Last roll of Dyas pays off as Duleek grab winner
ONE victory from their final two league games will be enough for Duleek to secure their Premier status after they dug deep to pick up a crucial three points at the Tollstone on Sunday afternoon.
Pete Brennan was able to field his strongest side in some time and they created an early chance when Matthew Noone and Barry Kavanagh combined to set up Cormac McGroggan whose shot was saved, with Colin Woods putting the rebound over the bar.
The lead goal came on 12 minutes when a foul on Gareth Toal resulted in a free kick just inside the opposition half. With the wind at his back, Woods delivered a good ball into the box and centre-half Jamie Flaherty volleyed home with the outside of his foot.
Duleek had a chance to double their lead when Sean Kennedy skipped past his marker and squared towards Cormac McGroggan who took a touch instead of hitting the ball early, and when he eventually fired towards goal the
DULEEK TRIM CELTIC 2 1
Trim keeper made an easy save.
The visitors shrugged off that shaky start and had a spell of dominance, beginning when Duleek keeper Adam Byrne made an excellent save, having had to readjust his feet after initially going the wrong way. However, on 25 minutes Trim did draw level, taking advantage of a bit of confusion between Byrne and Bryan Murphy.
The remaining minutes of the first half were pretty scrappy, but Duleek got back on top on the restart and McGroggan was again foiled by the Trim keeper in a oneon-one situation.
Back came Trim, though, and they went on to boss the game for the next half-hour, with the Duleek defence working overtime to keep them out. Manager Brennan rang the changes, feeling that a point might not be enough in terms of their relegation struggle, and the move would eventually pay dividends as two of the subs combined to score what proved to be the winner on 80 minutes.
Just before that Noone and Gary Nugent had combined to set up Woods for what looked like a tap-in goal, but somehow he managed to turn the ball against the post. Duleek kept pressing, though, and when John Broderick latched onto a loose ball after Kennedy had won the ball in the air, he released the on-rushing Karl Dyas who applied the finish to give Duleek a precious 2-1 lead.
There was still some defending to be done in the remaining time, which included four minutes added on for injuries, but Duleek held their nerve to secure the three points.
DULEEK: Adam Byrne, Sean Kennedy, Jamie Flaherty, Bryan Murphy, Gary Nugent, Robbie Daly, Gareth Toal (John Horan), Matthew Noone (John Broderick), Cormac McGroggan (Karl Dyas), Colin Woods, Barry Kavanagh (James Guilfoyle).