1.11.15
Swords Celtic 2, Spartak 1
A lethargic first half proved costly as lowly Swords put in an aggressive performance unmatched by the Sky Blues in the first period. The first half was all Swords, who showed greater urgency and aggression, picking up a few yellow cards in the process. Greg Byrne in the Spartak goal was by far the busier keeper, and took knocks as the subject of some rough inteventions, with Kevin O’Toole and Karl McCullough overworked at the back, as the Spartak midfield misfired.
Spartak’s only real effort came following a foul on Neil McGowan when a quick thinking Thom O’Driscoll spotted the keeper off his line; but Thom’s execution did not quite match the intention, just missing the target.
On 47 minutes, inevitably, Swords took the lead; a long ball was misheaded by Martin Costello back into a central area and , while Greg Byrne saved the initial effort, the rebound was tucked home.
Spartak lifted their game in the second half, while Swords conceded many free kicks in an attempt to stem the tide. Just on the hour marked Dave Kernan bundled in Ger Byrne’s cross at the second attempt. Then moments later Neil McGowan found Steve Walsh in space on the right, his cross found Thom O’Driscoll, whose header forced a good save from the home keeper.
The game looked to be going in Spartak’s favour, with a second goal in prospect, when a calamitous error of judgment by the hitherto commendable Kevin O’Toole handed the points to the home side. A rash tackle inside the box saw the penalty dispatched for the winning goal.
Martin Costello, Dave Kerna and Steve Grier all had half chances to equalise, but Swords held on.
Form Report
Greg Byrne 8 David Kernan 6 Martin Costello 6 Karl McCullough 6 Kevin O’Toole 5 Ken Buckley 5 Neil McGowan 5 Tom O’Driscoll 5 Steve Grier 5 Ger Byrne 5 Steve Walsh 4
Sub: Dave Browne 5
