St Paul's FC | Football, London | stpaulsceltic.co.uk

Third time's a charm

Celtic dish out revenge to First Capital Connect in the League

'Good things come in threes, or so they say. The Godfather trilogy, Back to the Future, the Die Hard trilogy (before the abomination of Die Hard 4.0) and of course the first 3 Star Wars movies (or the last three depending on how geeky you are). St Paul's Celtic v First Capital Connect, part 3, took place last night. Playing any team 3 games on the bounce can get a little bit repetitive, but these three matches couldn't have been more different. The first match was fairly straight forward, after a rusty start the Celtic hammered the Railwaymen 6-2, and the second game ended 0-0 after regulation time, with Capital winning 5-4 on penalties; a fantastic defensive display from Celtic but a toothless attack. Last night was another chapter in the Celtic/Capital saga, a different cast, a different plot but just as entertaining as the previous two instalments.

It had been three weeks since the Celtic last took to the field and another week coinciding with the big Celtic's European exploits, along with a 6 o'clock kick-off, meant that the squad was down to the bare bones. 11 of the named squad made it almost on time, with debutante Chada arriving just in time to get changed for the first whistle. Martin O'Neill was drafted in at the very last moment to replace both Dowling and Tkaczyk who withdrew due to unforeseen commitments elsewhere. The match was preceded by a minute's silence for Danny Hurley, a player with St Paul's sister team in Glasgow, St Mary's AFC, who died tragically two weeks previous only 31 years of age, and was immaculately observed by players of both sides, the officials and spectators.

Formation restructure

Celtic started 4-4-2, the first time Coull had been granted a strike partner this season with Chris Butt making his first start for the hoops. Hamilton returned in goal after suffering two broken fingers only three weeks previously, and McBride took responsibility for filling the left-back slot in the absence of McGuckin and McGinley. The pre-game huddle talk focused on the need to start at a high tempo and shut the Capital players down quickly, but instead St Paul's started erratically, albeit at the high tempo demanded. Passes went astray with players panicking in possession, often trying to take on too much. It was a slack pass that led to the opening goal of the game; the ball going straight to the Capital midfield who released the left winger into the channel. His drilled cut-back took out the defence and Hamilton in goal, and their right winger beat McBride to slot home from an acute angle.

It was Capital's first attack and probably against the run of play, but St Paul's have a habit of causing problems for themselves. It wasn't long before the equaliser came, and it was Coull who struck his 9th goal of the season. A lofted ball from Wilson was challenged for by Coull, Kennedy and three of the Capital backline. The ball was knocked on and through to the 'keeper who for reasons best known to himself thought a free-kick had been awarded, despite the absence of a whistle or flag. Coull instantly latched onto the ball and stroked home leaving the Railwaymen incredulous. The goal sparked some life into Celtic and suddenly Capital were penned in their own half. Coull almost added a 2nd from an excellent corner delivery from Molloy, Butt hit a well struck volley wide and Kennedy almost tested the 'keeper from range. However it was Capital who surged into the lead, again from a mistake by Celtic this time in the final third of the pitch.

Slow reactions to a throw-in gifted possession back to Capital and a long ball was missed by the defence to allow the Capital striker through on goal. His well-struck shot was almost saved by Hamilton but it squeezed in the bottom left hand corner to put Capital 2-1 ahead. The next 10 minutes were scrappy, littered with errors and panicky passing. Capital again got through the defence, their left winger getting round the outside of Beelders too easily, luckily for the hoops however his cross was beyond the reach of any of his team mates. The dust settled though and St Paul's started to take control of the game once more, Coull causing all sorts of problems for the home side's defence and Lacey taking control of the engine room. Some excellent build up play from McBride and Coull saw the latter peel wide and cross for McBride whose header was clawed from the top corner by the 'keeper. Molloy's delivery from corners was excellent and with the presence of Coull, Butt, Rogan, McBride and Lacey the Capital defence looked vulnerable. Despite the continued pressure from St Paul's the first half ended with Capital 2-1 ahead.

Changes

A change of tact in the second period saw Butt replaced by O'Neill and a return to the tried and tested 4-5-1 formation, with Rogan moving into the 'hole' behind Coull, aiding the midfield pair of Lacey and Kennedy. The Celtic instantly looked more comfortable and finally the ball was being moved around with more confidence. O'Neill's pace was a constant threat both in and out of possession. The Capital left back had enjoyed a lot of time on the ball in the first half but now he was being pressed into making mistakes by the pacey wing-man. The defence were looking far more solid too, with full backs Wilson and McBride (in an unfamiliar left back role) getting on the ball, and Majid and Beelders both solid and calm in possession. On the left Molloy was getting on the ball more in dangerous areas, his direct and skilful running terrorising his markers, often double and triple teaming him.

The next chance fell to the Irishman as he skipped by three challenges only to see his drive flash just wide of goal into the side netting. The next clear chance for St Paul's fell to Coull and as usual the big man finished with aplomb. Some neat one touch interplay in the midfield between Lacey, Kennedy and Rogan moved the ball back to Beelders. The South African centre half looked up and played a wonderful 40 yard pass to Coull who took the ball on his chest and past his marker, before running through to finish past the onrushing 'keeper. It was a fantastic goal and the first time St Paul's had strung 5 or 6 quick passes together, and Coull's control and finish (his 10th of the season already) was up there with his best so far. The equaliser was no more than the Celtic deserved, and again it lifted the confidence of the team. O'Neill was oozing confidence and he almost got on the scoresheet, racing onto a 50/50 ball with the Capital 'keeper and winning, but shooting agonisingly wide.

Molloy again had a great effort form a dead-ball, his free-kick swinging right to left and just wide of the far post, and Rogan had a great chance to score after some excellent work in the box from Molloy but his placed shot was cleared off the line. Coull almost had his hat-trick from another Molloy corner which 'keeper dealt with comfortably, before he tested the 'keeper again with a rocket of a drive, this time shooting straight into the 'keepers arms. His 11th goal in 5 games wasn't long in coming though and again it was a goal that oozed class. Wilson played a superb ball from the back into the inside right channel for the striker to run on to. Taking one touch to settle the ball he lifted it over the 'keeper and into the goal to put the hoops 3-2 in front and cruising, and register his 2nd hat-trick of the season. St Paul's continued to attack and Capital appeared to be losing their way, evidence of which came from their number 8 squaring up the referee having been cautioned for abusing the assistant.

The game was starting to open up as legs grew tired, and Kennedy should have taken advantage after evading 3 Capital challenges to go one on one with the 'keeper, his attempted lob dealt with easily. Krishan Chada made his long-awaited debut in the final 15 minutes, replacing Wilson, and a long with the rest of the back four continued where Wilson had left off in keeping capital at bay. They threatened in the midfield, getting their red-booted midfielder on the ball, but were unable to get beyond the wall of green and white and Hamilton was untroubled for the remainder of the game.

Relief

The final whistle came as a relief to many, a hard, physical 90 minutes had reached a victorious conclusion. There will of course be a fourth instalment of this saga in the league, which is the real goal for St Paul's this season, but this week at least they march on into the 2nd round of the Ken Doherty Memorial Trophy. Man of the match was without question Dougie Coull. Another three goals to add to his tally and an all-round excellent, all-action display from the big man whose presence on the pitch is invaluable.

St Paul's Celtic (4-4-2): Hamilton; Wilson (Chada 75), Beelders (c), Majid, McBride; Molloy, Kennedy, Lacey, Rogan; Coull, Butt (O'Neill 45)