Belmont score eight as Manager Boggan declares “The recession is over!”

Belmont 8 – Railway Union 1 (HT 3-0)
By our Financial Correspondant

Manager Liam Boggan was upbeat in his assessment of the state of Belmont’s fortunes today after a fine contest which yielded no less than 8 goals in a day of bullish trading against Railway Union at Herbert Park. “We’ve definitely bottomed out, and with this performance I think we can confidently state that we have recovered from the recession which started against St James’ Athletic”. Citing three successive matches with positive growth he said “The contraction we experienced during the St James’ match appears to have abated and the significant improvement in on-pitch activity has been maintained in this latest match session. Notwithstanding the fact that I didn’t turn up for the game, I still deserve every credit for this performance”.

As on previous match days, the weather was glorious and the Herbert Park turf in fine condition as the crowds began to pour in shortly after 10am. Belmont started with their usual 3-2-1 formation with Sheehan in goal, Boggan and Mulcahy in defence, Sherwin, Dempsy and Cuddy in midfield and Booth up front. Even Linesman Sheehan (P) looked keen and sharp as he practiced his golf swing with his flag. Belmont started well, keeping good shape in defence and midfield while probing away up front. Although feisty and powerful, their initial attempts on goal were frustrated by Railway Union who tended to pack their defence but rarely looked to attack. Belmont became more and more threatening as the first half progressed and the break came after 6 minutes when Mulcahy, in one of many forays out of defence, latched onto a poor Union clearance and slammed home from the edge of the box. One might have expected Union’s cover to crumble at this stage, but it took another 12 minutes and the introduction of McNulty and Cloonan into the game before a deft pass from Sherwin found Cuddy unmarked and ready to strike home. Mulcahy added another on 20 minutes to give Belmont a comfortable 3 -0 lead at half time and it was a relaxed pair of managers, Lisa Cuddy and Mulcahy (H) who gave the confidential half-time briefing to the team. Even the onlooking Garda performing crowd control duties on his mountain bike looked pleased with Belmont’s performance.

Sheehan had little to do in goal in the first half, but he came flying into action in midfield and attack as the second period began. The team were passing like seasoned professionals and Boggan opened the second half scoring on 24 minutes with a cracking strike before Sheehan grabbed a couple of beauties on 26 and 32 minutes with Booth striking home in between on 29 minutes. Union deservedly got on the score sheet with 6 minutes to go after a speculative route one ball found their lone attacker unmarked, and his potent shot gave Sherwin no chance to save. It was left to Cuddy to complete the scoring on 36 minutes after impressive midfield play and assists by McNulty, Cloonan and Dempsey. An agreeable morning’s work indeed. The back to back wins are impressive, but perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the match was the way the team passed and supported each other both in attack and defence. The squad is certainly gelling well despite the managers and one can hope for further improvement as the season progresses and the team is strengthened by Fahy’s return.

Interviewed afterwards by phone, Minister (surely Manager? Ed.) Boggan stated “As late as last week I was contemplating setting up a special agency, the Naïve and Apathetic Managers Association (NAMA), to bail us out of this footballing crisis, but it is now clear that my expansionary macromanagement policies have resulted in a sustained recovery without any outside assistance. My policies may be unpopular and may even seem ludicrous to some, but the upward goalscoring trend is there for all to see and I think it reinforces the mandate given to me and Mulcahy to lead this team into 2010. Overall, I feel completely vindicated in cycling to Wexford rather than watching my team play”. Manager Mulcahy was unavailable for comment.