OLBC fail to make numerical advantage count in thriller

OLBC 1Oughterard 2

For the second week in succession Boys Club failed to take advantage of a numerical advantage as 10 man Oughterard left the Jesuits with the points on offer in this Western Hygiene Supplies Second Division tie on Sunday morning.

It was heartening to witness a good physical contest where both sides gave their all and where every bump and tackle wasn’t pulled back by referee Tony Geasley.

While they have played at least two games more than the chasing pack, the outcome is that Oughterard increased their lead at the top of the table to four points and despite their loss a very competitive Boys Club are not out of the promotion reckoning either.

In a game in which the kick-off was brought forward by an hour, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock in an opening half where few opportunities were created. On 12 minutes, a Danial Tuck free kick from outside the box bounced in front of Anthony Ryan to deceive the custodian and give the league leaders a 1-0 advantage.

For all their possession it took Boys Club until the final minute of the half to level matters as Damien Carter got a flick to a Colin Carew cross to level matters at 1-1.

The interval saw Oughterard having to make an enforced change in goal, with midfielder Jordan Waller replacing James Walsh between the posts, and the new custodian excelled with a series of smart saves - his first stop on 50 minutes was bravely diving at the feet of Ronan Caldwell after the front man was set up by a neat Liam Coakley knock down.

The second half saw Boys Club exert continuous pressure, while the odd breakaway was the highlight of the visitors efforts. However they were certainly very threatening on those occasions as Niall Walsh, James McConnell, and Dan and Andy Tuck always posed a threat.The visitors should have regained the lead on 53 minutes when Andy Tuck broke through, but fired wide with just Ryan to beat. However they scored their second set piece goal on 57 minutes when McConnell timed his near post run to perfection as he got his head to a Dan Tuck corner for a 2-1 lead.

For the next few minutes Oughterard dominated but Andy Tuck, Ryan Lucy and Niall Walsh all fluffed great chances from close range to increase their lead.

As the half progressed it was a back’s to the wall situation for the visitors as Mike Mahew and Ray Darcy were besieged in central defence, but allied to some solid defending by the rest of the back four they held out.

However the home side still created enough chances to have rescued something from the game. The front two of Jimmy Jennings and Ronan Caldwell were a constant threat, but despite numerous opportunities they either failed to get the better of ‘keeper Waller or failed to hit the target.

On the hour mark, Kieran Caldwell was thwarted by a diving Waller and this was followed by Jennings and Ger Keane firing high and wild from close range. The closing minutes saw some hectic goalmouth action as the custodian made smart saves to deny Kieran Caldwell and Barry Molyneux, but despite the pressure the home side could not rescue anything from a good game where both sides tried to play some neat football.

While the home side went down, they did so with all guns blazing and apart from the finishing it was not a performance that any manager could fault, while at the other extreme Oughterard will have being more than happy to have escaped with three points and proud too that they survived the late onslaught without conceding.

OLBC: Ryan, K McDonagh, Carew, Molyneux, D McDonagh, Coakley, K Caldwell, D Carter, Jennings, R Caldwell, D Murray. Reserves: Keane for Murray (h/t).

Oughterard: J Walsh, Moran, R Molloy, Mahew, Darcy, Waller, D Tuck, O’Toole, Lucy, McConnell, A Tuck. Reserves: N Walsh for J Walsh (h/t), M Molloy for Lucy (72mins).Referee: Tony Geasley.