French Connection have no answer to six of the best from Jimmy Spot On

Monday the 23rd of June, a cold cloudy evening, the time is about seven and the venue is Athlone Regional Sports Centre. This week it is the turn of Jimmy Spot On against the French Connection. The teams are here the shirts are being passed out, the team photo has been taken, the referee has given a few quick instructions and finally it"s "game on". From the first touch of the ball, the game was played at a fast pace. The pace that had been set was hardly likely to last the whole first half and, to be honest, it didn"t last half the first half. Jimmy Spot On where starting to impose themselves on the game with fast one touch passing and some quick movement, with James McCormack and Paul McGovern pushing forward and pressing back the French Connection boys. The French connection lads turned up the heat a little with Oliver Vrain and Malachy Nelson attacking out of defence and starting to turn the pressure on the Jimmy Spot On defence and their goalkeeper Lee Roche had to be awake as Padraig Connell (French Connection) sent a shot just a little to the left and wide of the post. It was almost as if the Jimmy Spot On lads took offence to that shot with them pushing up the pitch with Paul McGovern firing just wide it was just a matter of time before someone scored. It was Jimmy Spot On who drew first blood after the French Connection lads were caught in possession and suddenly James McCormack was in acres of space and it was 1-0 to Jimmy Spot On. The goal was a bitter pill for the French Connection lads to swallow and it was them who had most of the possession and had been applying most of the pressure, with Padraig Connell and Darren Costello both firing shots at Lee Roche in the Jimmy Spot On goal. It was no wonder that some heads went down when Jimmy Spot On scored their second. The French connection were pressing the Jimmy Spot On lads right back and were holding them in with some fine passing, but a deflected shot from Padraig Connell gave possession back to AJ McGovern it turned into a sweeping counter attack that even Arsenal would have been impressed with. The imposing figures of James McCormack, Paul McGovern and Aidan Reilly attacked Oliver Vrain and Malachy Nelson in defence, however there was little they could do to stop this attack and it was no surprise were James McCormack found the back of the net again. The first half was drawing to a close and it was the Jimmy Spot On lads who were finishing stronger. As always, there was one player giving the defenders hell. This had to be Paul McGovern with his quick passing and his pace edging him ahead he was a big headache for the French Connection defenders so much so that he decided to draw the first half to a close by scoring Jimmy Spot On"s third goal. It was not a easy scoreline for the French Connection team to take. They were passing and getting shots in but they were missing that killer touch the ability to find the back of the net and, let"s be honest, that"s a crucial factor when trying to win a soccer match. The second half started much slower then the first half and already, in the first few passes, you could see some tired legs. The Jimmy Spot On players just had a little more pace on the ball and, slowly but surely, they started to stretch the French Connections defence and, with tiredness setting in and players starting to stand and watch instead of tracking back, it was no wonder that Aidan Reilly scored after breaking free from his marker. With no one tracking back, it was just a matter of beating the keeper to make it four nil. At 4-0 down, most teams would have given up but, to the credit of the French Connection lads, they kept ploughing on. Another shot on target from Oliver Vrain forcing a save from Lee Roche, but the Jimmy Spot On lads were not just finished and continued to dictate the pace of the game, holding on to the ball for long spells and easily opening up the French Connections defence. And when James McCormack made it 5-0, heads were well and truly down. With ten minutes left in the second half it was all over for the French Connection it was hard to see them coming back from this and as if to have the final word Paul McGovern links up with Aidan Reilly who, in turn, fed James McCormack who finishes it all with a beautiful low shot into the bottom left corner which all but finished out the game. The scoreline was not a far reflection of the French Connection performance and, if they can find that killer touch and find the back of the net, then they will be a hard team to beat. Yet, one cannot take anything away from the Jimmy Spot On Lads, they played well and are capable playing fast paced football. Jimmy Spot On: Lee Roche, Eugene Petit, Cian Duffy, Paul McGovern, Aidan Reilly, James McCormack, Anthony McGovern, Martin Sherlock, Liam Doran. French Connection: Padraig Connell, Andy Coghill, Simon Coghill, Oliver Vrain, Alan Rogins, Enda McGee, Malachy Nelson, Darren Costello.