Maestro Mahon shines for Moyne
LEADERS Moyne Rangers put real daylight between themselves and the chasing pack with a dominant display in the Division 2 top of the table clash in Sinnottstown Lane on Sunday.
Wexford Celtic came into the match full of confidence, having won six league games on the trot, but the visitors soon put a halt to their swagger with an assured performance.
The Enniscorthy outfit were comfortable on the ball throughout the 90 minutes, and in Timmy Dwyer and Tomás Mahon up front they have a partnership not afraid of doing the donkey work as well as sticking the ball in the net.
Mahon, in particular, was a constant thorn in the side of Celtic’s rearguard as the willing runner continually stretched the defence with his forays out to the flanks, and the number nine capped a fine performance with a sweetly-struck goal in the 35th minute.
Moyne made the running from the off, but it wasn’t until the eleventh minute that they had their first sight of goal, when Timmy Dwyer found Mark Kirwan, but he scooped his first-time effort over the bar.
Dwyer went agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock seconds later but his looping header from a Daithí O’Mahoney cross was superbly clawed away by goalkeeper Donal O’Connor.
Tomás Mahon then fired a speculative effort over the bar from the edge of the area as Moyne continued to crank up the pressure, but Celtic did manage to get a few hearts beating faster at the other end when Stuart Hayden whipped in a searching free-kick in the 25th minute but nobody could get a telling touch on it.
Rangers were ahead five minutes later when netminder O’Connor failed to deal with a Dillon Redmond cross and Timmy Dwyer couldn’t miss, bundling the ball over the line from close range.
Moyne didn’t take long to double their advantage and this time it was more aesthetically pleasing as Tomás Mahon made room for himself with a neat turn, before unleashing a brilliant, left-footed curling shot from the edge of the area that nestled in the corner of the net.
Mahon was keen to add to his tally, and he was again in the thick of the action just before the break when he got on the end of a Diarmuid Cullen cross and shot over the bar.
Wexford Celtic needed a bright start to the second-half, but it was Moyne who blasted out of the blocks after the turnaround.
Tomás Mahon almost bagged their third goal two minutes in but his snap-shot from six yards out was brilliantly saved by O’Connor, although the reprieve was short-lived and the goalkeeper was again picking the ball out of his net in the 52nd minute.
Predictably Mahon was involved, teeing up Tommy Foley, who rifled the ball over the line.
Wexford Celtic almost grabbed a lifeline on 58 minutes but Wayne Carty’s ferocious long-range effort was acrobatically tipped over the bar by the alert Gary Murphy.
Moyne Rangers created another good chance in the 71st minute when Aaron Ronan played in DaithíO’Mahoney, but he failed to get enough purchase on his shot, while the best Celtic could muster were efforts from Seán Carmody and Ciarán Marlowe which failed to trouble goalkeeper Murphy. WEXFORD CELTIC: Donal O’Connor, Steve Healy, Adam Roche, Seán Carmody, Seán Hopkins, John McManus, Wayne Carty, Ciarán Marlowe, Cian Doyle, Eoin Reck, Stuart Hayden. Subs. - Anthon Ludwig for Hayden, Kevin Frewen for Hopkins, Matthew Duffy for Roche, also Dylan Kehoe, Luke Sheil. MOYNE RANGERS: Gary Murphy, Jack Bolger, Diarmuid Cullen, Pa O’Shea, Aaron Ronan, Tommy Foley, Mark Kirwan, Daithí O’Mahoney, Tomás Mahon, Timmy Dwyer, Brian Ronan. Subs. - Dillon Redmond for B. Ronan, Aaron Gannon for Dwyer, Rory O’Connor for Kirwan. REFEREE: Marc Kelly.