Belmont Deliver 2 goals to hold Wayside at Bay

Belmont into action again and this time in a crucial must win match against Wayside Celtic....

Wayside celtic take their soccer seriously and you could tell from the impressive run of results that the Wayside team had assembled on their way to this encounter with Belmont in their home lair cut into the foothills of the Dublin Mountains.


Belmont were far from their cosy city centre habitat and the fresh air and mountain scenery were unfamiliar to the boys from the city.

The first glimpse of the Wayside Pitch enclosed in a cage was an intimidating sight and reminded this correspondent of Rollerball. Was this going to be a fight to the finish ???

Wayside had perfectly manicured pitches individually fenced off and a carpark already full of expectant parents by the time the Belmont team assembled in the bright sunshine for this game of games.

Smiles all round before the game , the Belmont team were exuding a quiet confidence and no fear, Wayside for their part playing at home with a game in hand and a draw away against Belmont were likewise in jovial form as both teams set about their warm up routines.

The Belmont manager Boggan looked on amused at the enthusiasm with which his team took to the handful of warm up exercises and with all kids calling to each other for the ball to be passed to them , it was an interesting omen.

So with Mark Cloonan assuming the Captains armband and Patrick Sherwin in Goal Belmont lined up in the traditional 2 3 1 formation. Mark Cloonan won the toss and decided to play the opening half with the sun at the back of his team. A minute silence was observed as a mark of respect to the mother of one of the players of Wayside who had passed away during the week. The Belmont team did their parents and manager proud with their absolute stillness ands silence and then the referee blew the whistle and the business began.

Wayside looked more dangerous in the opening exchanges , Belmont making their tackles though and containing the runs and not letting Wayside get into any sort of rhythm. First Attack , then defence

Belmont have become a predictable side , the partnership of Captain Mark Cloonan and Luke Sheehan has become so solid and dependable that it provides a platform for the rest of the team. Time and again the pair closed out the attacks , Boggan and Mulcahy in support of Fiona McNulty who was running and running and as full of life as ever.

Conor Booth enjoying a roaming role as striker but had little to do as the first ten minutes of the first half saw Belmont in Defensive mode.

Time to ring some changes , Brian Cuddy on to give Fiona a rest , Jack Fahey on to give Conor a break and slowly the tide swung away from Wayside as Belmont grew in confidence , Gradually it was Belmont on the attack, Patrick Sherwin never having been really threatened during his spell in goal. A single decent shot , easily saved by Patrick had left the supporters with their hearts in their mouths…but the Belmont lads were not deterred or fazed by one lapse and their work rate and cool heads eventually began to pay dividends.

A fine spell of possession and attack by Belmont brought about a series of corners all defended very well by Wayside until Belmont knocked the ball across the line to give Wayside the opportunity to clear their line.

The Wayside goalkeeper in the excitement after that nerve wracking few minutes made a simple mistake with his kick out. Unfortunately for him , he had only succeeded in laying it on for the goal hungry Mulcahy who made no mistake. Mulcahy intercepted the wayward wayside kick out and drilled the ball immediately back past the hapless Wayside keeper to put Belmont in front.

And so it was to remain one nil at half time.

Belmont assembled for the team talk, not much to say , the manager could be seen smiling as his team gathered for a well earned rest. The game going according to plan , time to rest a few more players , McNulty back on , Cuddy off again after a heroic first half .

And so the second half began , more end to end stuff , but again and again the warrior spirit which characterises this Belmont team continued to shine through. Manager Boggan looking to his whole panel to make their contribution. Patrick Sherwin taking to the midfield and Conor Booth telling his manager that no goal would be scored against him...

Up and down the pitch , the game was vaguely reminiscent of a tennis match , Wayside always dangerous so Belmont could not afford any lapse of concentration.
Another fine defensive intercept from Luke Sheehan and a pass upfield to Marcus Boggan who beat his man , and on to Fahey who was tackled ...

Patrick Sherwin winning the ball back and blasting (see above) the cross right in front of the Goal , found that man Mulcahy who pounced again with a speculative shot into the crowded box ,and all held their breaths as the ball found its way into the back of the wayside net.

Two Nil….Now the test could Belmont hold on to this lead ???

John Mulcahy got his reward with a rest and Dempsey was thrown into the battle and immediately had to make a crucial tackle and clearance to Sherwin.

Wayside tried again , this time up the wing , looking ominous , They began to string passes together ...desperate urgings heard from their supporters. This was never going to be easy … the shouts of support from the assembled Belmont supporters adding steel to the Yellow clad Belmont defence.

Three minutes to go , Marcus Boggan wins the ball in midfield , looks up and sees Cuddy and Fahey running into position and yelling for the pass, the ball makes it to cuddy , He looks up and makes an excellent first time pass but the ball is intercepted by Wayside who launch their own counter attack and suddenly the Belmont midfield are rushing to defend.

Marcus Boggan comes off to have a rest , Mulcahy back on , this time in Defence. Cloonan comes off and Fiona Mc Nulty is back on. More substitutions see Luke Sheehan sidelined and Jack Fahey rested for a few minutes while Brian Cuddy once again looking ominous and growing in confidence in attack

Wayside were stretched every which way but always looked like they might just get their attack together. This was a team who had yet to play a match where they had not scored and they continued to probe and probe.

Manager Liam Boggan though a little wiser after conceding the late equaliser to St.James had learned his lesson and the last few minutes of the match saw Boggan and Mulcahy back on , this time in Defence with Cloonan and Sheehan nominally in midfield. Essentially this was a four man defensive unit designed to close out this match with Jack Fahey coming on to again as striker to replace the exhausted Cuddy and add fresh legs to the Belmont attack for the last few minutes and create worries for Wayside as they were forced to continue to cover this lone and dangerous striker whilst desperately seeking to find a way through the iron will that was the Belmont defence.

Boggan was seen looking at his stop watch , time up surely ? No way through for Wayside who for the first time have not scored in their campaign. The referee no doubt prompted by Boggan pointing and staring at his watcch , looked down at his own... Forty seconds of added time played already, time to blow up. Game over...

Job Done…and a sense that this is what the Belmont team had expected when they came to play , no drama , no histrionics , an exercise in hard work , trust and co-operation ..

All smiles … from the departing Belmont players...seen above shaking hands with their opponents after the game.

Boggan caught up with his co manager via satellite link. Mulcahy who was on remote beach was more than happy with the performance....Mulcahy has been away for the last two matches but his football brain is as sharp , nay sharper than ever. Rumour of him holidaying with David Beckham appear to be false as Mulcahy is a renowned Chelsea supporter but the Paparazzi were quick to send the photo of Beckham or is it actually the tanned Mulcahy on his boat.....We wondered where he got his soccer brain from ?

Mulcahy also mission accomplished was resting , having successfully saved the Seychelles from some ghastly unmentionable disease...

A must win match , won clinically … Lucky according to one or two dissenters....

Plenty to play for with Belmont destiny in their own hands.

Manager Mulcahy back in town the following day rested and tanned was overheard saying that Belmont had done well in his absence , But that he had been using his time to develop his own ideas..... What changes will the Guru bring to this set up now that he is back ? We can only wait and speculate...it can go one of two ways...

.Next installment coming soon...

Heroism and Teamwork in pulsating encounter...Belmont 2 - St.James 2 in top of table clash.

So the day finally arrived , the top of the table clash vs the mighty St.James who had swept all before them and who had rolled Belmont over on their first outing.. What would it be ? More of the same from St.James ? By now used to glory and feasting on the misery they have inflicted on all the other teams in the league with the exception of Wayside Celtic who held them to a three all draw.

This St.James team laid down a marker with their manager waiting patiently outside the gates of Herbert Park at 9.30am while the Belmont team lay soundly asleep in their beds.

Belmont Management have reportedly been obsesssing about this one for a few weeks ... Would there be any way Belmont could turn the tables on this team.. a big ask to turn around a 9-1 defeat. However buoyed with the continuous development of the team , players finding their natural positions on the pitch and partnerships becoming established that more in hope than expectation Belmont managers took the desperate and foolhardy stepand went ahead and published the 'Secret Plan' on the internet...which assigned specific players to tasks and roles for the game.

And so it was that the goals were eventually assembled with the help of the opposition team parents while the autumn sunshine bathed the arena that is Herbert Park with warm sunshine.

The scene was set. Belmont in this particular match specific formation of two defenders , two midfielders having specific defensive roles , a single midfielder and a lone striker.

The Belmont manager for the day was Boggan. Alone yet again for a St.James fixture.... as a crack team of medics and part time technology buffs led by Hugh Mulcahy rushed to answer the call of the small underdeveloped indian ocean island of the Seychelles. Our hearts especially go out to the patient wives who volunteered to go with their men to make sure that they did not get lonely while saving the population of this island from a disease which is so secret that the outbreak has not even made the papers yet.... The absent manager Mulcahy reportedly sent a message of good luck to his team before setting off without so much as a care for his own well being into the unknown. Apparently the medics acquired identical sets of Maui Jim sun glasses as a gesture of solidarity with the manager the left behind.


And so it was that the solitary Belmont Manager called his team together into a huddle to read the message of support. The Absent managers son was so emotional that he asked if he could go home rather than play but he was persuaded that as captain for the day , he had responsibilities...the team left the huddle and went to their appointed date with destiny on the pitch.

The whistle heralded the start of the match and the expectant crowd drew their breaths and held them waiting and waiting as the match began to unfold.

Rather than St.James taking control, it was Belmont , defending and tackling and running and tackling , the manager shouting encouragement and laying down the law for his troops who responded brilliantly.

Up and down the pitch , the first half was a chess game with attack and counter attack being snuffed out. Conor Booth making a single fine save in the half.

The blanket defensive system held well and St.James found themselves frustrated with Mark Cloonan and Luke Sheehan being stalwarts as usual , coolly and clinically closing down their men. Brian Cuddy as designated striker required the attention of two defenders for most of the first half and Fiona McNulty came on and immediately set about bamboozling the St.James midfiled with her fancy footwork.

The crowds held their breath as Fiona at one stage decided to take matters into her own hands and rather than being boring and clearing the ball from in front of her goal mouth she set about giving a demonstration of soccer skills and casually beat the shocked St.James attackers and brought the ball to the half way line before passing. The St,James manager was seen writing in his notebook and pointing at her .. she had been the star before and now it looked like they might try and poach her...

Marcus Boggan and John Mulcahy too took their turns on the sidelines in the first half as they required re-hydration and a rest , such was the intensity of the play. Jack Fahey shots brilliantly saved by the St.James keeper , working hard for the first time in his life.

The half time whistle went and the team drew its breath... Game on. Belmont had achieved the first part of the plan , which was to contain the St.James attack... now could this maturing team really continue to focus and would they get anything out of it at the end ?

Luke sheehan asked to come off as he had given his all . Conor Booth rose to the challenge and volunteered to man the goal for the second half. His reward will come to him soon. The second half began as the first half had ended with both teams getting stuck in . Was this to be just another game of two halves ???.... the noise and support had drawn many innocent onlookers and by the time the referee blew his whistle to award a penalty against Belmont , the crowds had swelled to numbers usually reserved for FAI cup finals..

Was it a penalty ? 'Almost defonoiteluy noht...' said one bystander when asked ....certainly not according to the majority but this was a tough game and within the ebbs and flows it added to the drama of the morning.

Interviewed later the Belmont manager said that he would review the video footage before giving his view . A harsh decision though with players reporting that the referee saw one of the kids slip and accidentally trip one of the St,James rather than anything more sinister...

Gionanni Trappatoni who was in the crowds assembled on the sidelines agreed that the decision was harsh but you have just got to pick your self up and move on.

One nil , a fine penalty shot , Booth dived the right way but the strength of the shot carried the ball into the top left hand corner and out of the reach of the brave goalie.

Now the test , one down , would Belmont drop their heads and bow out ?

Patrick Sherwin upped the ante and ran rings around his opposite number creating space and options all the time.

Cuddy was brought on to give Cloonan a rest , Jack Fahy was rotated off the pitch and Marcus Boggan sent to take his chances as striker. The strategy of throwing Boggan out of defence into striking position has worked in the past and worked a treat again here,

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Within two minutes of the penalty , a clearance out of defence by Luke sheehan , a deft tackle by Cathal Dempsey whose clearance found Mc Nulty and she passed to John Mulcahy who drew men to him before passing across the box to the first touch strike of Marcus Boggan and delirious cheers from the assembled crowds.

Too good to be true... back in the game now , eight minutes to play , St.James made some tactical substitutions , trying to get back in control. Their period of ascendancy short lived.

Another St.James attack snuffed out with Fiona Mc Nulty making a fine contribution to the game with a marvellous tackle and a pass to Patrick sherwin and on to Jack Fahey who was himself tackled , yet went on and won the ball back again with tenacious play. Mulcahy was everywhere.

Sad really that his parents could not make the match but that did not stop the young John lad today. He was at once up the wing , then in defence and this time in support of Fahy and drawing the St.James defence , Suddenly Luke Sheehan , appeared out of nowhere , instantly saw the opportunity that Boggan had been momentarily left unmarked and so with a clever pass put the ball at the foot of Marcus Boggan who only had to reach it to hammer home his second goal of the game.

Now it was the turn of the St.James manager to throw caution to the wind and empty his bench. Four minutes to go , stalemate , end to end stuff , further shots on Goal from Belmont and stalwart defence as the St.James team who had never scored less than three goals before found themselves top of three table but for the first time in their season behind by a goal.

From the Belmont perspective , it was heart wrenching for the crowds when a sublime pass across field found one of the St.James strikers for once with a view of the Belmont goal and with a superb strike the match was level with less than a minute to go.

The frenzy of tackling and surges on both sides in the final minute was interrupted by the referees final whistle.

Honours even , the Belmont crowd were shocked and elated at the end of the match but spontaneously applauded the home team .

The Belmont kids had achieved something special . The St.James manager , face red with adrenalin gave a hearty handshake to the Belmont Manager Boggan and was heard to remark that this was an epic encounter of incredibly high quality football from two teams of 8 year olds...

A more pulsating encounter would not be found on these shores that day.... Or so we thought...

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Ireland were about to copy the Belmont formula right to the very last detail. Even Trappatoni who had created something of a master stroke to engineer Ireland to a 2 1 lead with 3 minutes to go did not learn the lessons of closing out a game in the final moments. I was heart broken for Boggan said Trappatoni (seen below gesticulating to Boggan ont he sidelines just after the St.James equaliser). Trappatoni said that Boggan and himself had spent a good few hours helping each other with their strategic plans prior to the game.

Belmont Manager Liam Boggan who confessed to being disappointed with the late goal but ecstatic with the team performance got something of a surprise dressing down from Mulcahy for not closing out the game

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'Simple simple simple...Ball up the jumper stuff'' said Mulcahy whilst reclining and sipping a pina colada when interviewed on Sky sports against a background of sandy beaches and Blue skies wih adoring natives catering to his every whim. Mulcahy said he was relaxed though , and would be asking the Board for continued support for Boggan in his absence.

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Fashion writers were quick to laud Mulcahy for his taste in floral swimming shorts. Apparently the pressure of saving the health of the seychellian people is hot and thirsty work and hence the absence of proper medical attire...

The Man of the match choice today for his incredible tackling and the sublime pass that set up the first goal went to Cathal Dempsey. It was impossible to separate the contributions of the kids on an individual basis today.

Manager Boggan smiling broadly and defiant despite the late equaliser said the team were all heroes but went on to remind the kids that the real crunch match is next week...Wayside Celtic away,,,,A win could set up Belmont to potentially go through to the semi finals assuming Belmont maintains this form for the next few matches.

More to look forward to.

Leinster Rugby and pro-Europeans achieve uninspiring and dreary wins Saturday as Belmont Under 8’s rock plucky Cabinteely

Cabinteely 1 – Belmont 4 (HT 1-2)
Photographs courtesy of Greelo
Leinster rugby fans and pro-Lisbon treaty supporters breathed a sigh of relief as they both scored narrow, uninspiring, dull and rather tedious wins in Magners’ League rugby and European politics respectively on Saturday. Meanwhile, Belmont Football Club sent out a massive statement of intent to Under 8 rivals in the Major League Cup as they beat ill-fated Cabinteely FC by a clear three goal margin in a pulsating and eventful match to maintain second place in the competition. Interviewed after the match at Kilbogget Park, Manager Mulcahy stated “Our result puts other seemingly important sporting and political events in their true perspective, indicating the drabness of life outside of under 8 football”.
Unlike previous contests this season, Belmont’s match was played in blustery and rainy conditions on an exposed pitch with the swirling wind making the game difficult for both teams. The Belmont managers are nothing if not predictable, and it was no surprise that they should start off with their usual dreary 2-3-1 formation with Cuddy in goal, Sheehan and Cloonan in defence, Sherwin, Fahy and Dempsey in midfield and McNulty as striker. The Belmont players and fans were expectant before the match, but it was Cabinteely who took the game to their rivals in the opening five minutes and they might have scored as early as the third minute had not Cuddy made a fine save following a speculative cross from the Cabinteely attack. The Belmont team settled well following this, with McNulty making life difficult for the Cabinteely keeper with at least two fine shots on target and Sherwin, Fahy and Dempsey passing deftly and settling well in midfield. Even so, Cabinteely continued to make progress and Cuddy was called into action again in the fifth minute, making a wonderful save following a fierce Cabinteely strike from midfield. Yet, even he could not stop Cabinteely from taking a deserved sixth minute lead as an unstoppable 5 metre shot found the back of the Belmont net. The team were behind for the first time in three matches and it would be interesting to see how they were going to react to this setback.
Too often in the past, the Belmont managers have failed to recognise their tactical naiveté, but on this occasion they fortunately changed their format, introducing Booth and Mulcahy into midfield and Boggan into attack with the aim of unsettling the Cabinteely defence. The adjustments paid almost immediate dividends as Boggan lobbed the Cabinteely keeper to level the score at 1-1 in the eighth minute. Less than a minute later, a mazy run from Booth followed by a fine low drive into the net found Belmont in the lead. Even so, many neutral observers felt that Cabinteely were a little unfortunate to be behind. Belmont continued to look fragile at times and would almost certainly have conceded further goals had it not been for stalwart defensive work by Sheehan and Cloonan. Their impressive positioning on the pitch, tactical common sense and cool-headed bravery belied their young age and on many occasions they cleared significant danger when outnumbered and seemingly outgunned.
Half time found the weather brightening and further tactical changes saw Fahy move into goal with additional adjustments in defence and midfield as the game ebbed and flowed. However, despite huge efforts, neither team could gain a firm foothold in midfield or attack until Mulcahy ran past two defenders from right wing in the 23rd minute and whipped the ball past the flailing Cabinteely keeper. Even then, it remained a cagey affair before a further run and shot from Mulcahy following fine midfield pressure by Cuddy Cloonan and Sherwin put Belmont 4-1 up in the 29th minute and the result beyond doubt. A series of excellent saves from the Cabinteely keeper as well as a couple of neat stops from Fahy in the closing stages of the match prevented further goals and the match ended as it had begun; full of pace, effort and hard tackling – a tough contest and not a day for the faint hearted.
The 4-1 result was warmly welcomed by the Belmont managers, commentators and a number of European political leaders. Manager Boggan said “This result puts us in the heart of European under 8 football”. European Comission President Jose Manuel Barroso hailed the result as “a significant step towards pan-European football unity and the globalisation of the Belmont ethos” while Irish Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, welcomed the result saying that it was “A victory not only for Belmont Football Club, but also for Ireland and Europe”. Opposition parties also praised Belmont for their “positive and resounding victory” with the only dissenters being Mary-Lou McDonald and MEP Joe Higgins, both recognised Cabinteely fans, who issued a joint statement declaring the result “depressing and disappointing”. Meanwhile, Leinster Coach Michael Cheika acknowledged that his Heineken Cup winning side’s 30-0 victory over Munster was “lacklustre and tame” compared to Belmont’s “exhilarating” performance.