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Hard earned point for Over 30's

F.F.C. 2:2 Green Briar O30s

Twice coming from behind, the Briar earned a hard fought away point against D4 rivals F.F.C. in Easton MA. The players should feel that they left the 3 points after themselves however, as a couple of great chances from close range were not converted.

Diran Balekian scored on his debut to cancel out an early strike from F.F.C and Kevin Higgins defied gravity to rise high and flick home a corner after the Briar had fallen behind on a second occasion.

A bobbling pitch and an extra early start could be blamed for a notoriously sluggish start from the Greens but since those factors were the same for both sides it can hardly be an excuse. F.F.C.'s early dominance was capitalized upon when a long range effort found the top corner beyond the dive of Paul Fallon in goal.

Later in the half Michael Graham sent a ball off the crossbar when an attempted header from Leo O'Connor broke kindly to him. The effort will go down as a glaring miss from 6 yards out however, as it looked like it was easier to score. That chance capped an overall poor performance from the Limerick man.

In contrast, Diran Balekian and Kevin Higgins put in great shifts and were rewarded with terrific goals. John Hickey sent in a cross from the left which Leo O'Connor once again challenged in the box. The breaking ball was finished with aplomb by the Armo.

After falling behind early in the second half to a 2nd ball rebound in the box following a free kick which Jason Sullo could only parry, it was up to Kevin Higgins to salvage the point. A series of in-swinging corners from David Coen resulted in Higgins flicking one of them home with a skillful back header. Who says having a head shaped like a 50 pence piece isn't useful.

Brian McGuinness popped up at the back post late on and met another corner with a solid volley. But for the defender at the back post the Briar would have gotten out of Dodge with all 3 points. As it is they sit atop of D4, tied with their opponents of the day on 4 points. 

Line Up: Fallon, Glynn, Concagh, Hannick, Higgins, O'Donnell, Hall, Coen, Graham, Hickey, O'Connor, Sullo, J Nolan, Goin, Kilber-Stearns, McKenna, Daly, McGuinness

Training next week

Training will be held on Wednesday Apr 11th at 5:45PM.

Burr Playground (Map)

Waverley Ave

Newton MA 02458

Briar crowned 2012 Boston Irish Cup Champions

Green Briar FC 5:1 Paddy Barry's

Green Briar Captain and cup final 'Man of the Match' Tom Caldwell broke the deadlock early-on against Paddy Barry's to set his team on the road to their first trophy of the season. Tom was an inspiration to his teammates, leading by example and putting in a typically dominant and tenacious display in midfield.

Green Briar FC: (Back) Altidore, Hennessy, Caldwell, Clarke, Doonan, Coen, De'Pieri

(Front) Sexton, McCarney, O'Connor, McLoughlin, McGuinness, Roux

Mickey Sexton wasn't bad either, securing the match ball with a cup final hatrick, a collectors item in any footballer's career. Leo O'Connor secured the other strike with a superb run and cheeky flick past the on-rushing Paddy Barry's keeper to round off a terrific result for the Greens.

Paddy Barry's

Despite the scoreline on the night, the path to the trophy wasn't an easy one. The Briar seemed to grow into the competition gradually, securing a pair of draws during group play and a narrow 2-1 victory over Kendall A at the semi final stage.

Mark Stokes presents the cup to Briar captain Tom Caldwell

The Briar had a strong team available for selection and with 12 outfield players to choose from Joe Nolan and Michael Graham could afford the luxury of two hockey style lines of players. The team hardly skipped a beat as the talent on the line equalled that of the players on the pitch.

Green Briar FC celebrate with sponsor Dessie Kerins

Assists on the night came from a variety of players. Davey Coen setup Caldwell for the opener, while his midfield partner Brian McGuinness (fresh off of a flight from DC) provided the service for Mickey Sexton's first. The back line were also solid contributors going forward. Fernando De'Pieri sent a long ball over the top for Sexton to grab his brace before Gary Hennessy later turned provider for the hatrick goal.

Managers Joe Nolan and Michael Graham

Colin Roux

Leo O'Connor scored the pick of the goals on the night after he latched onto a through ball from Emmett Doonan and sent a deft flick over the advancing keeper for the silky finish. In fact Leo, along with Michael Graham were the only members of the club on the night that had been involved in the 2009 winning side. Testament to how the club has grown and changed over the years.

Keith McLoughlin

Leading 3-0 at the break, it was looking promising for the Briar. However one had only to look back to the group stage to know that a 3-0 scoreline is nothing in the indoor game. The Briar had managed to relinquish such a lead in their first game versus Bohemians.

Conor Hannick and Yolanda America

The only blotch on the copy book was surrendered just after the break. A Keystone Cops moment in the Briar area resulted in what seemed like a 30 second scramble around the goal mouth before the ball was finally poked home to make the scoreline 3-1. The result on this night would be far different to that from the Bohs tie however.

Peter Miller

Instead of folding or conceding ground and possession, the Briar re-established their foothold in the tie to round out the 5-1 result, and famous victory.

Leo O'Connor

Tastes good from a Waterford Crystal Cup.

Tom Caldwell was charged with raising the coveted crystal trophy and afterwards gave an excellent, all-encompassing speech - Thanking Paddy Barry's for a hard fought match, the Marina Bay Sportsplex facility for the terrific venue, the referee and organizer Mark Stokes for facilitating the event and keeping his cards in his pocket. Above all he thanked our sponsor the Green Briar Pub, represented by General Manager Dessie Kerins who came down to support the side. His managers were so good they didn't require a mention. 

Gary Cassidy

The competition was excellent, displaying all the skill the Irish game in Boston has to offer, and the win serves as a terrific platform for the Briar to enter the MSSL season with confidence.

Line Up: De'Pieri, Hennessy, Clarke, Coen, McGuinness, Caldwell, McLoughlin, McCarney, Doonan, Altidore, O'Connor, Roux, Sexton

What's up for grabs tomorrow night...

The Boston Irish Cup

Games and Training this week

Over 30 Training will be held on Wednesday Apr 4th at 5:30PM.

Burr Playground (Map)

Waverley Ave

Newton MA 02458

Also....

Boston Irish Cup Final
Wed Apr 4th: Paddy Barry's vs Green Briar FC ( 7:00PM Kick-Off @ Marina Bay)

Winning start for Over 30's

Medfield 0:1 Green Briar O30s

A solitary goal from David Coen in the second half was all that was required to secure 3 points and a winning start to the 2012 spring campaign for the Briar. Leo O'Connor supplying the assist with a lay-off to the edge of the box which Coen placed into the corner with an excellent side footed shot.

Coen was perhaps man of the match as he could have secured a hatrick on the day. Similar second half efforts from the edge of the box went just over and cannoned off the post respectively.

Michael Graham spurned a terrific chance to open the scoring early on. An excellent cross from Paul Glynn found Graham unmarked at the back post. His header only found the side netting, and was definitely a chance he would like back. Continuing their dominance in the game, Dan Kilber-Stearns found himself with a carbon copy of Graham's chance. His effort was no better however.

Leo O'Connor was bright in his play up front. A slaloming run in the first half saw him poke the ball past a diving keeper. The keeper made strong contact with O'Connor after the ball was away but the penalty shout was inexplicably waved off.

After the break it was more of the same from the Briar. Medfield were finding it hard to create clear cut chances and the Briar were enjoying a lion's share of the possession. Early in the second half Conor Bagnell was carted off with a nasty injury. A suspected sprained knee for the Middleton man, and let's hope it is nothing worse.

A clean sheet shared by Fallon and Sullo between the sticks was a welcome sight for Gary Keane and his men, something that couldn't be done all of the fall season last year.

Line Up: Fallon, Glynn, Keane, Hannick, McElwain, O'Donnell, Hall, Coen, Graham, Hickey, O'Connor, Sullo, Higgins, J Nolan, Goin, Concagh, Kilber-Stearns, Bagnell, P Nolan