Three-goal Doyle the top man
Away win keeps Cloughbawn in Division 1 promotion hunt
A CILLIAN Doyle hat-trick ensured Cloughbawn kept up their push for promotion in Division 1 of the Wexford Football League at Umbro Park on Sunday.
The busy midfielder rose highest to head the opener, fired home from close range to make it two, and outpaced the Gorey Celtic defence for his third as the visitors kept hold of second spot in the table.
Football is a funny old game and the score often doesn’t tell the story. However, this was not one of those occasions as the Cloughbawn boys bossed proceedings and realistically could have won by a few more.
It’s easy to see why they are riding high in the table. Everything they do, everything they try to do, it all has a purpose.
They look to keep the ball on the ground and play football but there’s no off switch, it is all about going forward with possession and pressurising the opposition.
When you are struggling, it’s exactly the type of team you don’t want to face. Yet, that’s what Gorey had on their plate.
To be fair to the hosts, they never quit and had one big chance that Lee Cullen dinked narrowly wide at 2-0 that could have changed the complexion of the game.
James Graham sprung forward in the opening moments and fired wide from the edge of the box, but Cloughbawn quickly took control. Kyle Murphy saw a shot blocked in the seventh minute as the pressure built.
The opening goal came just four minutes later.
The part Callen Morrissey played in winning the corner from Páidí Cullen’s chip forward was critical, as it allowed Gareth Murphy to send in one of many quality set-pieces from the right that Cillian Doyle rose highest to head home.
Treble hero Doyle had another header that Darren Ó Maonaigh tipped over the crossbar in the 21st minute.
However, there was nothing the Celtic ‘keeper could do to deny the Cloughbawn midfielder from close range when Gareth Murphy pulled David Doyle-Murphy’s deep cross back into his path ten minutes later.
Gorey did have a couple of half-chances towards the end of the period, as Graham was just beaten to the ball by Billy Dunne and Owen Byrne flashed off target, but it could as easily have been three at the other end when Kyle Murphy pounced on a defensive error and poked wide.
Ó Maonaigh made solid stops from Kevin and Willie Murphy before Cian Byrne released Cullen for Gorey’s one big chance of the second-half.
Just three minutes after his shot slipped wide, Cillian Doyle completed his hat-trick, breaking though on Willie Murphy’s pass before slotting home off the foot of the post.
There was a good ten minutes without much in the way of goalmouth action after Doyle’s strike, but the longer the game went on the more Cloughbawn looked set to add to their lead.
Willie Murphy hit the foot of the post, Gavin Murphy raced through only to see his powerful shot saved, and Martin Kehoe’s free-kick deflected behind off the wall as Cloughbawn comfortably eased their way to their eighth win of the league season.
Gorey Celtic: Darren Ó Maonaigh; Gavin Goodwin, Kenneth Byrne, Paddy Fleming, Cian Byrne; James Graham, John Kavanagh, Seán Callanan, Lee Cullen, Owen Byrne; Marco Santos. Subs. - Fernando Silva for Byrne (65), John Dunbar for Santos (65), also Robbie Ballagh.
Cloughbawn: Billy Dunne; Kevin Murphy, Páidí Kehoe, Martin Kehoe, David Doyle-Murphy; Callen Morrissey, Páidí Cullen, Cillian Doyle, Gareth Murphy; Willie Murphy, Kyle Murphy. Subs. - Gavin Murphy for Kyle Murphy (60), Darragh Rochford for G. Murphy (79), Tomás Kehoe for Kevin Murphy, inj. (86).
Referee: Kieran Dunne.