February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
During the break, Billy Henderson ended his three-year tenure as coach of the first team to concentrate on playing. He was replaced two weeks ago by Paul Wilson, one of the club’s longest-serving players, and Darren Thunder, who will drill the squad for the remainder of the season.
The Rocks have also lost several players since the recess began, including 21-year-old midfielder Gary O’Neil, who signed professional terms with League of Ireland side Dublin City, and Jaime Plunkett, formerly of the LoI, who’s been ruled out for the rest of the season by injury.
Likely to complicate Shamrock’s spring is their sudden fall from last season’s dizzying heights, which saw them finish second in the old First Division and reach the still unplayed CSL League Cup final.
Shamrock were a stuttering outfit in the fall, winning only three of nine fixtures played, against five defeats and one draw. They went into the break third (10 points) in their section of the restructured First Division, which has two sections of six teams each.
Well aware of the challenges ahead, Wilson has a three-point plan mapped out.
“I’m trying to get a squad together, I’ll get them in shape, which is key to me since I’m a fitness trainer by profession, and I’ll work on establishing team chemistry,” Wilson said last week.
He also guaranteed a different level of commitment from the players.
Wilson’s own devotion to Shamrock is unquestionable. He has been with the Rocks since 1980 and has played with them at every level.
A sweeper, he was on the first-team roster in the fall and will join the fray in the spring if and when needed.
With O’Neil and Plunkett definitely out of the picture and question marks hanging over several other players, Wilson hopes to build his new team around four stalwarts: goalkeeper Jim Keady, defender Bingo O’Driscoll, and ex-St. Barnabas midfielders Freddy Fitzpatrick and Mick Hennessy.
Shamrock vice president Eltin Colman is confident that Wilson and Thunder will steady the rocking ship.
According to Colman, the ageless Wilson has been in this situation before.
“I remember back in 1991 when Paul was manager and I was his assistant. We had three points at the Christmas break and he said to me, ‘Don’t worry,’ ” Colman recalled. “We went on an unbeaten run and finished second to Gottschee by two points.”
Wilson has also enjoyed coaching success in the NCAA with Mercy College, but both he and Thunder could have their work cut out for them in the short term.
Both Colman and club president Scotty Shevlin lauded Henderson for rejuvenating the Rocks and turning the Irishmen into a force in the Cosmopolitan League.
“Three seasons ago, Billy took over a slightly aging first team and proceeded to build one of the more entertaining sides in the club’s history, coming second to the semi-pro Pancyprian and reaching the final of the unplayed League cup final,” Colman noted.
Said Shevlin: “He brought much excitement to the club and produced stellar performances. We’d like to thank him for his work.”
Logistics, however, would ultimately undermine the team that Henderson built. His squad was drawn from near and far, making it impossible for many of the players, as amateurs, to commit to regular training sessions.
Shamrock were also not always able to field their best team for games, which was a constant source of frustration for Henderson.
Formed in 1960, the Rocks are the deans of Irish soccer in the CSL. They started off as a rugby club and played in Central Park before switching to soccer.
The club’s major highlights include back-to-back League Cup victories in 1999 and 2000, and hosting the Irish Olympic team in 1989.
Hughie O’Malley, an assistant trainer with the 1994 U.S. World Cup team, former Irish youth internationals Robbie Kilbane, Kevin Daly and Tom McPhillips, and one-time European Cup vets Frank Campbell, Paul Whelan, Richie Blackmore, and coach Wilson number among the old Shamrock favorites.
The club is sponsored by GTI, a Maspeth, Queens-based national trucking and rigging company owned by Frank Gallaso and Steve Doran; and by the Breffni, a Sunnyside establishment that doubles as the clubhouse.
Shamrock play their home matches at Msgr. McClancy High School in Flushing.
PLAYER SEARCH
The Shamrock organization, which fields four teams in the Cosmopolitan League, is looking for new players for the spring.
While most of the player movement involves the first team, the reserve squad has lost Tom Whitty to a knee problem and coach Robbie Walsh, who is out of the country.
Interested players can call the Breffni at (718) 729-9803.
SPRING SCHEDULE
The first and reserve team schedule is (kick-off TBA): Koha (home March 28), Central Park Rangers (home, April 4), New York Greek-American/Atlas (away April 18), CD Iberia (home April 25), New York Fury (home May 2), New York Athletic Club (away May 9), and New York Albanians (home May 16).