GNicholson

Last updated 00:00, Wednesday, 28 February 2007

Mathew Clarke’s match of the week

I & J Curry Building Contractors Under-12s League

Castletown Whites 1-5 Crown Newlaithes

CROWN Newlaithes moved into pole position in the I & J Curry Building Contractors Under-12s League with a 5-1 win away from home against highly-placed Castletown Whites.

Carl Sisson and Mark Kirkpatrick scored a brace each, with Luke Miller scoring the other, and Connor O’Neill scoring for the home side.

Three of the goals came in the last few minutes in a thrilling conclusion to a good game.

The away side were the quickest out the blocks, they immediately established a dominance over the game that would last the full duration.

Their good start paid off with an early goal, Carl Sisson timing his header from a high, looping cross a perfectly to nod in at the back post.

Newlaithes were definitely the better side, but Castletown also were playing well, defending well and occasionally mounting attacks into the other half, without initial success.

But their morale was soon to be damaged by a second goal from the visitors; Sisson getting his and his side’s second when he managed to bundle the ball over the line during a frantic goal mouth scramble.

Castletown pulled a goal back just before half time in excellent style. Connor O’Neill lobbed the ‘keeper from well outside the penalty area to put his side in good stead for a potential comeback in the second half.

Once again, the visitors gave themselves an advantage over their opposition with another bright start early on in the second half.

They had plenty of chances, but couldn’t quite convert them into goals. Castletown defended brilliant, denying Newlaithes at every corner, and looking more and more likely to claw themselves back into the game as the match progressed.

As the final whistle approached, victory looked to be comfortably within Newlaithes’ grasp, but it was evident that this could all change with one lucky break for Castletown.

The need became obvious for the visitors to consolidate their lead, and they upped the pace slightly at this point.

This new tempo appeared to pay off for Newlaithes, when their attacker was brought down in the box, resulting in a penalty.

This was calmly put to the left of the ‘keeper by Luke Miller. Barely a minute passed before it was 1-4 to the away outfit, Mark Kirkpatrick scored a brilliant goal, lobbing the ‘keeper from the edge of the area, into the bottom left corner.

Castletown had a few corners in the dying seconds, but nothing came of them. Newlaithes’ Kirkpatrick, meanwhile, put the finishing touches to a good victory for the home side with his second goal, and his team’s fifth, just before the final whistle.

This was an excellent victory for Newlaithes, but the scoreline was perhaps a bit generous, as Castletown defended excellently for the whole match.

The home side, meanwhile, will be pleased with what was largely good performance against a strong team, despite it all falling to pieces for them in the final few minutes.

The whole team were the men of the match for Castletown Whites, while Theo Oghani was man of the match for Newlaithes.