Rovers Shut Out Shamrocks

By Ronan Creaney

THE match of the weekend saw the two Sunnyside rivals the New York Shamrocks and the New York Irish Rovers, take each other on. Together, these two clubs have won all there is to win in the New York, and their rivalry goes back many years. 

The Shamrocks are the older club but the Rovers are arguably the more successful. Both clubs were keen to prove their point on Sunday, and it was the Rovers who came out best, shutting out their rivals by a 3-0 score. 

The setting couldn’t have been better. St. John’s University’s recently upgraded soccer grounds provided the perfect venue. The pristine playing surface promised some creative football and the crowd wasn’t disappointed. 

From the off, the differing styles of the two were evident. The Rovers played a conventional 4-4-2 and were content to push the ball around at the back and midfield. 

Kevin Daly looked very composed in the sweeper role and rarely let anything by him. The Shamrocks deployed a 4-5-1 formation conceding ground to the Rovers but looked dangerous on the break, with Gary O’Neill particularly prominent in the early skirmishes. 

The first half-hour was much like a chess match, both sides trying to get their pieces in place. During this period Rover Paul Cusano signaled things to come, when forcing Jim Keady to make a snap save for the Rocks. At the other end Hughroy Daly was getting stuck in but not getting the run of the ball to really cause any problems. 

The deadlock was broken in the 35th minute when Cusano opened the scoring with a nice piece of opportunism. It stayed 1-0 for the Rovers at halftime when Shamrocks coach Billie Henderson threw Paddy Geraghty into the fare. 

With Geraghty on board the Rocks tried to force the pace, Mick Hennessey and Bingo O’Driscoll pushing up the field. However, this led to only a brief respite and Daly and the Rovers more than coped with the pressure. 

With the Rocks chasing the game cracks appeared at the back and the ever dangerous Cusano was on hand to pounce in the 60th minute. He capitalized on a moment of indecision in the Rocks defense to plunder his second. 

With the game all but lost O’Driscoll moved forward and the Rocks changed to three at the back. Although they caused the Rovers a few headaches they were never able to get that first goal that might have got them back in the game. 

Instead it was the Rovers who added to the scoring, Cusano securing his hat trick with a Hugo Sanchez style bicycle kick. So for the second year in a row the bragging rights go to Paul McGlynn and the Irish Rovers. 

In second team action the Shamrock reserves took on the NY Albanians in the second round of the State Cup. The Saturday night kickoff coupled with some poor direction saw the Shamrocks personnel severely stretched, but they still managed a 2-1 win. 

Still, coach Robbie Walsh could feel justifiably proud of his charges. With the veteran Mark Behan marshaling the defense and Brian Wholahan in charge of midfield, the Rocks took the lead after 25 minutes. Sean Paul Smith opened his Shamrocks account with a blistering drive from 35 yards. 

It looked like that goal would seal the game as neither side came close in the next 55 minutes. That is until the Shamrocks failed to clear a corner and the Albanians netted an equalizer. 

Enter John Walsh. On as a sub for Barry Farrell just before halftime, Walsh threw himself into the game, continuing his recent good form. It was his never say die attitude that presented Mark Dillon with the winner with less than 60 seconds to go. 

Trust in the White Feather, coach Walsh was heard to say. There were noBy Ronan Creaney

THE match of the weekend saw the two Sunnyside rivals the New York Shamrocks and the New York Irish Rovers, take each other on. Together, these two clubs have won all there is to win in the New York, and their rivalry goes back many years. 

The Shamrocks are the older club but the Rovers are arguably the more successful. Both clubs were keen to prove their point on Sunday, and it was the Rovers who came out best, shutting out their rivals by a 3-0 score. 

The setting couldn’t have been better. St. John’s University’s recently upgraded soccer grounds provided the perfect venue. The pristine playing surface promised some creative football and the crowd wasn’t disappointed. 

From the off, the differing styles of the two were evident. The Rovers played a conventional 4-4-2 and were content to push the ball around at the back and midfield. 

Kevin Daly looked very composed in the sweeper role and rarely let anything by him. The Shamrocks deployed a 4-5-1 formation conceding ground to the Rovers but looked dangerous on the break, with Gary O’Neill particularly prominent in the early skirmishes. 

The first half-hour was much like a chess match, both sides trying to get their pieces in place. During this period Rover Paul Cusano signaled things to come, when forcing Jim Keady to make a snap save for the Rocks. At the other end Hughroy Daly was getting stuck in but not getting the run of the ball to really cause any problems. 

The deadlock was broken in the 35th minute when Cusano opened the scoring with a nice piece of opportunism. It stayed 1-0 for the Rovers at halftime when Shamrocks coach Billie Henderson threw Paddy Geraghty into the fare. 

With Geraghty on board the Rocks tried to force the pace, Mick Hennessey and Bingo O’Driscoll pushing up the field. However, this led to only a brief respite and Daly and the Rovers more than coped with the pressure. 

With the Rocks chasing the game cracks appeared at the back and the ever dangerous Cusano was on hand to pounce in the 60th minute. He capitalized on a moment of indecision in the Rocks defense to plunder his second. 

With the game all but lost O’Driscoll moved forward and the Rocks changed to three at the back. Although they caused the Rovers a few headaches they were never able to get that first goal that might have got them back in the game. 

Instead it was the Rovers who added to the scoring, Cusano securing his hat trick with a Hugo Sanchez style bicycle kick. So for the second year in a row the bragging rights go to Paul McGlynn and the Irish Rovers. 

In second team action the Shamrock reserves took on the NY Albanians in the second round of the State Cup. The Saturday night kickoff coupled with some poor direction saw the Shamrocks personnel severely stretched, but they still managed a 2-1 win. 

Still, coach Robbie Walsh could feel justifiably proud of his charges. With the veteran Mark Behan marshaling the defense and Brian Wholahan in charge of midfield, the Rocks took the lead after 25 minutes. Sean Paul Smith opened his Shamrocks account with a blistering drive from 35 yards. 

It looked like that goal would seal the game as neither side came close in the next 55 minutes. That is until the Shamrocks failed to clear a corner and the Albanians netted an equalizer. 

Enter John Walsh. On as a sub for Barry Farrell just before halftime, Walsh threw himself into the game, continuing his recent good form. It was his never say die attitude that presented Mark Dillon with the winner with less than 60 seconds to go. 

Trust in the White Feather, coach Walsh was heard to say. There were no other Shamrocks games.