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.
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.
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 2nd 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 90th 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 2nd season in a row, Hayes and his team immediately shifted focus to this coming Wednesday’s away trip to Abbeyside.
April is a busy month for our 2B panel in the Azzurri 2B league, where squad depth will be tested to the extreme.
After our upcoming FAI Junior Cup fixture away to Southend this Sunday morning, and a potential follow-on cup fixture the weekend of 11th April, we return to league action when we host St. Saviours in the league on 18th followed by a trip to Abbeyside on Wednesday 22nd before welcoming Dungarvan Utd. to Whitfield Park on Saturday 25th.
The Azzurri 4B fixtures for April are out, and have thrown up some exciting ties. Last season’s winners, and our quarter final opponents Villa play host on 11th April, and our near neighbours Ballyduff travel to Whitfield Park for a visit on 29th April. Both evening kick-offs (please note times).
An emphatic start to the new season yesterday from our 2B team with a strong win against our visitors from Stradbally. Ahead after 2 minutes, the outcome was assured by half time with several well-worked goals including a hat trick from Mr. O’Connor in what was a fine team performance across every position on the field. Newcomers Evan and Ray stood out, as did Ben Kavanagh and Tommy & Odhran in the middle.
Our opening league fixtures for the 2026 season have been pushed back from their original dates by 2 weeks in a bid to allow pitches the chance to dry a little…
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