Kerrydale Celtic 3 vs 1 St Mirrenoff

<pre>Kerrydale Celtic vs St Mirrenoff<br /> <br />St Mirrenoff were left cursing some controversial refereeing <br />decisions as they kicked off their league campaign with a <br />disappointing 3-1 defeat at Kerrydale Celtic. <br /><br /> <br />Saints preparations were disrupted when 3 of the match <br />day squad pulled out a few hours before kick off, leaving <br />them with only 2 players on the bench.<br /> <br /><br />The hosts started the game brighter and William Rankine <br />had to be lively in the Saints goal, making a couple of <br />decent saves early on. St Mirrenoff suffered another blow <br />after 18 minutes as centre half Brian Connell picked up <br />a groin injury and had to be replaced by Stuart Baungally. <br /> <br /><br />At the other end, the St Mirrenoff front pairing of Ryan Keenan <br />and Jordan Duffy were struggling to beat the <br />disciplined Celtic offside trap. <br /> <br /><br />Rankine produced more heroics with a fantastic save to keep <br />the scores level. A cross was met with a bullet header <br />and the Saints goalkeeper threw himself to his right to palm <br />the ball onto the upright and Saints managed to clear <br />the rebound. <br /><br /> <br />Celtic finally managed to beat Rankine after 32 minutes with <br />a neat counter attack down the Saints right flank, with <br />a cross finding Celtic's striker, who made no mistake with a <br />low shot from 10 yards out. <br /><br /> <br />The first moment of controversy came in the 39th minute as <br />Saints burst through on goal when Keenan ran onto a <br />chipped through ball. The Celtic keeper raced out of his box <br />and sliced his clearance straight up in the air. As the ball <br />broke loose, the grounded keeper inexplicable grabbed the <br />ball with both hands, preventing Saints midfielder Gary <br />Clark from having a shot into an empty net from 25 yards. <br />Somehow the referee only deemed this to be a yellow card <br />offence, and that decision proved crucial from the resulting <br />free kick as David Wilson's goalbound effort was superbly <br />tipped round the post. <br /><br /> <br />Celtic doubled their lead after 58 minutes as Saints overplayed <br />at the back and lost possession. One pass inside had <br />Rankine facing a one on one and the Celtic forward coolly slotted <br />the ball into the bottom corner. <br /> <br />Saints injury woes continued as wing back Ross Elliott was forced <br />off after suffering a hamstring strain in the build up to <br />the goal. With only a striker, Craig Gibson, left on the bench, a <br />reshuffle was required and Keenan moved to wing back. <br /> <br />Some neat build up play between Keenan and Duffy should have <br />ended with a Saints goal. Duffy flicked the ball out wide <br />to Keenan just inside the Celtic half. The forward raced into the <br />penalty area and shot just wide with Duffy looking for the <br />ball to be squared for a tap in. <br /> <br />Saints deservedly pulled a goal back with 16 minutes left. A low <br />cross into the area left Ryan Keenan with a tap in from 3 <br />yards out but was bundled over and a penalty was awarded. The <br />referee failed to produce even a yellow card for what was <br />as clear a goal scoring opportunity as you can get. Saints midfielder <br />Wilson stepped up to stroke the ball into the bottom <br />corner, sending the Celtic keeper the wrong way. <br /> <br />Saints piled forward looking for an equaliser and were screaming <br />for another spot kick in the 87th minute. Wilson played a <br />ball over the top of the Celtic back line which sent Chris Hall into <br />the area. The Saints winger lifted the ball over the keeper <br />and sub Craig Gibson was tripped as he chased the ball in the box,<br />but unfortunately for St Mirrenoff, the whistler waved away <br />their appeals. <br /> <br />With the clock ticking down, Saints pushed players further forward <br />and were caught out in the first minute of injury time. The <br />Celtic forward springing the Saints offside line and beating Rannkine <br />with a shot high into the net.