Corach held by Leonards crew
Cup semis this weekend
ST. Leonards 0, Corach Ramblers 0: St. Leonards Over-35s ended their inaugural season with a hard-fought 0-0 draw against the joint table-toppers Corach Ramblers in the Richie Dwyer Memorial League in Dunmain on Friday.
Leonards had the better of things in the first-half and could count themselves unlucky not to go into the break ahead, with the superb Matty Flynn going very close on more than one occasion with terrific efforts.
The second-half belonged to Corach chances-wise but they were unable to put them away due to great defending, great saves, the woodwork and poor finishing.
Leonards defended very well and when that area was breached, Alan Browne was superb in goal. Leonards didn’t let their neighbours have it all their own way and were very dangerous on the break.
It most certainly was not a boring 0-0 draw. Best wishes to Matty Flynn who picked up an injury.
Duncannon 0, Taghmon United 5: Duncannon entertained Taghmon on Friday looking to get their first win of the season in the league.
But, missing seven regulars, this was always going to be a struggle against a big, physical and well-organised Taghmon team pushing hard for the title. An even start saw chances for both sides.
A Taghmon penalty on 20 minutes was well saved by Paudie Doran, but within two minutes the visitors were ahead. Duncannon through Johnny Kinsella, Joe Doyle and Patrick Chapman were getting into the game, before some poor defending allowed Taghmon in for a second.
The half-time introduction of Nico Chapman saw Duncannon come more into the game, with both sides going close. In the closing 15 minutes Taghmon’s superior fitness told though and, as the home side tired, Taghmon ran in three late goals to put some gloss on the scoreline.
Goalscorers for Taghmon United were Ian Stafford with a hat-trick, Trevor Berry and Jason McLoughlin.
Kilmore United 2, Raheen 6: Goals galore in this one and after ten minutes Dylan Whitty found himself all on his lonesome behind the Kilmore defence to put the visitors in front.
Fifteen minutes later the home team were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box which James Lowry dispatched to the corner of the net. The sides weren’t level for long, as when the home team failed to clear their lines Mark Lee put the visitors in front.
They increased this advantage early in the second-half when again the home team had chances to clear but didn’t and Dylan Whitty subsequently finished superbly to the net with a bicycle kick.
They say play to the whistle and for the next 3 goals there was no sound of one much to the surprise of many - firstly Raheen made it 4-1 when the ball, the goalkeeper, a defender and an attacker all ended up in the net from an inswinging corner.
It then was 4-2 as Kilmore took a free-kick very quickly with Gary Wilson scoring. Soon after it was 5-2 as three Raheen attackers found themselves three on one with the home ’keeper. In that spell Mark Lee and Declan Davitt were credited with the Raheen goals.
They wrapped up the scoring when a free-kick from the home team went terribly wrong and Liam Traynor was on hand to finish the gift. The win ensures Raheen go into the final game of the season level at the top of the league with both Corach and Taghmon.
Fastnet Rovers 6, All Blacks 2: There was a large crowd in attendance at a windy Rathangan for the local derby between Fastnet and the All Blacks.
Bodies were scarce with Fastnet having a squad of twelve while the All Blacks could only muster ten in total. The numerical advantage took its toll with Fastnet dominating early possession and creating numerous chances, but it took until 20 minutes to open the scoring when a good leap by centre-half Bernard Finnigan knocked the ball down to Cormac ‘Rocket’ Roche to volley home.
Goal number two soon followed when a great run down the left by Dermot Fox was squared back to Cormac Roche for an easy tap-in for his second.
Just before the break a neat pass in by Liam Murphy put Darren Walsh through for a tidy finish to leave Fastnet three up.
The second-half began in the same vein and a good run through the middle by Liam Murphy result- ed in a neat pass into the ‘Rocket’ Roche for him to complete his hat-trick.
All Blacks foraged hard after this and pushed forward for two quick breakaway goals from Dara Ward and Michael Breen to put the pressure back on Fastnet, but they responded well.
A clever pass by Darren Walsh put Andy Staff through for the goal of the evening, a clever chip over the ‘keeper from 20 yards.
Dermot Fox completed the scoring after a clever pass from Liam Murphy to run through the middle and leave the final scoreline at 6-2. After several draws the home team will be relieved to eventually get their first win, and after a sporting encounter both team retired to Rathangan Bar for some much-needed refreshments.
Fixtures - Saturday, July 22, at Campile: Shield semi-final sponsored by Darren Walsh Carpentry, Corach Ramblers v. All Blacks, 5.30 p.m. (P. O’Rourke, E Molloy, M. Colfer.
7.15 p.m. - Cup semi-final sponsored by Rowe Windscreens, Taghmon United v. Raheen (E. Molloy, M. Colfer, P. O’Rourke.
Saturday, July 29, at Danescastle: Shield semi-final sponsored by Darren Walsh Carpentry, Fastnet Rovers v. Kilmore United, 5.30 p.m. (D. Jenkins, A. Tobin, J. Diskin).
7.15 p.m. - Cup semi-final sponsored by Rowe Windscreens, Duncannon v. Campile United (A. Tobin, D. Jenkins, J. Diskin).
LEAGUE TABLE
P W D L F A Pt Corach Rblrs 7 4 2 1 15 5 14 Taghmon Utd 7 4 2 1 13 5 14 Raheen Utd 7 4 2 1 15 8 14 St. Leonards 8 3 3 2 10 9 12 Campile Utd 7 3 2 2 10 9 11 Fastnet Rvs 7 1 4 2 11 10 7 All Blacks 7 2 1 4 11 19 7 Kilmore Utd 7 1 3 3 7 13 6 Duncannon 7 0 1 6 6 20 1