem it unplayable. Still, the fare on show was highly entertaining with Hodson Bay eventually running out 3-0 winners after some stern St. Francis resistance. St. Francis themselves had chances and could themselves have easily ended up on the winning side had they been more clinical in front of goal. In the end it came down to who took their chances and that's exactly what Hodson Bay did with a goal from Eoin Egan and two from Niall Murray handing them the three-nil victory. Murray was one of the star players for the visiting side contributing not only to the score-sheet but also to his team's performance with an excellent display of passing. On the losing side, the stand-out player was Patrick McGettigan whose tireless work did much to aid the St. Francis cause. Striker James Heatherington too had a fine game and was unlucky not to finish with a goal or too. Both goalkeepers deserve special mention also. For a long time it looked as though the game could well finish in stalemate such was the quality of their net-minding. St. Francis began the game strongly and within five minutes they should have been in front. First, on four minutes, James Sheeran laid off a nice pass to Kevin Rowan who had an unhindered shot at goal but saw it saved by Seamus Smyth. Then, a minute later, Sheeran again provided a delightful through-ball, this time to James Heatherington. The number ten looked certain to score but his effort fell inches wide of the post. On twelve minutes Niall Murray exploited some hesitancy in the St. Francis defence and flicked the ball through to Eoin Egan. Just like Heatherington on five minutes, Egan looked destined to score, but Oisin O'Meara made a superb block to keep out Egan's effort. A minute later, with Hodson Bay beginning to find their feet, the ball fell to Keelan O'Connor on the edge of the Francis penalty-area. O'Connor shot for goal but saw it tipped around the near post by O'Meara. From the resulting corner the ball fell to Cian McBrearty who hit a blistering drive just over the cross-bar. As the first period of play drew to a close both sides had chances. First, Jack Connaughton played the ball out wide to James Heatherington. Heatherington turned inside his marker but saw his shot well saved by Smyth. Immediately down the other end, Niall Murray threaded an almost perfect pass through to Egan. But, stretching for the ball, Egan just couldn't make contact. Had he done so, it would have been a certain goal. Hodson Bay nearly had the lead upon resumption of play. A long range shot was saved by the Francis 'keeper and the ball rebounded to Keelan O'Connor who had chances to put the ball in the net and would have done so only for some desperate St. Francis defending. Kevin Rowan then went close with a long-range effort for St. Francis. On twenty-two minutes, Heatherington was released down the right flank. He pulled the ball back to Patrick McGettigan who struck from outside the box only to see it saved by Smyth yet again. Aaron Murphy then tested out Smyth with a long-range shot but just as it looked as though Francis were starting to dominate, Hodson Bay struck for the game's opening goal. Once again it was Niall Murray at the heart of the move. He sprayed a long, accurate pass from defence forward to Eoin Egan to the left of the opposition penalty area. Egan still had a lot to do but he cleverly cut inside his marker and, although his shot did take a deflection, the ball reached the back of the net to give the visiting side the lead. Just before the second interval St. Francis were awarded a free-kick outside the box. Oisin O'Meara, now playing outfield, shot for goal and the ball would have flown straight to the top corner were it not for the last-second intervention of a Hodson Bay head. The start of the third period of play saw both teams go close to scoring the crucial second goal. A superb reverse-ball from Patrick McGettigan set Kevin Rowan through on goal but his effort was saved by Smyth. Almost immediately down the other end, Niall Murray found his way through on goal but his attempted chip over the advancing O'Meara (now back between the posts) went horribly wrong and St. Francis had survived again. Two minutes after that a breakaway St. Francis move saw James Sheeran play Heatherington through on goal. The striker should have scored but instead saw the ball tipped brilliantly onto the post by Smyth. With seven minutes remaining the second goal finally arrived when Keelan O'Connor did well in along the end-line before pulling the ball back to Murray who poked the ball home to the corner of the net. A cruel blow for St. Francis who looked like they might have drawn level. The game was killed off four minutes later when Murray intercepted a St. Francis pass and placed the ball to the corner once again to make it three-nil. There was still time for James Heatherington to rattle the crossbar with a free-kick but Hodson Bay weren't to be denied their win. ST. FRANCIS: Oisin O'Meara, Brian Ruane, Aaron Murphy, Liam McGrane, Philip Ronaghan, James Sheeran, Eoin Mulvihill, Jack Connaughton, Pearse Fallon, James Heatherington, Patrick McGettigan, Joseph Devine, Kevin Rowan. HODSON BAY CELTIC: Seamus Smyth, Tommy Glynn, Eoin Minagh, Adam Dempsey, Niall Murray, Eoin Egan, Cian McBrearty, Keelan O'Connor, Cormac Mannion.