Crumlin men knock Pat’s for six
CRUMLIN UNITED…………………….6
ST PATRICK’S CY……………………..2
By Daire Walsh
CRUMLIN United overcame a shaky start at Pearse Park to claim all three points at the expense of St Patrick’s CY in a Leinster Senior League Major Saturday clash.
Despite leaking an early goal against their Ringsend counterparts, the hosts bounced back in consummate style. Impressing winger Callum Keane helped himself to a hat-trick, while Conor Mooney, Leon Foley and Lee Gibson all found the target for a rampant Crumlin.
Whereas Pat’s are still searching for their first win in this season’s top-flight, their southside rivals remain in the frame for top honours alongside Bluebell United. Given the contrasting form of the two teams in 2019, Crumlin were understandably red-hot favourites to prevail in this contest.
However, they found themselves staring into a surprise deficit with just two minutes gone on the clock. Following a defensive mix-up off a direct ball forward, Pat’s striker Nanuki Hidaka was presented with the simple task of finishing into an empty net.
Desperate to make amends for this initial set-back, Crumlin immediately got themselves on the front-foot. Having already shared the spoils with Cherry Orchard, Bangor GG and Maynooth University Town, they could ill-afford to let slip any more points.
Keane fired narrowly off-target at a tight angle, before Dragos Mamaliga headed against the woodwork – much to the relief of Pat’s netminder Karl Murphy. Nevertheless, the visitors’ resistance was finally broken on 14 minutes.
Full-back David Dempsey headed into the path of the raiding Keane, who shot beyond the reach of Murphy in clinical style. This lifted a significant weight off Crumlin’s shoulders and even though Pat’s settled into a defensive shape as the action progressed, it seemed like only a matter of time until the tables were turned on the Irishtown men.
Edging towards the half-hour mark, midfielder Conor Mooney was picked out in space just outside the penalty area. He unleashed an unstoppable strike into the bottom left-hand corner to underline Crumlin’s increasing dominance of the proceedings.
Mooney’s partner in the engine room – skipper Dylan Whelan – had a brace of opportunities to enhance the United advantage. Dempsey was also close off a fierce drive, but Crumlin were more than content with a 2-1 interval cushion.
They remained on top of possession after the resumption and conjured a succession of opportunities in the third-quarter. Keane was close to grabbing his second of the game – preceding a Murphy save from a Mamaliga effort on the hour.
Pat’s were not out of sight just yet and there was a suspicion that Crumlin needed a third goal to kill off their challenge. This finally arrived for them on the stroke of 75 minutes, Keane adding to his tally after Mooney had been denied by Murphy.
In spite of this hammer blow, Pat’s received a potential lifeline when opposition centre-half Graham headed into his own net off a Murphy free. This was a temporary speed bump for Crumlin, though, as they ruthlessly wrapped up their seventh win of the campaign with a pair of quickfire goals.
Supplementing an excellent Foley finish, fellow substitute Gibson rattled the roof of the Pat’s net on 81 minutes. This proved to be the final involvement of the game for both men, who were red-carded for their parts in an off-the-ball incident.
Crumlin made light of their numerical deficiency, however, and the outstanding Keane round off the scoring by capitalising on a slack Murphy pass out of defence.
CRUMLIN UNITED: C Kelly; K Dunphy (J O’Toole 80), J Johnson, G Dixon, D Dempsey (L Foley 61); C Mooney, D Whelan (L Gibson 78); J Donohue (D Longhi 61), D Mamaliga, C Keane; S Hyland.
ST PAT’S CY: K Murphy; S O’Connor, C Doolin, S Harte, P Wall; M Hall, C O’Callaghan; Z Chimimba, A Doolin, D Lewis; N Hidaka (A Srado 56).