In blustery conditions on Sunday last, our 4B men continued their quest for silverware this season with a potential six-pointer against Red Star in Williamstown Sports Complex. Shy of a few regulars, manager Mark Kennedy cobbled together a solid team, with Niall Kelly between the sticks, Shane Hunt returning from suspension to accompany Austin in the middle, and Gary Kent rolling back to clock to 1999 with an appearance up front.
The Crusaders men got off to the best possible start, terrorising the Red Star defence with Kent’s pace, Kennedy’s presence and Patrick Egan’s calm head. Duckie, on loan from Leanne for 2 hours, played Stromboli at the back, pulling the strings and controlling the play, alongside PK, Jason and Paul “Steve Austin” O’Neill at the back. Jay Mullowney was a revelation on the wing, and Brian “Hothead” Scott and Juber “Garmin” Nunes were critical to the final result with their fresh legs coming to the team’s aid when needed.
Egan got the team in front early on, at a time when the months of rondos and tippy-tappy football at training three-nights-a-week was showing benefits. However, Red Star’s resilience got them back into the game shortly after halftime, and only for the liquid reflexes of Niall on goal, it would have been a different end result. Claiming his MOTM champagne afterwards in front of his Kilkenny contingent, Niall said “I was born for days like today”.
Honours even in the end, another point for Crusaders.
#ilovecrusaders
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