Author: crusadersafc

Azzurri Division 2B League

PORTLAW 1 – 0 CRUSADERS AFC

Our 2B squad travelled to Portlaw to face the high flying Tannery men, and gave as good as they got throughout. Comments from the home side afterwards indicated they felt they came away with more than they deserved, having underestimated the Crusaders side. In truth, the chance of the game fell to Cian O’Neill in the first half, connecting to Devin Enright’s cross with a bullet header and forcing a world class save from the home keeper who, with the help of the post and crossbar, kept them in the game. An opportunistic finish from Portlaw saw them take the lead early in the second half, very much against the run of play. The remainder of the game played out with a number of stoppages, a few knocks and fewer chances, with both sides cancelling out the other in terms of attacking, and the home side running down the clock. Many thanks to Portlaw for a great game, and we look forward to having them over to Whitfield later in the season.

Best for Crusaders were Jordan Daniels, Cian O’Neill, Paddy O’Neill and Tommy Smyth.

Azzurri 4th Division League

CRUSADERS AFC 1 – 4 KILMACOW

On a near-perfect surface, diagonally striped by Francie earlier in the day and manicured over the weekend by Willie Power and his team of landscape experts (sponsored by Geoff’s – “the alternative venue”), our 4th division entertained a strong Kilmacow side yesterday evening. With Paul Lawrence still making his way back from Bilbao (and still living in the Fergie-era), and Peter, Norman and Duckie unavailable, the elders still managed to give a good account of themselves on the night. A case of one side took their chances, and the other didn’t it seems, we finally got on the scoresheet after 55′ thanks to Patrick Egan, but after several chances had gone abegging earlier in the game, this was a case of “what might have been”. Thanks to Kilmacow for a good game, and we hope you found your way home from Butlerstown safely. ☺️

Best for the home side were Patrick Heffernan (a welcome returnee after injury), Niall Kelly (slowly regaining his prime fitness levels, Domino’s have sent a search party), Shane Hunt (on another night, could have had 2 or 3) and John Rockett 🟨.

A busy evening at Crusaders this evening, with our 2B team on their travels to Portlaw and our 4th division veterans at home entertaining Kilmacow. Kick off @ Whitfield Park is 6:45pm.

Note: Please follow the signs for parking at Whitfield Park. Despite the recent rain, the ground is still very hard, meaning there’s plenty space for everybody inside the grounds.

Our 2B team are back in action tonight, the first of two games this week. This evening we travel to Portlaw for a 6:45pm start.

Note: With roadworks ongoing on the approach road to Portlaw until 7pm, you may be diverted or delayed with a Stop/Go system, so leave sufficient time to get there. Eircode for Portlaw AFC is X91 KH66.

With the summer (whisper it!) here, and the weather looking up, there’s going to be many more of us out in Whitfield Park each week, between training and games. This has, in the past, led to congestion in the car park, overflowing onto the road.

It’s always best if we can avoid parking outside the grounds, as it keeps the roadway clear, and doesn’t impose on our neighbours either side.

We recently erected signage outlining where is best to park during dry weather. These signs give a reminder to park on the grass leading to the pitch FIRST when the ground is hard/weather is dry upon arrival at Whitfield Park. This helps ensure not only that we can manage the traffic volume, but also that we can ensure access to the playing fields in the unlikely event of an emergency.

In the diagram below, you can see the best place to park, ensuring nobody is blocked in and maximising the space available. Please use the grass parking area first when possible, with later arrivals using the space closer to the dressing rooms/toilets.

Azzurri 4^th Division | 27th April 2025

After some touch & go games this season, succumbing by the odd goal on more than one occasion, Johno’s boys left the dressing room on Sunday morning, taking to the field with a steely determination that they would do themselves justice.  With a number of enforced changes, the lineout saw David Power resume his deputy goalie duties, Gary Kent saw his first start of the season and Butlerstown’s own Paul Kelly got his first start this century.  John Rockett was awarded the captaincy for the game as a result of truly outstanding leadership in recent games.

Unfortunately, with only 5 minutes on the clock, Dunmore managed to get past the Crusaders defence and score.  What followed was the football equivalent of some deeply profound soul searching, as the men in blue and red dug deep in an effort to recover something from the game. 

At the back, Paul O’Neill and Peter O’Byrne were immense, shutting out the Dunmore attack completely from the 6^th minute onwards.  Kent lent much to the attacking efforts and PK rolled back the years, to a simpler time of landlines, Opel Cadets and the Irish punt, marauding forward up the right flank.  In the immediate aftermath, Johno was overheard proclaiming that PK would be the first name on his team sheet next time around! 

In the middle, Austin was once again omnipresent, as was captain Rockett.  Barney and Hunty kept the Dunmore defence on their toes from both wings, and Mark and Patrick fabricated chance after chance, but ultimately to no avail as the shooting boots had been left at home on the day.  Sprung from the bench, Brian and Deano freshened the legs up top, and forced Dunmore to reach deep and empty their own bench in a desperate effort to retain their lead. 

Also watching from the sidelines, the injured Niall Kelly (“hurt feelings and still a bit tired”), Trevor (“retired boi”) and Duckie (“retired if she asks”) all stated they wanted to be on the field more than anything, but had earlier decided to maintain their current recovery trajectories.  In sharp contrast, Willie Power has made enquiries into signing for the 2^nd half of the season, stating “I could still do a job”.  Watch this space! 

Final score 1-0 to Dunmore East.

Azzurri Division 2B | 26th April 2025

Saturday afternoon saw our 2B team travel to our home-from-home at the RSC, where we took on a high-flying Kilbarry Rangers team, sitting unbeaten before kick-off in joint first place in the table. Missing Stephen Pollard, Odhran O’Donnell and Joe Barry from last time out, Manager Murphy’s squad was buoyed by the return of Patrick O’Neill, Andrew Richards, Ben Brophy and David Cheasty, not to mention the much-anticipated competitive debut in the blue and red for James Clarke.

From the first minute, it was easy to see that the Rangers unit are a serious team, with well-drilled approach play causing the Crusaders midfield no-end of problems early on. A couple of last-ditch tackles by Jordan Wall and Cian O’Neill, and bravery at the feet of an incoming striker by Patrick O’Neill were all that prevented Kilbarry going ahead inside the first ten minutes. However, once we found our rhythm after 15 minutes or so, we eased our way into the game, starting to dictate the play through the mercurial Sean Halpin and the boundless Andrew Richards in the middle.

On 18 minutes, after some great chasing down by Tommy Smyth to win the ball in a dangerous position, James Clarke squared to top-scorer Zak O’Connor, who was ruthless from 20 yards, rifling the ball high to the Rangers’ keeper’s left, leaving him with no chance. Less than ten minutes later, Rangers were down to 10 men following the dismissal of their number 9. Smelling blood, the Crusaders Ultras turned up the decibels on the sideline, and were soon celebrating a competitive debut goal for Clarke, who latched onto Zak’s through-ball on 36 minutes and deftly lobbed the retreating Rangers keeper from 25 yards with the confidence of a man who knows he has a huge part to play this season.

The 2nd half continued where the first had left off, with Zak once again the tip of the sword, piercing the Kilbarry defence again on 50 minutes and drilling a daisy cutter into the bottom corner to make it 3-0. Murphy introduced Cheasty to the game on 57 minutes, a long awaited return from injury from the first game of the season, and the big man didn’t disappoint, slotting into Halpin’s position in midfield with ease, taking control of the tempo and nipping any ideas Rangers may have had in the bud. Indeed, the return of DC20 and the masterful display of Richards might just give Murphy a selection headache next time out, with Halpin, Tommy and Odhran the current incumbents in the middle. Great problems to have!

As it stands, a bench of 8 or 9 substitutes greatly added to the options open to Murphy. Cheasty’s arrival on 57 minutes had allowed Halpin to rest his busy feet, and later changes to replace Ben, Zak and James with Eoin Daly, Alex Kavanagh and Conor Brennan introduced fresh legs and new problems for Kilbarry to solve. The final change saw Harry Ryan come in for Tommy, and he was unlucky to see a classic poacher’s attempt stopped on the line by Rangers, despite his protestations. In the final ten minutes, play moved out to the wings as Rangers sought to limit the damage. Jim and Devin both saw space open for them​ on the wings, with Devin almost bringing us to 4-0, only for the Rangers keeper and crossbar to combine to keep him out.

​All-in-all, a powerful performance from the Whitfield men, and one that sees them draw level with Rangers in the early table standings.

No jackpot winner again this time around, so the next draw will be on 6th May when a huge €5,600 will be on offer.

Please support our fortnightly participation in the Waterford Sports Lotto. So much of the ongoing work at Whitfield Park is supported by your participation.

Club legend Willie Power keeps a batch of tickets behind the bar at Geoffs for those who are interested!

Alternatively, buy online at https://bit.ly/waterfordsportslotto and remember to select “Crusaders AFC” from the list.