New Santos II vs Blackieville
Second Division
08/01/2011 2pm, Grosvenor Road
After a long break due to the weather and Christmas, Santos seconds' were back in action against Blackieville FC in a family affair which saw ex-Santos player Brian Caldwell line up against his brother and ex-teammates.
The opening 20 minutes saw an array of misplaced passes as both sides showed signs of rustyness on the 4G pitch and neither side were able to muster any chances of note. Blackieville threatened with a couple of long free kicks into the box but only managed to get the ball into the net following a push on Santos keeper Gary Ashwood and the goal was ruled out.
Santos took the lead after a Simon Magee cross caused chaos in the Blackieville area and Eamon Caldwell poked home, much to the joy of the Santos Ultras on the sidelines. Shortly after, Simon Magee was put through on goal by Paul Barr but couldn't quite get the ball out of his feet to score allowing a defender to clear.
Shortly before half-time Blackieville equalised following excellent work from the right winger as he squared to provide the striker with a tap-in to send the sides level at half-time.
Half time: New Santos II 1 - 1 Blackieville
Santos showed a constant sign of improvement as the game went on and started to take control of the game throughout the second half. Half-time substitute Gareth Cullen forced the Blackieville keeper into action while Simon Magee andDavid Harrigan came close with half-volleys but failed to hit the target.
With 15 minutes remaining, Eamon Caldwell grabbed his second as he headed in Cullens' cross to put Santos back in the lead. Minutes later Simon Magee raced through and lobbed the keeper only for the goal to be ruled out for a debatable offside. Blackieville looked tired and had very limited success getting past Martin Magee and Chris Thompson at the heart of the Santos defence. They came close with a scissor kick late on which went narrowly wide but the effort was to be their last chance to grab a draw.
Eamon Caldwell had a glorious chance to grab his hat-trick in injury time but he sliced wide from 6 yards out but it wasn't to matter as Santos held on for the win with Eamon having the bragging rights in the Caldwell household.
Final score: New Santos II 2 - 1 Blackieville
Team:
GK- Gary Ashwood
LB- Eddie McCluskey (Gareth Cullen)
CB-Chris Thompson
CB- Martin Magee
RB- Brian Canavan
LM- Gareth Downey
CM- Paul Barr
CM- Kevin Kerr (David Thompson)
RM- David Harrigan (Conor Chambers)
ST- Simon Magee
ST- Eamon Caldwell
Goals:
Eamon Caldwell x2
