Scott Steadies Ship to Guide Na Fianna to Deserved Draw

Na Fianna 2-8; Clan na nGael 2-8

Na Fianna and Clan na nGael played out a thrilling draw at Piedmont Park in Downtown Atlanta on July 14th last. Na Fianna who had to endure long spells of defensive pressure were able to achieve this result largely due to the calmness of Shannon Scott in goals and another solid performance from Joanna Robinson in attack.

The game started in rainy conditions, which made any kind of handling of the ball extremely difficult. It was a day for both defences, but having said that, there were still some outstanding scores from both teams. What a pity it would have been then, if referee Rob Kiely had been forced to abandon the game, which it appeared he might do at one stage as the lightning seemed to close in on the downturn area with each ensuing flash. Thankfully, the lightning ceased and the rain abated just as he was about to call the whole thing off, and both teams settled into an outstanding game of football.

Na Fianna opened the scoring courtesy of a point from Robinson. The teams traded points twice after that with Na Fianna’s second point coming from the trusty right boot of Kelly Kamees. The match was evenly balanced up to about the midpoint of the first half, at which point Clan na nGael started to exert extreme pressure on the Na Fianna defence. In previous seasons, this pressure might have been the cause of Na Fianna’s demise, but this defence is made of sterner stuff, and with Scott in goals, allied to a commitment to discipline in the tackle they were able to keep the Clan na nGael opportunities to a minimum. That said, even the most-disciplined defences give away frees from time to time, and when a foul was committed on the right wing, Cathi Dugger stepped up from her wing-back position to take a free that dropped just under the crossbar at the back of the Na Fianna goal.

Rather than succumbing to this body-blow, Na Fianna stepped up to be counted. Lauren Carter started to win more kick-outs, which helped to stem the one-way traffic, but changes were needed and changes were made: Jen Beatto went into to full-forward to establish some presence in that area of the field; and Joanna Robinson and Ivett Kyriacou swapped positions with Kyriacou going to centre-forward and Robinson going to midfield to see if she could help out there. These moves paid dividends quickly with Kyriacou and Beatto chipping in with points, and Robinson setting Kim Wilkins up for the goal that would tie the scores at 1-4 apiece just as the half-time whistle blew.

The second half went much the same way as the first half with the Na Fianna defence having to absorb long periods of pressure and the attack surviving off scraps. In particular, midfield was again an area of difficulty with our midfielders visibly tiring at stages. Lauren Carter was given a rest on the sideline, and Robinson and Kyriacou remained at the positions they had changed into at the end of the first half. When Carter and Kyriacou resumed their positions at midfield, Na Fianna was five points down and needed a shot in the arms. Were it not for the composure of Scott in goals, and at least one point-blank save from her, things could have been a lot worse. The defence stormed back into the game and drove the midfield on, with Beatto and Kamees showing excellently for the ball at full-forward, and Robinson now revelling in her reverted role of centre-forward. Marabella Alaniz was introduced into the game also at this juncture and she served as an excellent link between defence and offence, probing from sideline to sideline across the half-forward line. The come-back was on.

With less than fifteen minutes remaining on the clock a superb passing movement out of defence culminated in a kicked pass to Beatto, who had broken towards the sideline. Sidestepping her opponent, she set off on run which resulted in a point from an acute angle that was made a little easier by her proximity to the goals at the end of her run. Shortly thereafter, another long ball out of defence found Beatto on the edge of the large parallelogram. With two defenders and the goalie to beat, she turned towards goal and made her way into the square, where she was eventually fouled, leaving Kiely with no choice but to award a penalty. Up stepped Robinson to calmly, but firmly strike a shot just beyond the reach of Clan na nGael goalie, Kat Miller.

Despite these heroics, Na Fianna was still a point down as the game ticked down to its inevitable conclusion. With time nearly up, one more move found Robinson just outside the penalty area where she was unceremoniously upended. She responded by standing up, dusting herself off, and tapping the ball over the bar for the equaliser. Moments later, the ref blew the final whistle on a titanic struggle that resulted in Na Fianna coming back twice to gain a deserved draw.

All of the defence stood strong and kept Na Fianna in the game. Joyce Sweeney had a strong second game, Emily Ely and Jess Ohmann both kept their more-fancied opponents quiet. Sharon McAleer was efficient at wing-back, and Lil O’Sullivan was the heartbeat of the team at centre-half-back. The midfielders, despite tiring at various stages in an end-to-end contest, ultimately rose to the occasion and were there when they were needed most. Robinson was again the pick of the forwards, with Beatto making a big difference when she came on. Wilkins and Kamees fought hard throughout. It was hard to pick an MVP from this game as it was truly a team effort with every member of the defence worthy of mention, but on this occasion the game might have been over as a contest were it not for the calmness of Shannon Scott in goals, and for that reason she was the MVP of Game 3 of the Southeastern Division Ladies Championship.

Incidentally, Jess was named honorary captain for this game and gave a great speech prior to the game, which was instrumental in creating the correct level of focus within the team for the task at hand.

Na Fianna:
Shannon Scott,
Emily Ely, Joyce Sweeney,
Jess Ohmann, Lil O’Sullivan, Sharon McAleer,
Ivett Kyriacou, Lauren Carter,
Natalia Kyriacou, Joanna Robinson, Kim Wilkins,
Summer Porter, Kelly Kamees
Substitutes:
Karina Clarke, Jennifer Beatto, April Bruno, Linda Giuffre, Marabella Alaniz, Yolanda Gomez, Maureen Koczinski

Scorers:
Joanna Robinson (1-4), Kim Wilkins (1-0), Jen Beatto (0-2), Kelly Kamees (0-1), Ivett Kyriacou (0-1)

MVP: Shannon Scott