St Vincent's DFC

Lusk United FC 3 – 3 St Vincent's DFC

                                   Green (15)
                                   Maguire (25)
                                   K. Byrne (55)


When the final whistle blew at Old Station Road, home pitch of Lusk United, the Blues frustrating start to the season continued as once again they had deprived themselves the maximum points through lack of mental stamina, despite having the luxury of a two goal cushion twice during the game.

With manager Geoff Foy absent due to prior personal commitments, his brother and assistant Stuart took charge and made a few changes to the starting line up due to the absence of midfielders McMahon, Geoff Foy and striker Justin Smith. However his tinkering did not seem to have an adverse effect as the boys hit the ground running. Immediately Lusk Utd looked at sea as they struggled to cope with the pace and trickery up front courtesy of the new strike partnership in O'Callaghan and Watson. Within the first five minutes, a chance to register our first goal went abegging after good work by O'Callaghan teed up the incoming Maguire but much to our agony their keeper was equal to the Kerry man's effort, palming away his low shot out for a corner.

However the momentum was clearly with us as we looked menacingly dangerous on the attack, threatening to open our account any time soon and sure enough Green demonstrated how to do so in an acrobatic fashion, sending a volley into the top corner from 18 yards out. Five minutes later, another goal chance presented itself when Lusk United attempted to spring the offside trap only to succeed in playing Green and Watson onside. Green took the bull by the horns by latching onto the ball while Watson had to settle for a poacher's role, following behind in the hope of mopping up any parried saves. However despite having time on his side, Green could only shoot directly at the onrushing keeper who was fast becoming Lusk United's most overworked player.

In contrast our own keeper Lowry had very little much to do and this continued to be the case as we launched yet another attack when O'Callaghan's magnificent 30 yard strike could only hit the crossbar and bounce back out. However we prevailed and finally had the ball in the back of the net when the 18 year old Maguire went one better than his last attempt, pouncing on a loose ball to fire us into what looked like an unassailable two goal lead at that stage.

However Lusk United had other ideas and as they began to gain composure after being on the back foot for an extended period of time, they hit back with a rare counter attack that had Lowry despondently picking the ball out of the back of the net.

This looked to have been a wake up call that seemed have been effective as we returned to the field after the half time break to reinstate our two goal cushion when K. Byrne profited from Watson's trickery, who had drawn the Lusk defence out of position before laying the ball off to the Tallafornian who had found himself free and unmarked to execute a fierce shot that impregnated the back of a net with a bulge.

However from this point on, the wheels from the St Vincent's train fell apart as the roles of the two teams were inexplicably reversed. The Blues who had been the dominant force for the best part of the match and should have had more goals to show for it, looked surprisingly meek and submissive as Lusk United were allowed back into the game scoring two soft goals in the remaining twenty minutes. In the end, the final whistle couldn't come quick enough for the Blues for they looked jittery and nervous, a hugely disappointing and frustrating contrast to their early positive and attacking verve that most teams in Div 3a Saturday would struggle to cope with.

First XI: Lowry, Wilson, Archer, Connolly, S. Foy, Doona, Green, K. Byrne, Maguire, Watson and O'Callaghan (c).

Subs: S. Byrne for Doona, Moloney for Connolly. O'Sullivan (not used).

MOM: None given this week. But unofficially speaking, captain Paul O'Callaghan would be a prime candidate in my eyes.

Report written by Ciarán Moloney

St Vincent's DFC 2-2 The Diamond FC

O'Callaghan (25)
Watson (80)

After looking to be on course to record maximum points from the opening game of the season, conceding a last minute equaliser was a massive blow to the Blues as they looked to be value for the win despite a nervy 20 minute start. After Moloney had given away possession, the Diamond literally capitalised on the substitutes error by seeing their desperate strike squirm under goalkeeper Lowry's hands to earn themselves a share of the spoils.

It was a disappointing end to a match in which St Vincent's showed glimpses of their promise and potency. Geoff Foy's troops were clearly a bit off colour in the opening 20 minutes as they struggled to find their feet against a skillful Diamond team who had brought a very large squad with them on their trip to Cabra but after K.Byne and Green switched flanks, it gave the blues a more balanced look and they reaped dividends when a quick and clever throw from defender Wilson, returning from an achilles injury, found O'Callaghan who rushed clear to blast the ball past the helpless keeper.

The second half saw Diamond come out strongly and although St Vincent's matched them for effort, we looked uncomfortable as they had the momentum. After ten minutes, we threw on new signing, Ray Watson who came on for the tired K. Byrne but we could not prevent Diamond putting together a superb team-move which had our keeper picking the ball out of the net. To Diamond's credit, it was a marvelous goal in which the passing and movement was excellent.

With O'Callaghan and Smyth working hard up front, we created chances of our own but much to our frustrations it seemed as if we would never be able to convert them into goals. However we persisted and Watson's quick feet saw him escape the attentions of his marker as he cut in, firing a shot which was blocked by the covering defender but Watson pounced on the breaking ball as he struck it sweetly on the volley to score on his debut, giving the Blues the lead for the second time in the match.

The remaining ten minutes saw the Diamond switch to a gung-ho mode but we held out and looked to be on course to clinch all three points when Moloney made a desperate error which proved to be so costly as the visitors snatched a draw with what was pretty much the last opportunity of the game.

First XI: Lowry, Wilson, Archer, Connolly, S. Foy, Green, G. Foy, McMahon, K. Byrne, O'Callaghan (c) and Smyth.

Subs: Watson (K. Byrne), Moloney (Wilson).
Unused subs: McGrattan and S. Byrne

MOM: Not awarded.

St Vincent's made an impressive comeback to the 2009/2010 season after a close-down of 3 years by clinching the prestigious Frank Roe Cup with a narrow 1-0 victory over Trinity Donagmede. It is a nice way to mark the 60th anniversary of St Vincent's football club.

In the presence of over 200 supporters under the perfect sunny weather, both teams showed signs of nerves as the match kicked off at 7.10pm. The match was officiated by a female referee, the first in 60 years.

After 30 minutes of play, St Vincent's had a corner when the elusive Jason Maguire who was lurking opposite the right hand post, screwed a lovely low cross from Jamie Wilson towards the empty net with his right foot to give St Vincent's a 1-0 lead admist the wild cheering of the jumping fans.

St Vincent's had a scare near the end when Trinity launched an all out attack in our crowded goalmouth in search of an equaliser. The ball bobbed around the legs of both teams for several minutes before it was cleared, much to the relief of our players and fansIt was a wild scene of jubilation with hugging of both players and fans when the referee signalled the end of the match.

It was a great honour for captain Paul O'Callaghan when he was presented with the Frank Roe Cup by Tony Martin, the president of the Athletic Union League. There was great excitement all around. Roy Keating was awarded “man of the match” trophy for a great performance.

Ratings:

Keating 8, Wilson 8, Archer 7, Dougherty 7, Doona 7, Maguire 8, McMahon 7, Green 7, Bonass 7, O'Callaghan 7, Smith 7.

Photos : Album 1|Album 2|Album 3|

Thanks to Con Lynch for the contribution of his report which was also featured in IDS's news magazine.

Annual General Meeting

Since the committee members elected last summer were all given a one-year term because of the circumstances then, they all had to stand down at the AGM which took place in Drumcondra Deaf Club on the 3rd of July, 2010. However they were still eligible to be re-elected if they were nominated by the members. The agenda of the AGM was passed without objection and a new committee was elected on a basis of a 2 year term.

Chairperson: Martin Dudley
Secretary: Robert Archer
Treasurer: Chris McGovern
Committee Member: Larry White
Committee Member: Paul Milligan
Committee Member: Jamie Wilson
Committee Member: Jason Doyle
Committee Member: Ciarán Moloney

The committee quickly moved to secure the services as Geoff Foy as the manager. He brings in his brother Stuart as his assistant and Jamie Wilson as his coach. Lets all hope they bring another season of glory to the club!

To celebrate 60 years since our establishment in 1949, we held a tournament over the weekend of the 18th-20th June 2010. The tournament was contested by four teams; St Vincent's A team, St Vincent's B team, Belfast Deaf Utd and Cork City DFC. Sadly neither of our two teams did not win the tournament as Cork City DFC, featuring a large number of international Deaf players, showed no mercy en-route to capturing the winner's trophy by defeating St Vincent's A team 5-2 in the final. On the Sunday night, we had a presentation night at Gresham hotel in Dublin City centre where a number of awards were presented to the players, both past and present.

Player Awards

2009/10 Player's Player of the Season (voted by current players only)
Roy Keating

2009/10 Player of the Season (as voted by manager & his assistants only)
Paul O'Callaghan

2009/10 Young Player of the Season (as voted by manager & his assistants only)
Jason Maguire

2009/10 Most Improved Player of the Season
Justin Smith

Outstanding Contribution Award

In appreciation of their services to the club, Charlie Gibbons and Con Lynch were presented with a lovely glass plague each in recognition of their outstanding contribution over the years. Their enthusiasm and love for the club has and always will be appreciated by fellow members of the Football Club.

Dream Team

After asking various managers that had served the club in the past, we were able to present a Dream Team selection of the past 60 years made up of 11 players who had collected the most votes from the managers.

GK: Rino Giglione
RB: Denis Moloney
CB: Tim Grace
CB: Tommy Murray
LB: Michael Moloney
RM: Geoff Foy
CM: John McHugh
CM: Colm O'Connor
LM: Stuart Foy
FW: Micheal Waldron
FW: Noel Mc Loughlin

Of course when the dream team was unveiled, it was a subject of a healthy debate among many players lobbying for the inclusion of others, as is the nature of the game which invokes passion and opinion!

Last but not least, the club would like to thank those who attended the presentation night. 300 people supported the event and your support is, as always, greatly appreciated!