19.8.12
Leixlip 2, Spartak 0.
Spartak were hampered by late arrivals and alarm clock malfunctions (Conor!). There was some excuse for Steve Grier arriving late as he was fresh from Mullingar after representing Mount Merrion at the
the John Joe Nevin celebrations, and was attired accordingly.
Leixlip, who won Div 3 last season, moved the ball well but Spartak attacked with good through balls by Neil McGowan to Ross Kelly, who lacked the sharpness to make them count. Ross departed early with a tweaked hamstring and Keith Kelly had to take time out with breathing difficulties. Seamus McCahill and Dave Browne formed a shaky partnership at the back, mainly due to lack of communication, and Leixlip took the lead when Jason Northey was beaten from a narrow angle.
Aodhan McCahill was generally composed in his distribution , while Stu and Niall Hanratty never flagged for work rate. Anto was, unsurprisingly, somewhat off the pace while Conor Canavan was never decisive enough to make a big contribution.
Spartak had a few good moves, the best of which saw Stu Love clear on the left; his cross cum shot was off target. Just after half time Stu again had a chance from close in but shot weakly and straight at the keeper. Seamus McCahill had a couple of efforts, but the attempted finishes reflected Seamus’ lack of practice.
Niall Hanratty made a few good forays on the right and shot just over, as did Neil McGowan with a right footed effort, and Ken Buckley also, as the Sky Blues upped their tempo and got to the pace of the game.
Jason made a couple of decent stops as did the home keeper from Neil and Steve Grier. An equaliser looked on the cards until a late slip by Dave Browne let Leixlip in for number two.
The final move saw Keith break down the right and opt to shoot from a narrow angle rather than gift a simple tap in by squaring the ball along the 6 yard line.
Form Report
Jason Northey 7 Anto Doyle 6 Aodhan McCahill 7 Seamus McCahill 6 Dave Browne 6 Ken Buckley 6 Conor Canavan 6 Ross Kelly 5 Neil McGowan 7 Stuart Love 6 Keith Kelly 6 Steve Grier 6 Niall Hanratty 7 Alex Kenny 6
