Goodwick pouch Bailey Cup in local derby tussle
Goodwick United 3 - Fishguard Sports 0
Referee: Huw George
Assistants: Darren John (Goodwick) and Andrew Davies (Fishguard)
Venue: Phoenix Park
This was just the sort of tussle that John Bailey would have liked; hard and uncompromising before Goodwick United beat old rivals Fishguard Sports to keep the trophy played annually in memory of the talented young full back who tragically died so early in a car accident.
Goodwick always held the edge after taking a 2-0 lead midway through the first half and were always in control as skipper Scott Delaney and James Bryan limited The Sports to just a couple of half chances but Brian Kinsella’s side certainly looked capable of retaining their newly-won first division status if they can retain their battling qualities all season.
Loss of Hughes a blow for The Sports
Their plans for this final certainly weren’t helped when they lost keeper Patrick Hughes after 24 minutes with a shoulder injury, with central defender Niall Kinsella having to take over between the sticks and doing a good job in the circumstances.
Opposite number Wayne O’Sullivan knows that his side already has a strong feel about it with a couple of new recruits and after an inevitably disjoined start by both sides gradually gained the edge after Hughes distinguished himself with two point-black saves as he blocked Mattie Delaney’s goal-bound effort and was back on his feet in a flash to save Johnny Horgan’s rebound attempt.
Jordan Griffiths also had a half chance created by Ben Adams but Hughes was hurt in a goalmouth scramble where Scott Delaney volleyed home but the goal was disallowed by referee Huw George.
Two goals in six minutes put Goodwick in control
But Goodwick eventually opened their account after Sports’ defender Matthew Lewis conceded a free kick and compounded his error with a hand-ball in the box, allowing skipper Delaney to blast his spot kick high to Kinsella’s right hand corner.
Jordan Griffiths quickly double the lead with a spectacular overhead kick after The Sports failed to clear and although there was plenty of midfield effort from the visitors via Danny Hopkin, Steve Lewis and Lewis Banks it proved to be a relatively quiet evening for James Gwilt in the United goal.
Similar pattern in second half
The second half followed a similar pattern as Goodwick pressed hard but Fishguard kept their shape and also had one clear-cut chance following a classic diagonal through ball by Hopkin found Steve Lewis in space but his goal-bound left-footed drive was superbly blocked by Tom Merry.
Goodwick added a third when Horgan was fouled on the right flank and his free-kick somehow avoided a packed six-yard area and crept in at the far corner and for the rest of the match, played on a superb surface at Phoenix Park, it was fiercely contested but with no further goals
And finally . . .
Referee Huw George had a good match in the middle although inevitably received some stick from both sets of supporters but showed good control and common-sense in ‘inviting’ a couple of players to be taken off by their manager rather than him flashing a red card or two in a match where charity was benefitting.
Scott Delaney received the trophy from Rob Cousins on behalf of his Goodwick United team-mates but The Sports can also take something away in defeat from an entertaining match that certainly had a ‘local derby’ edge to it!
Goodwick United: James Gwilt: Steff Hayes; Scott Delaney; James Bryan; Llyr Tobin: Jake Smith; Mattie Delaney; Ben Adams; Kieran O’Brien; Johnny Horgan; Jordan Griffiths. Substitutes: Rhys Dalling; Ben Vangucci; Sion O’Sullivan; Wayne O’Sullivan.
Fishguard Sports: Patrick Hughes: Matthew Lewis; Tom Merry; Nial Kinsella; William Moore: Carl Hedley; Lewis Banks; Danny Hopkin; Steve Lewis: Matthew Harries; Jordan Raymond. Substitutes: Danny Morgan; Jake Booth; Gary Delaney.
