Great win for Green Briar in semi of Boston Irish Cup

Kendall Wanders A 1:2 Green Briar FC

Green Briar, who ended group play with a pair of draws and a second place berth in Group B, showed much better form in the semi final against a talented Kendall Wanderers side who topped their respective Group with a pair of wins over Groton House and Paddy Barry's.

Green Briar displayed the resolve to come from a goal down to record an impressive 2-1 victory with a wonder strike from Gary Clarke and a typical thundering drive from Eamonn McCarney.

After a lengthy warm-up the Briar players were focused and ready to go for the 6:30pm kick off. That focus would see them dominate possession and territory in the first 15 minutes of the opening half. Brian McGuinness only managed to hit the post with an early shot and Tom Caldwell saw a crisp low strike turned away expertly by the Kendall keeper.

The Briar were caught on the break however and were left to rue not capitalizing on their earlier dominance. The Kendall striker finding a pocket of space in front of goal and slotting home neatly.

The equalizer was worthy of any competition, and testiment to the healthy state of Irish soccer in the Bay State. Brian McGuinness lifted a long diagonal ball to the right wing towards a flying Gary Clarke. Showing tremendous technique and composure in front of goal, Gary met the ball on the full volley and guided a powerful curling volley to the top corner with the inside of that cultured left foot of his.

The tempo of the game somewhat cooled in the second half with neither side creating any great openings. Eamonn McCarney did manage to find the net with 15 minutes to go, after his drive was too much for the keeper to handle and nestled nicely in the bottom corner.

The final minutes became frantic once again as Kendall searched for the equalizer that would prolong their tournament. Tom Caldwell was sin binned for an over exuberant challenge and that left the Briar short handed for 2 long minutes. In a terrific display of energy, concentration and stalwart defending the Greens managed to hang on to secure a place in the final next Wednesday April 4th @ 7pm.


Line Up: De'Pieri, Hennessy, Clarke, Coen, McGuinness, Caldwell, McLoughlin, McCarney, Doonan, Dupuis, Glynn, Dean, Kieran