Senior Soccer

Wexford CBS 3-1 Carnew (a.e.t)

CBS Seniors book semi-final spot

The Senior soccer team beat Carnew on the 1^st December after extra time with literally a hard-fought victory. Playing in Wexford Albion Coolcotts pitch and in horrible conditions the boys found it hard to find their rhythm against a gale-force wind.  Carnew backed by the wind opened the scoring in the first minute of the game as they exploited some weak defending and their number ten drilled a shot low into Adam Dempsey’s right corner to take a one goal lead. The CBS responded well playing against the wind, they managed to keep the ball down on the floor and played a delightful passing game and took control. Luke O’Neill on the right wing was causing havoc as he ran time and time again at his opponent and whipped in two dangerous balls within 5 minutes, unfortunately Dylan Dixon couldn’t quite get on the end of either cross. Minutes later the CBS should have equalised Jesse Farrell found Luke O’Neill with a defence splitting pass, Luke was in a one on one position but his effort was well saved by the Carnew keeper. The Bokerboys began to pile the pressure on their opponents and forced a number of corner kicks and some solid defending from Carnew kept them at bay. Midway through the first half the CBS were awarded a penalty, Darragh Rossiter split the defence with a pass from midfield, Jesse Farrell received possession and raced past one opponent before he was taken down from behind just inside the box. Carnew’s defender injured himself in the process, received a yellow card and was substituted, Darragh Rossiter stepped up and saw his attempt well saved. The Bokerboys continued to press against the wind and Luke O’Neill who was playing brilliantly on the right wing fashioned two more chances for himself but on both occasions was thwarted by the keeper who produced two good saves to keep Carnew ahead. Half time came, the score 1-0 to the away side.

The second half saw the CBS continue their dominance as they went in search of an equaliser, Luke O’Neill again beat his opponent and raced into a one on one position before seeing another effort well saved by the opposing keeper. Jesse Farrell hit the side netting after some neat link up play between Shane McGrath and Dylan Dixon put him in. The Bokerboys were throwing everything forward but it was beginning to look like it wouldn’t be their day. Paddy O’Reilly went on a great run overlapping from left back and was played in by Jesse Farrell as the CBS play opened up Carnew again but Paddy unfortunately hit his effort wide of the goal from 10 yards out. The Bokerboys made some changes and went with a more attacking outlook as they pushed everything forward in search of the equaliser. Supersub Liam Rockett immediately made an impact as he flashed two shots just wide. Rockett was soon instrumental in the equaliser as he worked well with Luke O’Neill on the right side before drilling a cross in from the right which was touched away by a defender from Dylan Dixon but straight into the path of Lee Busher who buried an effort to the roof of the net. Carnew came back into the game in the last ten minutes and almost netted a winner after some good play found their left winger in space, he was in a one on one position and he fired an effort from which Adam Dempsey produced a fantastic save to keep the scores level. The home side almost found a winner in the final minute as Shane McGrath took a strike from 20 yards saw his effort fly inches wide of the post with the keeper beaten. 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra time was to be played.

Wexford CBS again upped their performance and 5 minutes into extra time finally took the lead, Brendan Furlong found Darragh Rossiter with an excellent pass in space on the right side, Darragh burst forward and turned inside and out beating two players before smashing home his strike to the near post to give the Bokerboys a deserved lead. From this point on the CBS dropped back a little and looked comfortable. In the 2^nd half of extra time the CBS added another to wrap up the victory after some excellent individual play from Dylan Dixon up front as he beat 3 opponents with some good footwork, he then played the ball to Liam Rockett just inside the box and Rockett made no mistake sending a strike across the keeper to find the bottom corner of the net and effectively finish the game as a contest. A good solid performance on the day from the CBS as they had to overcome a physically demanding test in ferocious conditions, they know themselves that at this level they have to take more chances but as a team they give their all and are a credit to the jersey and their school. Next up is a semi-final against Arklow CBS which should be a fantastic game of football and the Wexford lads know they will have to be at their best if they are to win and look to retain their league title. Best on the day for the CBS in a good team performance were Ryan Byrne, Lee Busher, Darragh Rossiter and supersub Liam Rockett.

Wexford CBS: Wexford CBS: Adam Dempsey (Wexford Youths), Padraic Rossiter (Forth Celtic), Ryan Byrne (Wexford Bohs), Aaron Goodison (Wexford Bohs), Paddy O’Reilly (Wexford Albion), Luke O’Neill (Wexford Albion), Lee Busher (Wexford Youths), Darragh Rossiter (Forth Celtic), Shane McGrath (Wexford Bohs) Jesse Farrell (Wexford Youths), Dylan Dixon (Curracloe Utd), Subs: Liam Rockett (Curracloe Utd) for P.Rossiter, Kallum Broaders (North End) for O’Reilly, Brendan Furlong (Wexford Celtic) for O’Neill, Cormac Byrne (Wexford Bohs) for Goodison, also; Sam O’Neill (Wexford Albion), Dion Murphy (Wexford Albion), and Rob Donnelly (Wexford Bohs)