26/8/17
Spartak 6, Aylesbury 3
Spartak overcame the setback of playing with ten men for the last half hour to overcome Aylesbury.
The Sky Blues asserted themselves early on, racing into a two goal lead. Ger Byrne opened the scoring with a rare header from a pinpoint Sean Doyle free kick. Dave O’Kelly sent Ciaran Keane away to lob the keeper and make it two nil. As Spartak relaxed, tempo fell and slackness allowed the visitors to get back in the game with a deflected goal just before half time.
In the second period the goals continued to flow. David Kernan scored after racing on to Darren Ritchie’s flick .
A harsh sending off for Spartak gave the visitors a new impetus, and they reduced the deficit quickly, beating the offside trap. A fine volleyed goal brought Aylesbury level at 3-3, and then, luckily for the Sky Blues, a rasping shot from the edge of the box was marginally off target.
Substitutions gave Spartak new energy and Jsson Kelly sent Jeff Gamble away to restore the lead. Sean Doyle’s long range free made it 5-3, and Jeff Gamble set up Dave Kernan to administer the coup de gras for a 6-3 victory.
Form Report
Greg Byrne 7 Chris Hogan 6 Billy O’Neill 6 Sean Doyle 8 Dave O’Kelly 6 Mick Leslie 7 Conor Callis 6 Dave Kernan 8 Ger Byrne 7 Darren Ritchie 6 Ciaran Keane 6
Subs: Stephen Barr 6 Jason Kelly 7 Jeff Gamble 7 Conor Canavan 6
