1-1 Park FC Under 12Bs
The sun beamed down on Park’s Under 12Bs as fourteen youngsters made the trip to Fossa in Killarney to take on the mighty MEK. Because of the weather the match was held on the club’s astro pitch. Space was at a premium with the ball zipping through off the speedy pitch to both keepers frequently, in the first fifteen minutes.
Captain for the day Matusz made a number of smart saves in the first half and the defence of Jakub, Zach, Sean Heaslip, Rory and Killian were kept constantly on their toes. MEK had the better of the opening thirty minutes, but clear-cut chances were limited and the two teams went in at half-time without troubling the scorer. Team Manager Paul spurred Park on with some spirited words of encouragement and it seemed to do the trick.
Ten minutes into the second half, man-of-the-match Finn, who had been tackling and rampaging through midfield, eased his way past a couple of MEK players, made space for himself and launched a dipping shot Steven Gerard would have been proud of, past the helpless MEK goalkeeper to give Park the lead.
Eldion, Kevin, Mark, Sean Whelan tried hard to create chances for Park’s forward line to increase the lead but MEK who had already forced Matusz into three fine saves were not to be denied. Jamie O’ Shea for the home team hit a curling shot which agonisingly squirmed under the body of Matusz to bring MEK level.
Trey with a marauding run, crossed for Jamie to go close, while Adam and Odhran both had half chances, but so too did O’Shea for MEK, getting through one-on-one in the final heart-stopping moments, only for Matusz to stand tall and deny him.
Final score 1-1 was according to many neutral observers, a fair result.
(Photos the Park FC team, with proud manager Paul and the two captains with the referee for the day)
