Author: crusadersafc

Week 2 Review

Week 1 Update

Click here to enter

Hot on the heels of a statement win over Dungarvan Utd in the previous round, this coming Monday sees our 2B men take on Johnville at Whitfield Park, kick off 7pm, in the Jimmy O’Neill Division 2 Cup Quarter Final.

A severely depleted Crusaders 2B panel travelled to Stradbally on Sunday morning minus several regulars currently in action at World Cup 2026. Arriving at 10am, it soon became clear that there would be a few changes on the team sheet.

An early penalty from Ben Brophy put Crusaders ahead. Michael Morrissey was then withdrawn after the first half Hydration Break ™ with a case of sunstroke, opting to watch from the shady dugout in the blistering heat. Brophy made it 2-0 to Crusaders shortly after with a carbon copy penalty on 37 minutes.

Deputising for the unavailable Paddy O’Neill, currently on international duty with his spiritual homeland of Cape Verde, Donal O’Connor was a revelation between the sticks. However, he was beaten before halftime from close range when Stradbally forced one back from a corner.

During the halftime break, Halpin, sponsored by Ambre Soleir, tweaked the plan and called for all-out attack in the second half. The first of three resulting goals came on 48 minutes when Conor Brennan pounced on a spill by Stradbally’s excellent keeper to make it 3-1. As he came off the pitch to be substituted for Dan, the ginger winger melted into a puddle of red, blue and l’Oreal.

With Drew, Cian, Jim and Dale controlling the backline, and Tommy and Odhran running the midfield, all eyes turned to the front line for inspiration and surgical efficiency.

In the 67^th minute, after some wizardry in the box by the coin-operated Tommy Smyth, Crusaders’ No. 13, mascot, reluctant shinpad model and current Golden Boot candidate Harry Ryan pounced to finish like a poacher and, channelling his mentor Zak, headed towards the corner flag to celebrate. He added a fifth in the 70^th minute, but this was missed by the camera crew who were all searching in vain for match balls.

Unfortunately, the RefCam footage was unavailable as match official Razor Ryan had inadvertently charged his wallet instead of his camera en-route to Stradbally. However, this can be overlooked as the man in orange kept the game moving in what was a thoroughly entertaining watch for the gathered spectators.  

Final Score: Stradbally FC 1 – 5 Crusaders AFC

The committee at Crusaders AFC is delighted to announce that we have been awarded the FAI Club Mark accreditation.

The FAI Club Mark is a nationally-recognised accreditation awarded to clubs that demonstrate the highest standards in governance, administration, coaching, safeguarding, and player development. It recognises the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure a safe, well-organised and professionally run environment for all players, coaches, volunteers and families.

This achievement is a testament to the dedication of our volunteers, committee members, coaches and players who give their time, energy and experience to ensure we are a club striving for excellence both on and off the pitch.

Receiving the Club Mark reflects our commitment to best practice, player welfare, coach education and providing the best possible football experience for everyone involved in our club.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this achievement. This is an important milestone for the club, and we look forward to continuing to build and develop the club on and off the field for many years to come.

This season’s fiercely competitive 2B league marched on Friday night with another 3 points for Crusaders, but they were made to work for it by a strong Kilbarry outfit who can have no complaints as they set out back home after an entertaining game.

The home side might came out on top in every area on the pitch (except maybe height), and with the returning Cian O’Neill in fine form at centre half alongside the excellent Joe Richards, they quashed every Kilbarry attack early and managed to keep the visitors on their defensive toes throughout.

In midfield, Tommy Smyth and Odhran were on form, bringing wingers Evan Kiely and Ben Brophy into the play throughout, and Ray Balogun caused no end of problems for Rangers with a devastating display of ball control and stregth up front.

The game was decided by a single goal, a well worked move culminating with a Ben Brophy cross and tucked away from close range by Smyth in the 22nd minute.

Paddy O’Neill was called into action early in the second half, smothering Kilbarry’s best effort of the game but in truth, the result was never in doubt once Crusaders got their noses in front.

Result: Crusaders AFC 1 – 0 Kilbarry Rangers

Player of the match: Cian O’Neill

Azzurri Division 2B

22nd April 2026

Abbeyside FC 1-2 Crusaders AFC

The N25 from Waterford is a fine road, without a pothole nor a traffic light to be seen by Faha’s high ditches, past the weeds at Downey’s Cross before the Cunnigar comes into view as one coasts downhill into the county’s 3rd town (after the city and, of course, Tramore).

Lacking several key players, including playmaker Odhran O’Donnell, marauding left back Ben Kavanagh and the suspended Cian O’Neill, Hayes & Murphy somehow ended up with their largest match day panel of the season so far, with the returning Eoin Daly and Recruit Jordan Wall both major bonuses. Keeper Paddy O’Neill even managed to be on time despite his boss insisting he work back after sleeping through his alarm earlier in the day.

Captain Halpin elected to play into the gentle first half breeze, though it could be argued that the home side had marginally more possession in the first 45 when the 40 minutes of cloud-ball hang-time was discounted, with the best chance of the half falling to the home side after a 35th minute corner which was cleared off the line by Jim Brennan.

After the restart and subsequent loss of the 15th match ball of the evening, it didn’t take Crusaders long to settle playing up the hill however, with Zak O’Connor coming from deep with a late run to finish in the 50th minute after a razor-sharp pass from Ray Balogun. Indeed, with Zak playing a deeper role than usual, Ray ran the lonely line admirably up top and got his reward just 4 minutes later, burying an O’Connor pass to bring the score to 2-0.

Abbeyside, buoyed on by their sizeable home support, turned to their bench for inspiration. However, in the current climate of outlandish petrol and diesel prices, never have we appreciated our loyal travelling Crusaders support and our flag-waving Clonard Park fanboys more as they cheered and clapped as each Abbeyside attack was repelled by the excellent Richards brothers and the outstanding Jim Brennan. Twins Evan “Seven” Kiely and Ben Brophy continued to prod for an elusive third goal with veteran Tommy Smyth proving a thorn in the side of villagers’ creative abilities, breaking up attacks before they could register on the xG machine.

Despite a late goal from the home side, the Whitfield men finished with air to spare and headed over the ring road for a well-earned McD’s milkshake before hitting the N25 again, eastward-bound; top of the table and eagerly awaiting the visit of Dungarvan Utd this Saturday to Whitfield Park.

Goal scorers: Zak O’Connor & Rahman Balogun

Player of the match: Andrew “Sleeves” Richards

Next up for our 2B team in what is a busy month of April is a trip out west to Abbeyside on Wednesday evening. KO @ 6:45pm.

Hayes’ men march on!

Saturday afternoon at Whitfield Park saw our 2B squad entertain nearby rivals St. Saviours in what was an outstanding game, with open free-flowing football across the 90 minutes. Despite missing several players due to injury, foreign sporting and work commitments, Crusaders still managed, such is the depth of Eoin Hayes’ squad, to put out a strong starting XI.

The markers were laid down an hour before kick off, with Saviours arriving in numbers to the grounds in time to watch Chairperson McGrath add the finishing touches to his playing surface, the manicured rye-grass and laser-straight touchlines serving as a comparison to the immaculately coiffed Clonard Park brigade.

Pre-match warm-ups saw a “Mill at the Hill-esque” situation narrowly avoided as the Saviours squad, large, loud and imposing, consume 80% of the training space available. However, since Pope Urban II’s initial campaign to capture Jerusalem, one of the long-heralded traits of a crusader is that of discipline, and such gamesmanship was never likely to affect Halpin’s legion.

And so it came to pass. The home side threatened early with a spate of runs which had the Saviours centre-halves’ ankles stretched before the first goal arrived on five minutes. A vicious inswinging corner from the left boot of Ben Kavanagh did the damage, helped on its way past the stationary defence by the head of a Saviours defender.

The remainder of the first half saw a blue and red blur as chance-after-chance was created by the Whitfield men, with Saviours’ keeper performing miracles. Two of the key men inflicting the damage, Ray Balogun and Zak O’Connor, will be the reason for several sweaty sleep interruptions within the Saviours defence over the coming months.

After 35 minutes, another corner – this time from Ben Brophy’s boot – hung invitingly in the air before being finished from point blank range by Zak. 2-0, and coasting.

Much of the 2^nd half followed the same pattern, with Saviours’ keeper managing to keep Crusaders out after seeing their defence breached time after time. However, a lifeline was thrown to the visitors on 71 minutes when one of their substitutes ran through on an inviting pass to set up a grandstand finish.

And what a final few minutes we had. In the 90^th minute, Crusaders went down to 10 men when Cian O’Neill was sent to the line for a handball on the line. Whilst this was a highly subjective outcome, one couldn’t blame the excellent referee Noel Purcell for his decision. However, the outcome of a red card and penalty threatened to undo all of the Crusaders’ hard work. Despite Paddy’s best efforts, Saviours slotted the resultant penalty to make it 2-2.

Then, as the clock entered the red, some sloppy defensive play resulted in a free to Crusaders some 25 yards from the goal. As the referee checked his watch, he indicated there was just enough time to complete the set piece.

Enter Ben Brophy. The man with impeccable timing, with a habit of finding the net at the right time. Ben doesn’t do tap-ins. His free kick cleared the four-man wall, darting up and down through the air like a homeless sparrow and rocketed past the outstretched keeper to trigger rapturous celebrations and a fitting result to a great game, one played in a fair and sporting manner throughout.

As the visiting players nobly shook their victorious opponents’ hands before departing Butlerstown pointless for the 2^nd season in a row, Hayes and his team immediately shifted focus to this coming Wednesday’s away trip to Abbeyside.