Albania United 5:3 Green Briar FC
Unfortunately there hasn't been a good result to report from the club at large for a couple of weeks. Both the OTH and MSSL sides have each recorded back to back losses in their last 2 outings. If truth be told, the last two fixtures for the MSSL side would fall under the category of 'winnable'.
At times during last night's game versus Albania United in South Boston one would have thought the game was won, as the Briar enjoyed a 2:1 and then 3:2 lead before errors at the back were punished and the game slipped away in the latter stages of the second half.
New signing Mickey Sexton was given the start up front with Tom Caldwell pushing out of the centre of midfield to the right wing. The two would combine early as Caldwell delivered a nice cross to the near post following a short corner with Keith McLoughlin. Sexton made an angled run to the near post to elude his marker, but his 1st time shot was wide of the mark.
On the 10 minute mark Albania took the lead. A mis-kick by Davey Coen allowed the Albania attacker to steal in behind the Briar defense and he finished clinically to the bottom left corner. A disappointing outcome to what was a promising start for the Briar.
Minutes later Mickey Sexton was at it again. This time Davey Coen would play the Englishman through and his sharp turn and shot cannoned off the underside of the cross bar and was cleared to safety.
On the 20 minute mark, Sexton was again impressing up top. A long clearance from Gary Clarke found Mickey in behind the defense, but his lobbed shot was over the bar.
Five minutes later the Briar would get their reward. Following good work down the right from Brian Claus, Mickey Sexton was hauled down in the box for the spot kick. Brian McGuinness stepped up and made no mistake as he scored his team leading 5th of the season.
The Briar were pressing for the lead as the half progressed and on 33 minutes a corner from Keith McLoughlin found Davey Coen in the box but he was unable to get the decisive touch. From the breakdown in play Sexton found Gary Clarke on the left bi-line. His low driven cross was turned home first time by Braima Samati who timed his run and finish to perfection.
As the half was coming to a close Albania began causing problems for the Briar defense. On a quick break down the left wing, Albania succeeded in ripping the Briar apart. Three lunging challenges in quick succession contributed to the danger and only for Fernando DelPieri in goal in could have been worse. Fernando's kick save averting the danger at the end of the move.
From the resulting corner kick Albania equalized on the stroke of half time. The striker reacted quickest to a near post delivery and dispatched a low header to the net despite the best efforts of Brian Claus on the post.
The second half began brightly for the Briar. Again Tom Caldwell was creating space for his team mates down the right. He found Mickey Sexton on another one of his beautifully timed runs behind the defense and he in turn helped it on to Braima Samati. Braima chose to shoot from a tight angle and with men available for the squaring pass, such a promising position was wasted.
On the 10 minute mark the Briar scored a superb goal to regain the lead. Emmet Doonan began the move in defense as he held off his marker and released Davey Coen down the left. Following a very patient build up between Coen and Keith McLoughlin, the later got behind the defense after being sprung by a great pass from Coen. McLoughlin pulled the ball back and Mickey Sexton swept home the goal from 12 yards out.
Halfway through the second half Albania began to press once again. A free kick from 25 yards out was a dangerous prospect for the Briar, but DelPieri in goal was equal to the shot. A ten minute spell after that would see the game slip from the grasp of the Briar as sloppy defending was again punished by the opposition.
Albania succeeded in equalizing and taking the lead with goals that were carbon copies of each other. On both occasions space was found down Albania's right wing and the ensuing crosses were dealt with in less than spectacular fashion by the Briar defense.
Firstly Brian McGuinness got his clearing header all wrong and the loose ball was gratefully slotted home. Then 5 minutes later it was Emmett Doonan's turn to half clear a ball and again it was returned to the Briar net with interest. A beautiful strike with the outside of the left foot curled nicely into the right corner.
The response was excellent however. Mickey Sexton found himself running clean through on goal with 15 minutes remaining. His shot was clipped under the advancing keeper but slipped agonisingly wide of the right hand post. A great opportunity for the Briar to make up for the sloppy goals they had just conceded but they were unable to convert on this occasion.
Ray Moran and BrianMcGuinness both went close with half chances created by Gary Cassidy as the minutes ticked away but the death knell in the tie came with 5 minutes remaining.
Gary Hennessy was loose with the ball as he came out from defense and the turnover was costly as Davey Coen bundled the Albania attacker over for the second spot kick of the match. John Bavota of Albania stepped up to convert and gain revenge for a penalty miss against the Briar earlier in the season.
The final 5 minutes were frantic as the Briar yet again showed their spirit to get back into the tie and create chances. Keith McLoughlin found himself in front of goal with minutes remaining but was unable to dig the ball out of his feet for the close range finish. Finally Eamonn McCarney got a shot away from a tight angle but to no avail.
When scoring 3 goals one would expect to get something from the game, but the Briar were ultimately undone by poor defending and individual errors that were punished. The performance itself had a lot of positives. The Briar controlled midfield in long spells and created a number of great chances that on another night would have found the net. These are positives that will be gratefully taken into the match at the weekend versus league leaders Boston Olympiakos.
At times during last night's game versus Albania United in South Boston one would have thought the game was won, as the Briar enjoyed a 2:1 and then 3:2 lead before errors at the back were punished and the game slipped away in the latter stages of the second half.
New signing Mickey Sexton was given the start up front with Tom Caldwell pushing out of the centre of midfield to the right wing. The two would combine early as Caldwell delivered a nice cross to the near post following a short corner with Keith McLoughlin. Sexton made an angled run to the near post to elude his marker, but his 1st time shot was wide of the mark.
On the 10 minute mark Albania took the lead. A mis-kick by Davey Coen allowed the Albania attacker to steal in behind the Briar defense and he finished clinically to the bottom left corner. A disappointing outcome to what was a promising start for the Briar.
Minutes later Mickey Sexton was at it again. This time Davey Coen would play the Englishman through and his sharp turn and shot cannoned off the underside of the cross bar and was cleared to safety.
On the 20 minute mark, Sexton was again impressing up top. A long clearance from Gary Clarke found Mickey in behind the defense, but his lobbed shot was over the bar.
Five minutes later the Briar would get their reward. Following good work down the right from Brian Claus, Mickey Sexton was hauled down in the box for the spot kick. Brian McGuinness stepped up and made no mistake as he scored his team leading 5th of the season.
The Briar were pressing for the lead as the half progressed and on 33 minutes a corner from Keith McLoughlin found Davey Coen in the box but he was unable to get the decisive touch. From the breakdown in play Sexton found Gary Clarke on the left bi-line. His low driven cross was turned home first time by Braima Samati who timed his run and finish to perfection.
As the half was coming to a close Albania began causing problems for the Briar defense. On a quick break down the left wing, Albania succeeded in ripping the Briar apart. Three lunging challenges in quick succession contributed to the danger and only for Fernando DelPieri in goal in could have been worse. Fernando's kick save averting the danger at the end of the move.
From the resulting corner kick Albania equalized on the stroke of half time. The striker reacted quickest to a near post delivery and dispatched a low header to the net despite the best efforts of Brian Claus on the post.
The second half began brightly for the Briar. Again Tom Caldwell was creating space for his team mates down the right. He found Mickey Sexton on another one of his beautifully timed runs behind the defense and he in turn helped it on to Braima Samati. Braima chose to shoot from a tight angle and with men available for the squaring pass, such a promising position was wasted.
On the 10 minute mark the Briar scored a superb goal to regain the lead. Emmet Doonan began the move in defense as he held off his marker and released Davey Coen down the left. Following a very patient build up between Coen and Keith McLoughlin, the later got behind the defense after being sprung by a great pass from Coen. McLoughlin pulled the ball back and Mickey Sexton swept home the goal from 12 yards out.
Halfway through the second half Albania began to press once again. A free kick from 25 yards out was a dangerous prospect for the Briar, but DelPieri in goal was equal to the shot. A ten minute spell after that would see the game slip from the grasp of the Briar as sloppy defending was again punished by the opposition.
Albania succeeded in equalizing and taking the lead with goals that were carbon copies of each other. On both occasions space was found down Albania's right wing and the ensuing crosses were dealt with in less than spectacular fashion by the Briar defense.
Firstly Brian McGuinness got his clearing header all wrong and the loose ball was gratefully slotted home. Then 5 minutes later it was Emmett Doonan's turn to half clear a ball and again it was returned to the Briar net with interest. A beautiful strike with the outside of the left foot curled nicely into the right corner.
The response was excellent however. Mickey Sexton found himself running clean through on goal with 15 minutes remaining. His shot was clipped under the advancing keeper but slipped agonisingly wide of the right hand post. A great opportunity for the Briar to make up for the sloppy goals they had just conceded but they were unable to convert on this occasion.
Ray Moran and BrianMcGuinness both went close with half chances created by Gary Cassidy as the minutes ticked away but the death knell in the tie came with 5 minutes remaining.
Gary Hennessy was loose with the ball as he came out from defense and the turnover was costly as Davey Coen bundled the Albania attacker over for the second spot kick of the match. John Bavota of Albania stepped up to convert and gain revenge for a penalty miss against the Briar earlier in the season.
The final 5 minutes were frantic as the Briar yet again showed their spirit to get back into the tie and create chances. Keith McLoughlin found himself in front of goal with minutes remaining but was unable to dig the ball out of his feet for the close range finish. Finally Eamonn McCarney got a shot away from a tight angle but to no avail.
When scoring 3 goals one would expect to get something from the game, but the Briar were ultimately undone by poor defending and individual errors that were punished. The performance itself had a lot of positives. The Briar controlled midfield in long spells and created a number of great chances that on another night would have found the net. These are positives that will be gratefully taken into the match at the weekend versus league leaders Boston Olympiakos.
Line Up: DelPieri, Claus(65'), Doonan, Hannick, Clarke, Caldwell(65' YC), Coen(c), McGuinness, McLoughlin, Samati(60'), Sexton(75'), Cassidy(30'), Hennessy(25'), Moran(25'), McCarney(15'), Beausang, Mullane
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