Rivermeade F.C 3 -v-OLV 35s 4 (A.Stanley,R.Keogh,J.Coates,M.Elliot)

OLV moved up to third place in the league after this hard fought and well deserved
victory against Rivermeade F.C in St Margaret’s on Sunday morning.
The home side came into this game looking to move ahead of OLV in the table and
exact some revenge on the Ballyfermot team for a defeat early in the season. Rivermeade must have been expecting to open up a lead in the first half as OLV had to play against a very strong breeze on this cold January morning.
The game started brightly but it was soon evident that the away teams normal passing game would have to be sacrificed on this very uneven marshy pitch.
OLV were in control right from the off as captain James Coates lead by example with his usual tough tackling and composure on the ball and he wasn’t alone as his central midfield partner Phil Lowndes threw himself into tackles against the Rivermeade men, central defenders Bart Kavanagh and Martin Dunican once again were proving themselves a good partnership as they cleared up any Rivermeade attacks, Alan Short and Anto Stanley both played well on the flanks and were always supported by full backs Neil Ferry and Garreth Donovan who got forward often and defended well when the pressure was on while strikers Mark Elliot and Gordon Farrell battled well against the well organized home defence, keeper Dave Kelly had little to do until a free kick just out side the box was heading for the top corner and he reacted well to it and touched it on to the bar but could do little as the ball came back off the frame and the onrushing forward nipped in to score the opening goal.
1-0
This goal sparked the home team into life and they soon had a couple of good chances that were excellently saved by Kelly before the referee brought the first half to a close.

Half-time 1-0

The second half started with only one change made by manager John Lowndes who sent on striker Rory Keogh to apply more pressure as OLV now with the wind behind them went searching for some goals but it was Rivermeade that scored next as they broke away and fed their striker who was “on-side” and he finished well. 2-0
This goal came completely against the run of play and OLV soon scored thanks to some great build up play right through the team that lead to a Rory Keogh pass for Anto Stanley who swept the ball into the back of the net. 2-1.
The away team then brought Matt Connelly and Ian Clifford into the game and it wasn’t long before they made an impact with Clifford crossing the ball for Keogh to score a diving header to bring the game level with 35 minutes still to play.2-2.
The away team could now sense victory and were looking likely to score again when this game took another twist as a Rivermeade attack saw a ball played into the box, bounce up off one of the many divots and hit an OLV defender on the hand and incredibly the referee awarded a penalty that was scored by the home team .3-2.
The OLV management team made some tactical changes and two more substitutions that saw Willie Murphy and Jonny Dutton come into the game in an effort to keep the pressure on Rivermeade and it wasn’t long before OLV won a corner on the left hand side that was taken by James Coates who swung the ball in and with two defenders and the goalkeeper getting in each others way the ball flew straight into the goal .3-3.
Now with the score level again the stage was set for OLV to look for a winner in the final stages of the game and that goal soon came as OLV switched to three at the back and after a great passage of play the ball was played to Mark Elliot who bore down on goal and finished brilliantly across the keeper ,Elliot was then mobbed by his team-mates before his celebration of the season!3-4.
The travelling team had 7 minutes left to hold on or even get another as Rivermeade were deflated and the OLV teams superior fitness showed in the final moments as they held on to the ball and passed it around until the final whistle blew.

Full time 3-4
A WELL WON GAME BY OLV AND EVERYBODY ON THE PITCH AND SIDELINE CAN TAKE SOME WELL DESERVED CREDIT FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS.