Boys U18 (2007) Major - Sallins Celtic
18s Take Another 3pts With Dominant Display.
The 18s made the short trip to Millbank to take on local rivals Sallins Celtic, with the sides having played out a thrilling 3 all draw earlier in the season the tie was set up nicely for another competitive game of football.
Naas started the game in a defiant mood and from kickoff showed Sallins what type of game they were in for, A long ball from the Sallins defence was headed clear by Michael Balfe with Jake Kelly picking the ball up out wide on the left he drove at Sallins and into the box squaring for Tommy Carey who saw his shot fly over the crossbar, Naas now took full control of the game and left Sallins feeding off scraps as both Ryan Gillane and Michael Balfe mopped up the long ball each time that Sallins tried to play it, Naas would see several good chances come and go with some poor shooting and excellent defending keeping the score at nil nil, The deadlock would finally be broken on the 20 minute mark when Jake Kelly again picked the ball up on the left wing and drove into the Sallins area driving a low shot across goal and into the net, Naas continued to dominate and constantly drove at the Sallins defence from the wings with Carey and Kelly causing huge problems time and time again, Sallins relying on some more great defensive work to keep the game at 1 nil, On the 35th minute Kelly again found himself in space and picked the ball up out wide from left back Finn Dowling and drove towards the Sallins goal, once in the Sallins area he rounded the keeper only to be brought down resulting in a penalty, Kelly saw his penalty saved well by the Sallins keeper but he reacted quickly to retrieve the loose ball and find Tommy Carey rushing into the box who slotted home to give Naas a 2 goal lead, Naas pushed on for the remainder of the half trying to find the 3rd but couldn't add to their tally.
Sallins came out in the second half and set about stopping the onslaught out wide from Carey and Kelly and for the first 15 minutes of the half they did just that pressing the Naas lads high and landing some crunching tackles, with Naas main threats out wide now marked out of the game it allowed the centre mid pairing of Jude Giltrap and Cian Thomas to get on more of the ball and get Naas into a more passing style of play with some fine passes finding the runs in behind the Sallins defence from Charlie Reid and Leo Ahern, Sallins however stood strong and kept Naas at bay despite some great set pieces and long range efforts from Naas, As the 70th minute rolled around Kelly once again found himself on the ball out wide slipping past his man he drove at the Sallins goal and rifled home from just inside the box to finally kill the game off as a contest, Sallins now deflated and dead on their feet retreated completely into their own half allowing Naas time and space to play the game at their own pace,Naas upped the tempo coming into the final 15 minutes peppering the Sallins goal with shots only for some more great defensive work from Sallins to keep the score at 3 but Naas continued to pile the pressure on and on the 80th minute would have their 4th goal, Leo Ahern dropped into the midfield got onto the ball turned 2 Sallins players and unleashed a rocket at the Sallins goal, his thunderbolt hit the upright and came back to Charlie Reid who had the easiest of tap ins, Naas continued to control the game for the remainder of the half but couldn't make their dominance count any further before full time.
Coaches Note: Another great result away from home against a side who always seem to cause problems for us, the lads were focused from the off today and played some great football throughout despite the conditions.
Best For Naas: Leo Ahern,Jude Giltrap,Tommy Carey and Michael Balfe.
Player Of The Game: Jake Kelly
