Monday 12th May 2008

St Albans Celtic 5  NRG Domes 1

With the hoops having shown some decent form in recent weeks it was a confident side that took the field against defending champs and league leaders NRG Domes. Having already beaten them once this season the hoops knew we had an opportunity to complete a double over the current champs and give ourselves an outside chance of a top two finish (at least!)

The Hoops lined up with Lee In goal, Michael and Kevin at the back Brandon in the middle and Young Kevin up front. The opening exchanges were a tense affair with NRG happy to sit back and soak up the pressure with their so far successful defensive style and hit on the break and try to sneak a goal (Who does that remind you of?) 

The St Albans Bhoys however seem to have this shower figured out to perfection and were happy to keep possession and drag their defensive minded opponents out of their own half. It was no shock when the goal came half way through the first half following some bright work from Sullivan (who wasn’t still  recovering from his Daughter’s Christening the day before – Honest!!) found young Kevin who worked the ball through to Brandon who took the chance with glee to fire the hoops into the lead.

Really the hoops deserved to be further ahead by the break but a 1-0 lead against the moaning Hun look-alike Minnie’s was just what was required. With Bennett on for Sullivan and Michael now stressing about feeling lonely in defence the hoops started the second half well and within a minute Brandon had doubted his and the teams tally to two with a great effort which took a slight deflection on its way into the net.

With the game now running away from them NRG were forced to come out and try to attack.  A series of wonder saves from Lee kept the hoops on easy street, one in particular was simply stunning as he covered the full length of the goal and tipped the ball round the post.

We won’t mention the one he saved with his nose (I thought he should have held it)

Normal service was resumed when a neat lay off from Bennett after great work from Brandon set up Sullivan who hit a thunderbolt into the back of the net that almost took the wall away never mind the net. It was soon four when Michael who had been supplying some great passes all night as well as being his usual defensive rock picked out Young Kevin who delivered a clinical finish for 4-0 and it was all beginning to look too easy for the Hoops.

Four became five when Bennett won a break of the ball off an NRG player and had a clear run on goal and was able to finish into the roof of the net. Hopes of a clean sheet for Lee however were dashed in the dying seconds when a snap shot from NRG took a deflection off Bennett and wrong footed the Holy Goalie to make it 5-1.

A fantastic display of controlled football from the Bhoys and a result which was fully deserved and means we still have an outside chance of title glory.

Man of the Match

He may not have got on the score sheet but his defensive prowess and superb passing as well as overall contribution to the game means Michael is the winner of Match 11’s Man of the Match award.

Well Done.

St Albans Celtic 3 Chairman Whitewash’s Persil select 2

With the Hoops sitting pretty (ooh er..) in 3^rd place and still holding on to championship glory hopes, this crunch derby against the boys from Last chance was going to be a must win game.

With the Hoops lining up with Lee ‘ Holy Goalie’ in the sticks Michael and Jim at the back ( For about 29 seconds!), Young Kevin and new Bhoy Brandon in the middle and up front.

‘Gretna Reject’ Sullivan started on the bench due to a recent chest infection.  However with Jim just back from a long weekend on a stag doo in Poland, from which he was still trying to shake off a nasty cold he had picked up (Honest….), the Hoops were going to need use a rotation system.

Right from kick off the Hoops looked in control, nice interchanges and slick movement soon had the Last Chance lads looking rattled and reverting to some robust challenges.

The first goal soon arrived and what a peach it was, Lee rolled the ball to Michael who slipped it into the middle for young Kevin who spotted Bennett making a rare run up the line who in turn found Brandon in space who turned Tom (so well that Tom ended up outside in the car park wondering what the feck had happened) leaving him free to bury the ball pat the Last chance keeper to set the Hoops on their way.

A flurry of chances came and went for the Hoops with Bennett being guilty of the misses as he continues to do the best Kenny Miller impression this side of Derby.

As the half drew to a close the Last chance boys began to get a foothold in the game but were being restricted to long shots that Lee was saving with ease.

However right before half time the Last chances boys got their chance when they blasted an unstopped shot from the edge of the area, to everyone’s amazement Lee ‘The Holy Goalie’ got down to the right up somehow tipped the ball round the post. Without going over the top it may have been the best save ever (seen in Redbourne).

With Sullivan on for Bennett he began to show all those skills that Gretna have already missed out on.  The Hoops were stringing together some lovely stuff and soon enough were two up thanks to Young Kev who has proved to be a right thorn in the side of Chairman Tom’s outfit, a through ball from Sullivan found Brandon who was playing a blinder who laid the ball off to young Kevin to slot home and a fantastic second for the Hoops.

Really that should have put the game to bed but the Hoops seemed to relax a bit and the constant interchanging between Bennett and Sullivan finally took it’s toll when last chance sneaked one back with a few minutes remaining, The Hoops however put the game beyond doubt when Michael who was having a cracker of a game played a stunning one two with Brandon and buried the ball into the corner from an    angle that you would think he needed a protractor to score from.

With the game now over and the Hoops celebrating a clean sweep / Double / Whitewash over Chairman Tom, the Ref took pity on the pour souls by awarding a last minute penalty. Up stepped Tom who converted camly to make the score line sound respectable.

However there was no doubting that the Hoops deserved their victory and with the current league leaders next up could be showing a fine bit of form at just the right time.

In fact the only surprising thing from the aftermath of the game was that Tom himself didn’t show up for the old firm on Wednesday with a White Suit on!!

Man of the Match

Couldn’t make up my mind this week with so many contenders so have given the award to both Brandon and ‘Holy Goalie’ Lee who both make superb contributions to a great win. They get to share this week’s Man of the Match bottle of Buckfast.

St Albans Celtic 5  Sumbdy else 1

St Albans Celtic 1  Canny Remember 1

St Albans Celtic Lost

St Albans Celtic 3  NRG 1

With two wins out of three under their belt the SACSC lined up against last year’s champions and so far unbeaten this term NRG.  Having ran NRG close last season the SACSC knew it very going to be a tight match and everyone would need to be on form.

Lining up for the game with new ‘Holy Goalie’ Lee in goals, Michael and Kevin (Veteran aged 30) at the back, young Kevin in the middle and Dancing feet McBrearty up front.

Having won the first few opening exchanges the hoops settled down and started playing some lovely one touch football keeping the ‘current’ champions NRG at arms length.  Past experience has taught the hoops that playing a side of the calibre of NRG getting our noses in front is valid.

Having done most of the pressing in the first five minutes the Hoops got their reward with a fine goal from young Kevin beating the NRG keeper from close range after great close control from Kenny.  It should have been a spring board for the Hoops to charge on and put the game out of sight but despite total domination of possession and chances the Hoops could not find a killer second goal that their play merited, Kevin (Veteran aged 30) almost broke the bar with a thunderous effort and young Kevin and Kenny both seen several goal bound efforts saved by the NRG keeper who like last season was proving to be a thorn in the side of the good guys in green and white. 

As is often the case the Hoops were made to pay just before the break when a rare opportunity for NRG arrived from a snap shot that found it’s way past the so far strong defensive partnership of Michael and Kevin (Veteran aged 30) and sneaked into the bottom corner of the net.  This seemed to rattle the Hoops and a minute later were lucky to remain on level terms when NRG cracked the post and Kevin (Veteran aged 30) was lucky to escape punishment when he appeared to drift into his own area (Something strongly denied later in the bar!)

With the game up for grabs in the second half the Hoops showed real resolve by carrying on their fine flowing football, more chances came and went before Jim (100 chances) Bennett who had replaced McBrearty at half time finally took an opportunity after great work from Michael and drilled an impossible drive into the bottom corner that would beaten two keepers! (the second being the guide dog – ed!) Some claimed the ball may have taken a deflection on its way into the net and this appeared to explain why Bennett had finally hit the target but none the less the Hoops were grateful for the lead.

From being 2-1 up the Hoops had the game under control and some great interplay led to Michael ‘ the rock’ banging in a third from a tight angle to seemingly put the game beyond doubt. Steven Walls came on to tighten up the middle of the pack and was unlucky to see an effort once again saved by the NRG keeper.

A nervous final few minutes were endured when Sullivan (Veteran aged 30) gave away a penalty but Lee Boruc who had shown great form all evening did the holy goalie bit to perfection and saved the resulting spot kick. This put the shine on a fine victory for the Hoops who have done their championship aspirations no harm with a victory over the ‘current’ champions and played some of their best football to date.

Man of the Match

Has to be Kevin (Veteran aged 30), who looked composed in defence and supplied a constant stream of passes to the Bhoys up front.

St Albans Celtic 7  St Albans Jobby Huns 2

This week the mighty SACSC hump (ooh err missus) our local rivals 7-2. The St Albans Huns sure did live up to their Glasgow cousins....... Ugly, Arrogant, Cheeky, Aggressive.. and Shite at football.

This game saw the debut for newly signed goalkeeper Lee Boruc. Thanks to our super Scout Angela!

The Huns tried to kick their way into the game. MG had had enough of the antics of one of the wee hun jobbies and decided to show him how to execute a "wholehearted" challenge. The response of the wee jobby was equally impressive... "That's it!" cried the wee Hun, "I'm not playing with him on the pitch!" After which point the wee Hun / Jobby ran of the field of play. Hard Bastards these Huns.

For all their aggression, the wee Huns could only get two goals.

The less said about this game the better. Pure Crap.

Humped Ten Wan.

After a ling cold winter, 5-A-Sides is back with a bang!! Full of confidence after their top four finish in last years competition, the St Albans Celtic boys were desperate to get back playing.

What a start it was with an outstanding 8-0 drubbing of the chairman's choppers.

 The team had a different look to it, thanks to some scouting over the winter break, was Michael in goal, Kevin 'Skoosh' Sullivan and Martin in defence, new Bhoy Brandon and Kevin McKinlay on the attack, with Steven in reserve on subs bench. 

The game was close for most of the 1st half, with Celtic having the majority of chances without really testing the keeper. Uncharacteristically, Michael made some cracking saves, (at least he can slide tackle the ball in the keepers area). As the end of the first half approached, Skoosh Sullivan, at last finding his  touch, broke the deadlock with a long curling shot into the corner. 1-0 the bhoys! Confidence oozed from the bhoys from that point on and young Kevin claimed a second goal just before half time.

The 2nd half was a goal frenzy and to be honest it is difficult to recall the order of goal scorers.

 New Bhoy Brandon scored a debut hatrick, Skoosh netted 4 in total and young Kevin with his 1.

Even Michael came out of goal to ping the post, and Walls came off the bench to set up at least 2 of the 2nd half goals.

The Bhoys played well and with more performances like that a league title could be on the cards.

Oh and did I mention we finished 2 places above Toms team last year!!