Belmont vs Granada ( Cup match ) Belmont cruise to Semi Final of Major League Cup

The Belmont Under 8 team has had some unfinished business in the Major League cup. The cup had been suspended due to the poor weather. It looked like it was going to be abandoned but much to the pleasure of the Belmont team and management our fixture against Granada D was scheduled for play on what turned out to be one of the most pleasant evenings of the year so far.

With the return to action of the full squad and the inclusion in the team of our latest acquisition Paul Kinney , Belmont took to the park.

The referee Paddy Brennan made the suggestion that as Granada and Belmont had full squads that the match could be played as eight a side rather than seven a side.

This was somewhat disconcerting suggestion as Belmont have been crowding each other off the ball so probably needed less rather than more players on the pitch.

Conor Booth has served his time in Goal over the past few trying weeks. Conor has been a fantastic servant for the team in goal in important matches with a natural talent in abundance for this position. Belmont have relied on his bravery and skill in the Goalkeeping department but for this match he was offered his chance in the role of midfielder alongside John Mulcahy and Brian Cuddy. Marcus Boggan and Jack Fahey were paired together in attack for the first time and Luke Sheehan and Mark Cloonan in their familiar role in defence and Patrick Sherwin taking over as Goal keeper.

Belmont are familiar with this particular Granada team and had beaten them before but given the recent run of form it was nerve wracking to watch the initial few minutes.

Any neutral observer would take less than two minutes to spot the real recent weakness inthe Belmont strategy. Belmont midfield have a tendency to fall back and cluster around their own goal mouth and this is all it takes to draw in attacks from any team. This match started no differently with Belmont starting tentatively. It was hard to watch the initial few minutes as Yellow shirted players could be seen tackling each other and getting into each others way.

Indeed all it took was a Granada hoof of the ball into the Belmont box to immediately draw the midfield of Conor, John and Brian and Jack back on top of Luke and Mark. The six Belmont players chasing the ball in their own box ensured sufficient confusion to create a scoring chance for Granada and totally unnecessary pressure.

Likewise when the Ball came out of defence , it was a real struggle to get the ball up towards the Granada goal. Belmont rather than kick the ball up the pitch to the front men ran at the massed Granada midfield and Defence trying to run around them. The Belmont midfield may have some good players but Lionel Messi's they are not , so simple kick away tackles from Granada were sufficient to thwart the effort to advance up the pitch.

Eventually Jack Fahey lobbed the Granada Goal keeper to break the deadlock. This was followed by a goal from Patrick Sherwin and in the second half by newcomer Paul Keeley announcing his presence on the team with a fine goal.

The second half saw the return of some composure with players getting in each others way less and less and the defensive duo of luke and Mark enjoying not being clustered and were well able to deal with Granada.

Brian Cuddy who is without doubt the most improved player on the team went into goal in the second half for a well earned rest and he was not troubled by any shots.

Patrick Sherwin made a significant contribution in midfield when he came on and with the team regaining composure the Balmont management were finally able to relax and make multiple substitutions and give everyone ample pitch time and have some fun.

Fiona McNulty made some jinking runs and fine tackles and passes as she made her presence felt. Marcus Boggan was rested after some stellar work and strong clearances. Jack Fahey came ashore happy that he would not be needed in the dying moments of the game as he had made his contribution. Cathal who had played in attack this time was unlucky that he was not being able to position himself to make contact with one particular cross that looked like an absolute sitter and would have brought Cathal his second goal of the season.

All in all a much more relaxing evening in the sunshine with much to smile about.

Getting to the Semi final stages of the Cup brings up the possibility of yet another clash with St. James though we may need to win our semi final to get to that mouth watering re-match.

Again the lessons are clear for players and management alike. This Belmont team has capability, built on a solid defence. There is a particular formation in Midfield which is effective and the team has the potential when units work together to unleash a potent attack with key players being held in reserve to come on as impact players and add fresh legs when the opportunity arises.

Bring on next weekend !! And back up to Division 3 to face Cabinteely away in Kilbogget Park.