Late slump dulls the gloss for Knightsbrook

Knightsbrook and OMP Utd produced plenty of action with five goals as an added boost as the Meath & District League returned after a weather-enforced break of about a month. This Div 2 game, played at the MDL on Sunday, started slowly as Trim side Knightsbrook dictated for most of the opening half and took a slender one-goal advantage into the break. They added two more goals early in the second-half and then promptly ran out of fuel and were hanging on in the closing stages as the Navan side staged a late rally. The game was well handled by Louth referee Robert Martin who adopted a positive attitude to most of the complaints from the players and the officials on the sidelines. OMP's Eanna Donohoe surely merited an award for his efforts at encouraging the referee to adopt a rule from 'another code' following a bout of minor retaliation from a Knightsbrook player after an OMP defender had been penalised for an over-exuberant tackle. “That's a hop ball now referee isn't it,†commented the OMP man as he tried to disguise a grin, but the man from the Wee County duly explained the laws of the game under the rules of FIFA. That incident demonstrated an underlying good spirit which all the players embraced despite some meaty tackles. Paul Rispin (pictured) was the beneficiary of most of what a teak-tough OMP defence had to dispense while at the other end, Michael Brennan was tightly marked by Alan Gilbane and TJ Garry. Brennan worked hard for OMP and also displayed similar attributes to get his personal details into the referee's little black book. That eventually happened in the second-half when Brennan was too dogmatic in pleading innocence after he was guilty of an offside offence. There was no doubt about it and he even ignored some advice from a team-mate to stay quiet. However, most of what OMP had to offer in attack went through Brennan and his efforts certainly helped with a late rally which produced two Barry Carlton goals and left Knightsbrook manager Mick Craig praying for the final whistle. The only surprise about the opening half was that Knightsbrook could only muster one goal. Cillian Ryan applied the finishing touch in the 30th minute after Rispin beat the OMP offside trap and was denied by Gary Lynch. Rispin was a constant threat and went close on a number of occasions while Garry also brought a good save out of Lynch close to the interval. Daire Corcoran had OMP's best chance of the half with a well-directed header from Daryl Murray's cross in the 37th minute. Two minutes into the second-half OMP were rescued by the post when Eddie Murray ran through, bit three minutes later there was no reprieve for the Navan men. Gilbane held the ball up long enough for Ryan to race on to a pass and finish and midway through the half, Eoin Englishby added a third goal. From a position of complete dominance, Knightsbrook were running on empty for the remainder and Carlton grabbed his first goal with 15 minutes remaining. Soon after, Brennan's shot was spectacularly parried by Eugene Goulding, but Carlton rifled the rebound to the net. OMP showed commendable character to get back into contention and that should stand them in good stead for the visit of Drogheda side Black Bull to Navan next weekend while Knightsbrook will be under pressure to get maximum points when they welcome Athboy on Sunday Knightsbrook - E Goulding; J Moynihan, E Englishby, A Gilbane, TJ Garry, C Keegan, A Craig, J Curran, E Murray, P Rispin, C Ryan. Subs - A Garry for Rispin 65 mins;D Blaney for Curran 80m. OMP Utd - G Lynch; D McElroy, J Rogers, R Clarke, S Tolan, B Carlton, D Corcoran, C Tansey, M Brennan, E Donohoe, D Murray. Subs - G Halpin McElroy 55 mins; K Crosse for Murray both 55 mins; R Burke for Rogers 65m. Referee - Robert Martin (Louth Branch ISRS).