Belvedere F.C. Managers' Match 2005

The football event of the year took place on Saint Stephen's Day as stars of Belvedere's recent, and in some cases not so recent past, assembled at the Oscar Traynor Centre for the annual Belvedere F.C. Managers' and Friends' match.

After meticulous preparation !!!...... endless hours of training !!!!!,..... and a final team talk from captains Fran Pierce and Fergus McCabe, the players were raring to go.......... ( to Smyths maybe for a pint ? )

After last year's scintillating 8-8 draw, expectations were high for another entertaining affair this year.

A "capacity crowd" which included Damien Manly, Eddie Foy, Larry Hayden, Willie Elliott, Martin Cooke, Vincent Butler, Philip Manly and Pat Quinn turned up to witness this "football master-class", and they were not disappointed, as the quality on show was nothing short of sensational ?????.

For the younger players playing, it was a once in a lifetime experience to be able to play alongside such football legends !!!.

Fran Pierce's side wearing black began well, keeping possession of the ball for long periods (often as long as 10 seconds !!) ........ but failed to create any chances to reflect such dominance!!!!.................. In fact the first chance fell to Fergus McCabe's "white" team, when a short clearance fell to Niall Beasley at the edge of the box. But, his well struck effort was touched around the post by the excellent Stephen Mooney in goal.

The "white's" were now starting to take command of the match with Beasley, Philip Byrne and "captain fantastic" Fergus McCabe ruling the roost in mid-field. With the tricky Tony Lynch always a menace on the left wing and Gerry Brown making "Cafu" like overlapping runs from right full, it was only a matter of time before they scored, and when they did, it was the impressive Davy Fitzgerald who applied the finishing touch.

Pierce's men had moments of their own, with Ray McCann, Derek Mooney and Damien Byrne creative in midfield, while Mick Byrne was commanding at left back. Kieran O'Reilly was also a danger on the left (to himself maybe?) throughout.

Their best chance of the first half came when a neat "fick-on" from Fran Pierce set up Darragh O'Reilly, but his delightful chip over the advancing 'keeper proved just too strong and just barely went over the bar. Shortly after, Pierce had a speculative looping shot pushed away by the young Colm Doyle in goal .

When referee Frank McGrath blew his whistle for half time, it was met with excitement, cheers and a lot of relief. .......... until the players realised that it wasn't all over and that they had another half to go!!!!!

When they eventually managed to drag themselves back onto the pitch for the 2nd half, both sets of players continued to display the kind of skills which have earned them their "galacticos" tag!!!.

Dave Teeling and Eric Collins were a bag of tricks for the "whites", while Paul "Spoon" Flynn and Sean Deegan showed their talents as a centre half partnership to rival anyone.

It was little wonder when the "whites" extended their lead to 3-0, with further goals from mid-field duo Philip Byrne and Niall Beasley. It could have been more than 3 when, referee Frank McGrath, wearing a Jose Mourinho style overcoat, pointed to the spot.

Despite strong protests and suggestions by the "blacks" that a substantial sum of money in brown envelope had been given to the referee before the match, ...... the decision stood. However, justice was done on the day when 'keeper Stephen Mooney brilliantly saved Beasley's penalty kick.

This seemed to give the "blacks" the lift they needed and they showed great belief and plenty of skill to haul themselves back into the game.

Tony Burke, and the two Mooneys, Gerard and son Derek were solid as a rock at the back, as was Alan Collins, and, with Davy Fitzgerald switching sides, the black side began looking more and more threatening. Kieran O'Reilly was also proving very difficult to pick up, not because of his football qualities but because he was standing talking to the referee for most of the second half !!!

The "blacks" did reduce the deficit through the "mercurial" Fran Pierce, when his sublime lob beat the highly impressive young Doyle in goal. Then, minutes later, Damien Byrne made sure of a tight finish when his sweet left footed shot from the edge of the area nestled in the bottom corner.

At this stage Pierce's team were applying all the pressure. The "whites" were looking very tired (and hungover ?) and were hanging on for dear life (literally). Then with only seconds remaining, a contentious decision by the referee saw the "blacks" awarded a direct free kick on the edge of the box ( it was definitely a penalty ref !!!!)

With the goal line packed, Ray McCann faked a shot and instead rolled the ball to the unmarked Fran Pierce. It looked like the captain would save the day for the "whites" but, somehow, from 2 yards out, he missed the ball altogether and it rolled out harmlessly for a goal kick, much to the relief of the "whites". That was also to prove the last kick of the game and so Fergus McCabe's team won by 3 goals to 2.

After the match, in Smyths of Fairview, Fran Pierce, despite being ribbed by the opposition, was unconcerned about his injury time miss, instead focusing on the positives. He went on to point out that his earlier goal in the match had kept up his remarkable record of having scored in each of the last 15 annual Belvo Saint Stephen's Day matches!

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