For the final game of the trip, once again in the Drogheda Stadium, the boys faced off against a mixed team of Drogheda players from mostly the Drogheda U14-B team with some of the other players from the earlier game. Ben was our captain along with an honorary mascot, a local young lad who carried out his gift giving duties well. Our starting lineup was DJ minding the goal - Ben, Justin, Tim, and Seth in the back - Ted, Andrew, Wells and Michael in the mid - and Jack and Mitchell upfront. Brett came into the mid and Jeff to defense.
Even more so than the first match of the day, the play of our boys in this match was wide-open with lots of space being created, balls being switched consistently to open wings, and plenty of space for attacking dribbles. There were several good opportunities.
Just as in the earlier match of the day, our boys struck for a goal in the 10th minute of the match. Jack received a ball outside the 18 yard box with his back to the goal, held off a defender who would not let him turn, and played a drop ball to Mitchell who struck a hard shot from 30 yards out over the extended arms of the opposing keeper for a very nice goal. There were several more good chances for the boys in the first half but some good goalkeeping kept the boys at bay for a 1-0 CESA lead at halftime.
Shortly into the second half in the 32nd minute, Brett made a nice tackle in the midfield to possess the ball, dribbled around a defender in toward goal, and struck a beautiful shot from 20 yards out for the score to make it 2-0. Again in the 40th minute, Brett took possession of the ball, dribbled to the right of the box, crossed to Seth who shot from 10 yards, it was saved and deflected by the keeper, and Jack finished off the rebound putting it in the back of the net to make it 3-0 for CESA. At that point, Mina started switching the boys around to play different positions and a guest player, a little boy from Drogheda was put in up front to play. The quality of play from our boys remained high. All our buys tried their best to get the local lad a goal but it was not be and the game ended with a 3-0 victory for our boys.
The two wins today brought our overall record for the trip to a respectable 3-3-2. Overall regardless of the outcomes, this was a great opportunity for our boys to experience both soccer and culture on a different level.
Quote of the Day
“I don’t think I could have a higher opinion of any footballer than I already had of the Irishman, but he rose even further in my estimation at the Stadio Delle Alpi. The minute he was booked and out of the final he seemed to redouble his efforts to get the team there. It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt it was an honour to be associated with such a player.”
Sir Alex Ferguson (on Roy Keane after the European Cup semi-final in 1999)
English soccer manager
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