Mike Bishop is presented with the Over 30s player of the year award for the 2011-12 season by coach Paddy Mc Carry and assistant coach Sean Mc Mullan at the Courtyard Bar on Sunday night. Pic: John Riordan
Sean Mc Mullan is presented with the player of the year award for the 2011-12 season by reserves team manager Robbie O’Neill at the Courtyard Bar on Sunday night. Pic: John Riordan
Our league-winning Over-30s will be honored next Sunday, January 27 at the Courtyard Bar with a trophy presentation that begins at 4pm.
The top players of the 2011-12 season (voted for by their team mates) from the respective teams will also receive their awards during what should be an enjoyable occasion for the club.
All are welcome and huge gratitude goes to our sponsors at the Courtyard for hosting this first club event of 2013.
The Shamrocks Over 30s prior to their league final victory last Spring. Picture: Eoin Sweeney
It was a great weekend for the NY Shamrock soccer club as all three teams produced excellent victories
On Saturday night at Roosevelt Island, the firsts and reserves scored a total of five goals without reply against a coupe of very skilled NYPD teams.
Sean Mc Mullan scored a goal for the firsts and the reserves.
A rare header from striker Sean Mc Mullan opened the scoring for the first team after 35 minutes after great work on the left by Andy Keogh and Dave Harvey.
John Riordan made it 2-0 with a 65th minute tap-in after the NYPD keeper failed to deal with a Joey Aronovsky cross from a tight angle on the right.
“It was an excellent performance and victory,” said manager Glen Wrafter after the game.
“It means we leap frog them into third in the league table and gives us a real chance of putting on a real promotion push in the spring. We had a depleted squad out there and everyone gave their all against a very good side.”
In the curtain-raiser, the reserves won 3-0 against league leading NYPD, bringing them to within two points of the opposition.
It was a scoreless at half-time but the deadlock was broken midway through the second half by Braden Ruddy’s stylish opener – his first of the season.
Within minutes, John Mc Donnell added another well-worked goal and then Sean Mc Mullan’s chipped shot to the far right hand corner wrapped up the points in the best way possible.
“We were very happy to win the way we did,” said assistant manager John Riordan. “The lads battled hard and those goals were some of the best football we played all season.
“That said, many of them are police officers and they’ve had a tough few weeks after Sandy. As a team and on behalf of the club we paid tribute to their service after the game. It was a tiny gesture but I felt it was important. ”
On Sunday morning at Randall’s Island, Paddy Mc Carry’s Over 30s secured their fourth win in a row after fighting back from 1-0 against NY Greek Atlas to win 2-1.
Impressive second half finishes from Eugene O’Driscoll (65 minutes) and Eugene Gormley (75 minutes) sealed a morale-boosting win after what had been a slow start to the season.
Eugene O’Driscoll got the Rocks Over 30s back to 1-1 with a great finish.
“Alan quirke made a great save to keep us in the game,” said Mc Carry afterwards. “It was a great performance from the whole squad. That’s four straight wins now and confidence is high.”
Meanwhile, a van load of supplies left The Courtyard Bar on Monday morning bound for the Far Rockaways. There will be another donations run this week and players, club members and supporters are invited to bring along any tinned foods and regular cleaning supplies they can get their hands on. No more clothes needed.
Call club president Kevin McPartland for more information: (917) 583-1575
Finally, next month there will be a fundraiser for the family of Paul O’Shaughnessy, the Rocks supporter who tragically passed away in September
Paul O’Shaughnessy died at the young age of 44 yrs. He and his wife, Susan, have lived in Sunnyside for almost 20 years. Paul was father to 3 young boys – Sean, Michael & Paul, and a teenage daughter, Haley. A skilled carpenter, he has left his mark throughout the tri-state area.
The benefit will take place on December 16 at Sidetracks in Sunnyside. For more information, check out the official website.
The Shamrocks first team and reserves will both be hoping to get back to winning ways when they take on NYPD at Roosevelt Island on Saturday night (kick-offs 6.30 and 8.30).
For first team boss Glen Wrafter, this game provides a huge opportunity to move up the league table ahead of the winter break.
“It’s a vital match for us,” said Wrafter. “A victory would allow us leapfrog NYPD and move up into third place in the table. With only a couple of games left before the break, that would set us up nicely for a promotion push in the new year.
“We were unlucky against Manhattan Kickers in the last league game. I think the 2-0 result flattered them slightly and with a bigger squad I believe we could have got a result.”
The NYPD reserves are top of the table but a win for the Rocks reserves could narrow the gap to just two points – although they will have had played one game more.
“We’re hoping to return to winning ways after a disappointing draw last time out,” said manager Robbie O’Neill. “Giving up a last-minute equalizer was a huge disappointment and this is an opportunity to bounce back from that. There are now two games left before the winter break and we’re hoping to get all six points available to us and start a climb back to the top of the league table.
The Over 30s are away to NY Greek American Atlas on Sunday morning (Randall’s Island Field 75, 10am) and manager Paddy Mc Carry is struggling once more with a lengthy injury list.
Randall fieldman (broken toes), Eugene Reynolds (strained knee) and Justin Stanford (knee) are all out until March while Brian O’Connor has a torn acl and is out for the season. Paddy Geraghty is on vacation and Stevie Keating has work commitments.
Meanwhile, the Over 30s have been drawn away to NY Polet in the next round of the Marth Cup. The tie will take place on the first weekend of December.
The NY Shamrocks first team was beaten 3-0 at home by NY Ukrainians in the second round of the Flamhaft Cup at Monsignor McClancy High School on Sunday afternoon.
Shamrocks were unlucky not to go ahead when Paul McDaid hit the post after 20 mins. However, it was the Ukrainians who took the lead from their talisman Number 10 despite the fact that the hosts attempted to keep him under close watch.
The Shamrocks first team which took on NY Ukrainians in the second round of the State Cup.
The Rocks dominated the opening exchanges of the second half but after they failed to find an equalizer, the disciplined Ukrainians outfit grabbed two quick goals to seal the victory.
“It was a very disappointing result given the performance,” said manager Glen Wrafter. “But NY Ukrainians deserved the win even if the scoreline flattered them slightly.”
There was a consolation win for the club in the Marth Cup curtain-raiser at the same venue meanwhile as the Over 30s team beat NY Dinamo 4-2 with goals from Emmet Harvey (2), a penalty from Burim ‘Benny’ Ljuta and the clinching fourth late on from Glen Wrafter.
“I’m absolutely delighted with the win,” said manager Paddy Mc Carry. “It was a hard game for us. We were short a few players. But we deserved the win and we’ll move into the last 16 with confidence.”
Shamrocks have been drawn at home against NY Ukrainians in the next round of the Flamhaft Cup. The second round tie will be played on the weekend of November 11. The two sides met in the league at the end of September with the Ukrainians securing a 4-2 win in Red Hook.
Meanwhile, the Over 30s will take on NY Dinamo in the second round of the Marth Cup on the same weekend. That will be a home clash against the team who are also their next league opponents.
The first team are unbeaten in October and they will look to maintain that record on Saturday evening when league leaders Manhattan Kickers come to Roosevelt Island for an 8.30pm kick-off.
The Rocks are coming off a morale-boosting cup win at College Point and they will need all their wits about them if they are to knock the visitors off their pedestal, Kickers arriving with four wins and a draw in Division Two.
Rocks player-manager Glen Wrafter is hoping his team hand Manhattan Kickers their first loss of the season.
“It’s a massive game for us,” said manager Glen Wrafter. “Without doubt the biggest game of the season. If we beat them on Saturday evening we will be only 2 points adrift.
“Unfortunately we have a number of absentees this weekend but we’ve had an eye on this fixture, and hopefully we’ll give a good account of ourselves and give Kickers a good game.”
Meanwhile, in the curtain-raiser, the reserves will kick off at 6.30pm hoping to put last Sunday’s State Cup exit behind them. Keith Cagney is carrying a slight hamstring strain while Shawn Duda remains out with a knee injury. On a positive note, top scorer Sean Mc Mullan will return to action in a huge boost for the Rocks.
“We have a massive game against a team ahead of us after two disappointing results,” said manager Robbie O’Neill. “We need to get back to winning ways this weekend against Manhattan Kickers and do some catching up on the league leaders.”
The following evening, the Over 30s will take on NY Dinamo in Randall’s Island at 8pm with possibly six of their top players missing the game for one reason or another.
“It’s a must win for us on Sunday as are the remaining four league games,” acknowledged manager Paddy Mc Carry who is on the hunt for new players to bolster his squad.
Eugene Reynolds (knee) and captain Mike Bishop (hamstring) are both ruled out while Tomás Maher (hamstring) and Randall Fieldman (toe) major doubts.
NY Shamrock SC 