Celtic Bhoys beat Greencastle Rovers in ToalsBet.com Irish Cup Semi Final
Junior Shield Semi-Final,
Venue: Blanchflower Stadium, Belfast, 19 3 2025,
Final Score: Celtic Bhoys 2 1 Greencastle Rovers.
The scene was set for a great showdown in the Junior Shield semi-final at Blanchflower Stadium in Belfast at Celtic Bhoys faced Greencastle Rovers for a place in the final.
Celtic Bhoys came out on top with a 2-1 lead playing commanding football.
For the first half they attacked as is their normal game but when they had the narrow one goal lead in the second half they changed tactics to a more defensive role making occasional breaks keeping Greencastle on their toes.
Celtic were looking on good form from the whistle with Jarlath Branagan battling well on the right making a number of great crosses to the Greencastle box and Sean Ferris was playing havoc with the defender challenging the keeper on numerous occasions.
The match kicked off with both team sfeeling their way cautiously avoiding giving away a dreaded early goal but it soon heated up.
Gradually opportunities arose and Conaill Kerr tried a volley but was inches wide on ten minutes.
Sean Ferris was hotting up and he made a great cross to Corey McCartan but Greencastle keeper Stephen Rea managed to intervene in the nick of time as Celtic attacked with sharp passing and pace turning on the pressure on Greencastle.
Gradually Celtic got more scoring opportiunities in between occasional breaks by Greencastle.
On 23 minutes, Terence McDonald had a half chance as he chased into the Celtic goal but his shot was off target.
Celtic were showing their metal and pressing more. Ferris made an excellent cross to Kerr who went just inches wide of the right hand post.
Branagan was harassing the defenders giving his all relentlessly on the left wing.
Then in the 37th minute Celtic’s Michael Rice (captain) got possession in the middle of the Greencastle box. As keeper Rea ran out to narrow his angle, Rice hit a dipping half volley over his head into the top of the net to the jubilation of the Celtic fans who had travelled to support their team.
Greencastle fought back immediately trying to recover a goal before half-time.
As the second half started, Celtic again showed their dominance despite changing their game plan to being more defensive holding on to their one goal lead.
But Celtic did make constant challenges and McCartan almost scored shortly after the re-start.
Branagan then made a great cross to Ferris who almost scored but keeper Rea was on his toes reading it well.
The game was in a tense stage as as goal by Greencastle would have changed matters for Celtic Bhoys making the game result more open.
But Greencastle were getting a few chances and wionger Mark Tutin volleyed low by keper Curran managed to get the ball under control. And aghain minute slater a through pass to Tutin almost saw him score once again. On 60 minutes, the pattern of the game had changed with Celtic siting back soaking up the Greencastle attacks and the defensive back line were in brilliant form.
But in the 64th minute, it was Sean Ferris who struck a killer blow to Greencastle when he ran on getting behind the back line beating the offside trap and from the back of the box hammered the ball decisively into the Greencastle net giving Celtic Bhoys a clear two goal lead.
Celtic seemed to drop back into defence and Greencastle took much of the attacking from there in as they now had to score three goals to win the match – a tall order against a strong Celtic Bhoys side.
But Mark Tutin managed to score for Greencastle Rovers ten minutes later when he hit the ball into the top of the Celtic net from a scramble in front of goal.
Celtic kept their nerve and for the next 16 minutes plus 4 minutes extra time they held Greencastle at bay despite the constant attacks.
Celtic managed at times to get the ball into the Greencastle half and this chewed up valuable seconds as the clock ticked towards the final whistle.
There was a moment of danger when Mark Kelly dribbled into the Celtic box passing defenders who were very careful not to give away a foul or penalty at the closing stages of the game giving Greencastle an equaliser. Keeper Curran came out and got possession well again closing the angle of the shot.
The match ended with Greencastle making an enormous effort to find that second goal but they were too late when the final whistle blew.
Celtic Bhoys are now in the ToalsBet.com Juinior Shield final on Wednesday 16th April 2025.
Celtic Management Delighted With Team’s Performance
Neil Teggart said: “This was a great result for Celtic Bhoys. By the time we got to the second half we kept our heads down and sat back – Greencastle had the ball most of the time then, but that was our plan.
“We got them on a break. They were definitely a good side and gave us a good game.
“We had a good talk during the breaks and the lads were well prepared.”
Shane Adair: “Greencastle came close to scoring on a couple of occasions but by the second half we were in a position to sit back and contain them.
“Our players were really up for this match and they played well as a team. Greencastle certainly gave us a good match.”
Matthew McKinney: “This was a hard fought match and fair play to Greencastle Rovers who gave us a challenging game. They were a solid side. But after settling down in the first ten minutes we got down to the business.”
Chris Teggart: “This was obviously a great result for Celtic Bhoys. They deserved it and we are all proud of them. It was a hard-fought match and well done to Greencastle for giving us a good game.
“Once our team settled after the first ten minutes, they looked the stronger of the too.”
Peter Casey: “We played really well. We adjusted to the game as a team and that was key to us winning. There was some great football out there tonight. Celtic Bhoys were formidable as a team with great individual perfomances. The lads showed a great work ethic and attitude.”
THE TEAMS:
Celtic Bhoys: 1 Nathan Curran (GK) 2 Shaun Megahey 3 Eamon Gargan 4 Jordan Curran 5 Michael Rice (C) 6 Jay Gibney 7 Corey McxCartan 8 Gerard Collins 9 Sean Ferris 10 Jarlath Branagan 11 Conaill Kerr. Subs: 12 CaoimhinGroves 14 Jordan McCoubrey 15 Ryan Doran 16 Niall Morrison 17 Neil Teggart.
Greencastle Rovers: 1 Stephen Rea (GK) 2 Daniel McLarnon 3 Oran McKeown 4 Conor McAuley 5 Conall McKeown 6 Darren Fitzsimmons 7 Mark Tutin 8 Paul McAdorey (C) 9 Mark Kelly 10 Terence McDonarld 11 James McHugh. Subs: 12 Michael Toland 2 14 Jordan Byurne 15 Conor Sweetham 16 Declan Maloney 17 Kieran Moloney.
