Pic2: Josh Cosgrave (Abbeyside) strongly challenges Waterford Crystal’s Josh English.
A magnificent brace of goals from Aidan Humphreys gave Waterford Crystal a super victory against Abbeyside at the RSC on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams served up a wonderful game and it’s no surprise that both teams are right up near the top of the league table.
Abbeyside dominated the opening 25 minutes and David Keoghan was just off target with a volley on eight minutes.
Leon Cummins picked out Steven Lake with a free kick after 15 minutes but the Lake’s header was superbly saved by the Crystal goalkeeper Liam Colbert.
The hosts eventually got to grips with proceedings and David Cheasty was a little unlucky with a snap shot just after the half hour mark.
On the blow of halftime Aidan Humphreys displayed a sign of things to come when he produced a sublime save from the Abbeyside goalkeeper Philip Coleman.
The game exploded into life five minutes after the break when Waterford Crystal took the lead.
Aidan Humphreys took possession just inside the halfway line and he ran with pace and power before finding the roof of the net with an incredible shot on the run from 20 yards. However parity was restored on 45 minutes when David Roche ghosted into the Crystal six yards box and he touched home a low cross from the left from David Keoghan.
Roche thought he had found the net for a second time on 53 minutes when he raced forward to meet a through ball from Jack Riordan but his clever chip was saved by the impressive Liam Colbert.
Aidan Humphreys scored his second wonder goal of the contest on 62 minutes and once again it was a magical piece of skill from the talented front runner.
This time he picked up the ball out on the left flank and took off with a blistering run before beating Philip Coleman with a shot from an impossible angle deep inside the 18 yards box. Three minutes later he was denied his hat-trick when his cracking volley from 20 yards came crashing back off the Abbeyside crossbar.
There was almost a sting in the tail in the last minute when Alex Norris got free 15 yards from the Crystal goal but he had to watch Liam Colbert tip the ball around his left upright.
WATERFORD CRYSTAL: Liam Colbert, Shane Walsh, Scott Power, Daniel Kelly, Oisin Monged, Dito Ivees, Lee Sheridan, Daniel Murphy, Aidan Humphreys, Sam Daly, Josh English, James Kelly, Craig O’Neill, Dylan O’Brien, David Cheasty, Luke Cheevers, Tommy Ominiy.
ABBEYSIDE: Philip Coleman, Josh Cosgrave, Miley Sheehan, Ben Kinghorn, Rian Healy-Foley, Kevin Keoghan, Owen Elsted, Jack Riordan, David Roche, Leon Cummins, Steven Lake, Alex Norris, Joey Quinlan, Ethan Raher, John Donovan, David Sheehan, Chris Walsh.
Referee. Ben Fitzgerald.
