League

El gigante de Galway
Spectators: 8515 (Terracing: 6440, Seating: 1975, VIP seats: 100) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Samuel Torres started the match with the kick off. Artur Kelly kicked well hit freekick during the 3rd minute of the match. In the 5th minute, Salthill Zárate's Salmon Jameson seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Salmon Jameson the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of Salthill Zárate protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Salmon Jameson had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. In a very dangerous position, a player in Salthill Zárate fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 5th minute. Penalty! The referee gave Irishtown a penalty, 8 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Donall Cronin, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Salthill Zárate's Emil Gondela. 0-1. A collision led to Salthill Zárate getting a freekick after 11 minutes play. Braydon McAlphie hit a great ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 17th minute, Honorato Quintyn managed to get in a good position for a shot. Salthill Zárate's supporters rose to their feet, but Honorato Quintyn was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Nollaig Benson breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. 19 minutes into the match, Irishtown's goal looked a bit too open when Samuel Torres came free, but Nollaig Benson reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After 20 minutes, Rowland Harkin mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Salthill Zárate and the Irishtown players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 20th match minute, Salthill Zárate was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Rowland Harkin to maneuver through the defense. After some fancy dribbling in the 22nd minute, Bivadas Matthews managed to get in a good position for a shot. Irishtown's supporters rose to their feet, but Bivadas Matthews was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Emil Gondela breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Emil Gondela made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bivadas Matthews in the 25th minute of play. Emil Gondela showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Bivadas Matthews in the 30th minute of the match. With a little luck, Irishtown's Nollaig Benson got control of the ball when Honorato Quintyn tried to sneak it across the goal line. 39 minutes into the game, Honorato Quintyn was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Salthill Zárate's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Irishtown the free kick. Honorato Quintyn kicked well hit freekick during the 40th minute of the match. Bivadas Matthews fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 41st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Emil Gondela having to interfere. Emil Gondela came out of the goal in the 44th minute to try and stop a shot by Irishtown's Donall Cronin. But to his dismay, Donall Cronin quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-2. The Salthill Zárate players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Irishtown were winning 0-2.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Donall Cronin to make the kick off. Irishtown's Bivadas Matthews got a good chance for a goal in the 51st minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. 59 minutes into the match, Honorato Quintyn notched a goal, 1-2, to the right of Irishtown's Nollaig Benson. Nollaig Benson was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. In the 68th minute, Braydon McAlphie hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 70 minutes into the match, Irishtown's goal looked a bit too open when Samuel Torres came free, but Nollaig Benson reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 73 minutes into the game, Samuel Torres cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 2-2. Nollaig Benson was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. In the 77th minute, Honorato Quintyn got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. If Donall Cronin had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 78th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 80th minute, Brannon Hutton hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Braydon McAlphie kicked well hit freekick during the 84th minute of the match. Salthill Zárate's Emil Gondela played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Donall Cronin in the 85th minute of play. When Donall Cronin came up free with the goalie in the 92nd minute, the Irishtown fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Donall Cronin couldn't finish the play.