CBL GOTW: Honours even in an 8 goal thriller
ARC Rovers 4 – 4 HELIO Inter
Man of the Match: Jack D’Arcy
This week’s CBL GOTW came in the Grandon’s Toyota Premier Division, and it produced an absolute cracker of a matchup, as Helio Inter and Arc Rovers played out a thrilling 4-4 draw in the James Kenneally Sports Centre in Holyhill, writes Donncha Noonan.
The game took its time to really get going, with the first blow coming from Helio Inter after twenty seven minutes. A great run down the right by Jose Oliveira Guerra allowed the winger to slot it centrally to Ivan Milicevic, who took a touch past the defender in the box and poked it beyond the keeper to give Inter an early lead.
Inter took full advantage of their momentum and doubled their lead four minutes later. A Juan De Villa corner arrived low at the front post for Mauricio Galicia Barajas, who managed to flick the ball into the back of the net to grab his side a second.
Things only got better for them, as they made it three in the thirty ninth minute. Inter broke out from the back at speed, with a ball being fired into the feet of Milicevic. He was able to redirect an incisive ball through to Juan De Villa, who dispatched his chance and notched a third for his team.
They weren’t quite able to get into the break unscathed though, with Rovers quickly responding with a goal of their own a minute later. Good passing play in midfield led to a defense splitting pass finding the run of Jack D’Arcy in behind the Inter backline. The young striker made no mistake and slotted it into the near corner to grab a goal back just before half time.
After an action packed first half, it was Helio Inter who went in with a two goal advantage.
ARC Rovers entered the second half looking to flip the game on its head, and they went a step closer to doing so after fifty five minutes. A quick free kick allowed Rovers to counter, and a sumptuous cross from the right hand side towards the back post allowed Jack D’Arcy to tap the ball home and give Rovers a good chunk of hope.
Rovers were finally able to level the game on the hour mark. A foul in the box gave Rovers a chance to equalise from the spot. Marco Bento was able to push the penalty away, but his parry went straight into the path of Kane Murphy, who tucked away the rebound to bring Rovers back equal.
There was yet more drama to come though, as it was Helio Inter who struck next, retaking the lead on the eight eighth minute mark. A dinked ball into the right channel allowed Ivan Milicevic to break away, before squaring the ball across goal to Javier Vidal Madrigal, who was able to roll the ball into the back of the net to surely clinch all three points for his side, right?
Wrong. The entertainment factor peaked in the third minute of additional time. Rovers won a corner deep into additional time. The cross was swung right into the middle of the box, where Brian Kelly rose highest to power a header home to dramatically equalise late on.
And that was finally that, as despite a tumultuous ninety-odd minutes, both teams came away evenly matched in what was yet another fiery and entertaining CBL Game of the Week.
ARC Rovers: R. Corcoran, C. Roche, S. Herlihy, G. McCarthy, B. Kelly, D. Cruise O’Shea, C. Ryan, G. Harrington, T. Raheem, K. Murphy, J. D’Arcy, R. Martinez, J. Cotter, P. Cotter, A. Maher, A. Kelly.
HELIO Inter: M. Bento, N. Lavela Pacheco, S. Lopez Martin, E. Pohlmann, J. Oliviera Guerra, G. Peña da Silva, I. Milicevic, J. De Villa, J. Vidal Madrigal, M. Galicia Barajas, F. Bedoya Pabon, J. Martins, G. Trulls, A. Benali, A. Altuzarra Cruz, D. Figueiredo.
