It was a quick start from Team Lightning as they opened the
scoring in the 4th minute. A ball crossed in from the left arrived
at the far side of the box. Wembeldines managed to block the initial shot but
the ball then fell to David Njuki who slotted home. The Lightning lead was
short lived though as Brian Ahern equalised two minutes later with a great
strike from outside the box. The teams exchanged chances for the remainder of
the half with a Wembeldines shot in the 12th minute going narrowly
wide. Lightning’s best chance of restoring the lead came in the 18th
minute when a good ball to the back post was just overhit. The fans were
treated to an absolute screamer 5 minutes into the second half as Danny Galvin
scored a Gerrard-esque goal from 30 yards. Wembeldines nearly doubled their
lead a few minutes later with a glancing header but the ball went just wide. As
the half progressed, Lightning’s best opportunities came from the wide areas.
The Wembeldines defence and keeper did well as they dealt with most of Lightning’s
crosses. Danny Galvin remained Wembeldines biggest threat and after going close
with a header in the 52nd minute, he made no mistake three minutes later
when he headed home at the back post to make it Wembeldines 3-1 Lightning.
Lightning fought on with David Njuki having a shot blocked two minutes from the
end but Wembeldines managed to see the game out to maintain their 100% start to
the season.
Boca Seniors 1-2 Cutters
A tight contest was expected between Boca and Cutters and
the two teams did not disappoint. Cutters opened the scoring in the 15th
minute as centre forward Nicky O’Connell put his team one up. Boca were back on
terms immediately however as a through ball was not dealt with by the Cutters
keeper and Shane Gary went clean through for a tap in. In the 28th minute,
John Conlon beat his man on the left hand side and played a ball in across the
face of goal. The ball was eventually turned in as Nicky O’Connell got his
second of the game. Cutters had a golden chance four minutes into the second
half as they played in their striker one-on-one ten yards out from goal. Just
as he was lining up to shoot however, the referee blew for offside. The back-and-forth
match continued with both teams creating good chances and both teams defending well.
Michael O’Loughlan, making his debut for Cutters, did particularly well putting
in vital challenges cutting out several Boca attacks. Boca went close in the 50th
minute from a free kick but Cutters keeper Feilim Begley managed to tip the
ball over the bar. Several corners followed but Boca couldn’t find the equalising
goal. Cutters were in a couple of minutes later and forced a brilliant save
one-on-one from the Boca goalie. The Cutters keeper was called into action
again two minutes from time when a free to the back post was met by a Boca
head. The keeper got a hand to it and managed to tip it over and ensure Cutters
came away with all three points.
Lakers 2-6 Delta
The Delta train kept rolling on with yet another high
scoring performance from the league leaders. Delta were the first to register a
shot on target on the 5th minute, but their shot from the right was
straight at the Delta keeper. John O’Sullivan opened the scoring for Delta in
the 8th minute and was on the
scoresheet again ten minutes later. A ball into the box was challenged for by
both sides, but the bounce went Delta’s way and fell to O’Sullivan who duly
slotted home. Lakers battled valiantly and got their reward in the 25th
minute to make it 2-1 going in at half time. Delta piled on the pressure in the
second half and would’ve notched up an even higher score if it were not for
some good saves from the Lakers keeper. The action came thick and fast with five
goals coming in an eight minute period. Delta scored in the 43rd and
45th minute before Lakers got one back in the 46th
minute. Delta then proceeded to kill off the game as they scored two more goals
in quick succession. The final result ended Delta 6-2 Lakers.