Starting as always with our
first team playing in the
Leinster Senior Leagues Intermediate
1A Division, this has
been another monumental step up
for the club with promotion from
1B last season and brings tougher
opponents, new grounds to visit,
more challenges and a hell of a lot
more night time football.

Our first team made it past the
opening round of the FAI Umbro
Intermediate cup after negotiating
a dogged CIE at home. It took extra
time and penalties to see off old
foes UCD in the second round tie
at Belfield. We came back from 2-
0 down and stand-in goalie Philip
OʼConnor had an exceptional
game.

CY were now entering very unfamiliar
territory in the third round
and faced a daunting trip to take on
senior high flyers Bluebell United
with the prize of a place in the preliminary
round of the FAI senior
cup at stake.

The game was played on a bitterly
cold mid-December afternoon out
in the Red Cow. The normally pristine
pitch was looking a bit worse
for wear and it was going to be a
real slog against one of the clear favourites
for the competition.

Bluebell showed that at this high
level you cannot afford to take your
foot off for a second and a brilliantly-
hit cross from the left hand side
was coolly headed home to give the
Bells an early advantage.

Rather than feel sorry for themselves,
the boys showed the kind of
character that has been instilled by
their management team and played
themselves back into the game.

Parity was attained through a disputed
penalty for an alleged handball
by a Bluebell player on the goal
line. Graham Hannigan stepped up
and hit a fantastic penalty into the
top corner. Thomas Dunne scored
a brilliant solo goal to put CY 2-1
in front with just fifteen minutes remaining.

Clearly shook up, the Bell raised
their game and had a host of corner
kicks. It was one way traffic as
youʼd expect but with about eight
minutes remaining Dunne broke
clear again in the green of CY. His
effort from the right angle was parried
by the advancing keeper, and
with the ball swirling in the air, centre
forward John Montgomery rose
highest on the edge of the 18-yard
line to head the ball goalwards only
to see the Bell goal keeper show
why he has earned international
recognition by brilliantly diving to
scoop the ball out from the goal in a
desperate dive.

Was it over the line? Weʼll never
know. Minutes later the home side
were to get an equalizer from the
penalty spot when Thomas Nolanʼs
attempted tackle just inside the CY
box ended up with the Bluebell
player going over his out-stretched
boot. The game ended 2-2 but the
Bells had had their warning. CY
were clinically despatched 4-0
in the return but lessons had been
learned.

In other local soccer news, Liffey
Pearse are still holding their own
in the senior Intermediate division,
although recent results, with two
drawn home games and an unlikely
defeat to fellow new boys Firhouse
Clover has seen them fall closer
to the bottom two area than they
would like.

However, with as many as six
teams all within one defeat of falling
into the relegation zone, there is
still a lot of football to be played.

It will feel like a league success to
have come out of their first season
in the top flight un-scathed. Liffeyʼs
2nd team are also holding their own
in Major 1 Saturday
One division below Liffeyʼs Saturday
side are Ringsend Rovers,
who are on course to bounce straight
back up following relegation. Rovers
are currently in 3rd place in Sat
Major 1A, 13 points behind a strong
Crumlin side who lead the way but
they do have three games in hand.

Another local side, Vintage
Docklands, are playing in Premier
1 Saturday and find themselves in a
three-way promotion battle with St
Itaʼs FC and Farm United. Farm are
currently two points ahead of Vintage
with a game in hand but have
yet to host the Ringsend side in a
game that could decide 2nd place.
St Itaʼs look to have the league title
more or less wrapped up.

Thatʼs all on the action front
for this edition; I believe we will
squeeze in one more report before
the end of the season. Hopefully
I will have positive news on our
teamsʼ fortunes and that of the other
local senior sides.

It is a real testament to the
strength of soccer locally that there
are so many teams competing for
silverware. To have two Intermediate
sides bringing top-class amateur
action to the area on a weekly basis
is fantastic for the profile of a part
of Dublin City that has provided so
much over the years to Irish soccer.

Due to ever increasing costs -
why is it that prices still go up in
a recession?– for the remainder of
this season we will hold a monthly
draw with a top prize of €500.

Tickets will cost €10 and the draw
to be held on the last Sunday of
each month in the Hobblerʼs.