Lismore win 10 goal thriller!

After their defeat the previous week away to the Villa, Lismore bounced back at home with a win in a ten goal thriller at the Castle Farm Ground. While Ballyduff Rovers defeated Cappoquin/Railway in the local derby at Ballyduff.

In the Airtricity League, Waterford lost at the RSC to Derry City and remain third last in the table. Cork City made the long trip to Ballybofey and came away with the three points, while Cobh Ramblers after their good win the previous week at home to Finn Harps, lost out on Friday night away to Athlone Town.

In the FAI Intermediate Cup, Ringmahon Rangers from the MFA lost to Glebe North from the LSL, and there were connections with the WW/EC Junior League as two of the match officials started their whistling careers in the West Waterford/East Cork League. This coming Sunday at Eamonn Deacy Park, Galway two more former WW/EC referees will be involved in the final of the FAI Junior Cup. The appointments are an honour for all that were involved in the WW/EC to be very proud of.

John O’Shea has been appointed to take charge of the Irish men’s senior team for the two internationals that will be played in June. The new head coach of the team will not now be announced until September.

This week, the Memories section makes a short return after a few weeks break. We take a very brief start to the 1993/94 season and will continue next week.

MUNSTER SENIOR CUP FINAL

The MFA have announced that the final of the Munster Senior Cup between Waterford FC and Kerry FC will take place on Monday, June 24th at Turner’s Cross with a 7.30pm kick-off.

WATERFORD AND DISTRICT LEAGUE

There were three teams from the west in action last Saturday, with the big local derby at Ballyduff between Ballyduff Rvs and Cappoquin/Railway and Lismore playing at home to St. Pauls.

Lismore 6 St. Pauls 4

Lismore returned to winning ways after their defeat away to the Villa the previous week, defeating St. Pauls at the Castle Farm ground on Saturday last in a thrilling game of football in Division 2B.

Lismore had to field with a number of their regulars unavailable and the management was able to call on their squad to fill in for the unavailable players. This shows the benefit of a strong squad, required for a full season of football.

Lismore took an early lead when Sam Uniacke was fouled in the area and Aaron Whelan converted the spot kick sending the keeper the wrong way. St. Pauls hit back and equalised a short time later. Back came the home team and Aaron Whelan was fouled in the area and he again converted the spot kick for a 2-1 lead.

A corner kick by Ben Shanahan Quinn saw Kevin Dungan O’Neill score, to give a two goal advantage at the break, 3-1.

The second half saw St. Pauls pile on the pressure to try and cut the deficit, but the Lismore defence held firm and in fact, two goals from Sam Uniacke increased the lead. And when Aaron Whelan scored to complete his hat-trick, Lismore had a five goal advantage and were playing very comfortably. In fact, they had chances to increase their lead, but the opportunities were not taken.

The Waterford team did not give up and in a ten minute period scored three times to leave just two goals separating the teams, and it took a few great saves by the home keeper, Jack Sheehan to keep the visitors from scoring again and at the final whistle, Lismore were winners.

The result sees Lismore in third spot in the league table, five points adrift of league leaders the Villa and three points behind second placed Portlaw. The league title appears to be between the Villa and Portlaw and both must play each other at Portlaw.

Lismore will play away to St. Pauls on this coming Tuesday evening at 6.45pm.

Ballyduff Rvs 5 Cappoquin/Railway 0

At the Ballyduff Community Field, we had the local derby between Ballyduff Rvs and Cappoquin/Railway in Division 3A. Unfortunately, the visitors had only ten players but even with a player short, they played well for the opening thirty minutes.

Ballyduff opened the scoring on 30mins when they were awarded a free from just outside the box and Kieran Hayes’s free kick flew into the top corner giving visiting keeper, Will Halford no chance.

Five minutes later, Quentin Joyce scored from a Hayes’ cross from the left hand wing to give the home team a two goal lead at the interval.

The second half saw Cappoquin/Railway pile on pressure on the home team as they tried to get the goal that would bring them back into the game. But it was Kieran Hayes at the other end of the pitch that raced into the area where he was fouled and he took the spot kick himself, giving Halford no chance and extending the lead to 3-0.

It became obvious that playing with a player short from the start of the game was going to take effect on the visitors and from a corner kick, Sean Hickey scored for the home team. Shortly before the finish, Billy Carroll added another goal to give Ballyduff Rovers victory.

This Sunday, May 5th Rovers will travel to play Kilmacthomas in Division 3A with 2pm kick-off.

FAI INTERMEDIATE CUP FINAL Ringmahon Rgs 2 Glebe North 2

(Glebe win 3-2 after extra time) Sunday last saw the final of the FAI Intermediate Cup take place at Weavers Park, Drogheda between Ringmahon Rgs from Mahon and the Munster Senior League and Glebe North from Balbriggan and the Leinster Senior League. The Intermediate Cup is the most prestigious amateur football competition in Ireland. We also had our own interest with two of the match officials who commenced their refereeing careers in the WW/EC League involved - more anon after the match report.

Both Ringmahon and Glebe North were playing their first Intermediate Cup final. Ringmahon was captained by former Waterford and Cobh player, Anthony McAlaveney. Glebe North had former League of Ireland star, Killian Brennan in their team.

The Cork team took an early lead inside the very first minute for the perfect start and they appeared to be the better team in the opening half, that saw a few chances created at either end in a very entertaining forty five minutes; 1-0 at half-time. If Ringmahon could score early in the game, then the Balbriggan outfit could also do likewise at the start of the second half when they equalised after less than a minute - 1-1.

Glebe then scored again to take the lead and now Ringmahon had to chase the equaliser and this they did. However, injury time was being played when the Mahon based team were awarded a free and the ball was headed to the net and the two teams finished level, 2-2.

So, it was onto extra time and in the 105th minute, Glebe were awarded a penalty which was converted and once again Ringmahon were chasing the game. Very late in extra time the Cork team lost a player to a second yellow card and the Balbriggan team held out for victory.

We mentioned at the start of the report of our interest in the match officials, as all four are from the Cork Branch of the ISRS, but importantly to us the referee was Vinnie Coonan and Dec Fogarty was 4th official. We were delighted when we received news of the match officials and more especially, as both began their refereeing careers in the WW/EC League. For the past number of years they have been refereeing in the Cork Leagues and while they have officiated at various cup finals, last Sunday was without doubt the biggest occasion for either of them. This was a national cup final and as we already wrote, the most prestigious amateur football competition in Ireland. For all of us who were involved in the WW/EC League when Vinnie and Dec started their whistling careers, we are delighted to see how well they are doing and we congratulate both and wish them the very best going forward.

We are just after hearing as we complete our notes on Monday morning, that two more former WW/EC referees will be officiating at a national cup final this coming Sunday. JP Grey and Finn O’Sullivan will be running the lines for the FAI Junior Cup final between Cockhill Celtic from the Donegal League and Gorey Rgs from the Wexford League at Eamonn Deacy Park, Galway, home of Galway Utd FC.

We wish JP and Finn the very best and hope they enjoy the occasion.

WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM

The Irish women’s international team will not be playing until they play Sweden at the Aviva on Friday, May 31st and will play the return four days later in Sweden on Tuesday, June 4th in the group stages of Euro 2025. Having already lost away to France and at home to England, the two games against Sweden are now very important for at least a victory as the top two teams in the group will qualify automatically and the bottom two will play-off to see who will go forward for a play-off against another group team.

Ireland will travel to Wembley on July 12th to play England and will complete their group games when France will be the visitors. As we wrote a few weeks back, there is every possibility that this international, against France, may be played at Turner’s Cross – this would guarantee a full house.

As we wrote last week, there is plenty activity taking place both on and off the pitch at present with the FAI and of course, the critics wait patiently for the next negative news to emerge from Abbotstown.

AIRTRICITY LEAGUE Waterford 0 Derry City 2

Waterford had Derry City as visitors to the RSC on Friday night last and the Candystripes made the long journey back through the country with the three points. When the teams met at the Brandywell back in early March, a Pat Hoban hat-trick was enough for Derry to win comfortably with the Blues failing to hit the net. Friday night last Derry scored twice, with Hoban scoring the second goal and Waterford once again failing to score. Two games with Derry, no goal scored and five conceded.

Before an attendance of just over 2,200, Waterford did start well and forced a few corners which came to nothing, but Derry always looked dangerous when they moved forward. Substitute Daniel Kelly replaced the injured Ben Doherty and within minutes of his introduction, former Dundalk player Kelly was fouled in the area by Robbie McCourt giving referee Alan Patchel the easiest of decisions to point to the penalty spot. Will Patching gave Sam Sargeant no chance as the ball hit the net from the twelve yard spot and the lead for the visitors. Just before the break Hoban had the ball in the net, but was ruled out for offside.

Within a few minutes of the restart, Hoban should have scored but his header went over the bar. This was a rare miss by the former Dundalk goal machine. Waterford did create a chance with twenty minutes remaining when a Ben McCormack cross was hit over the bar by Rowan McDonald.

With 12 minutes remaining, Derry got the insurance goal when some bad defending by the Blues allowed Adam O’Reilly possession and he passed to Kelly who raced into the area and his effort was parried by Sargeant and the goal poacher himself, Pat Hoban, scored for the goal that ensured the three points for Derry.

A few minutes later, Connor Parsons played a pass to Padraig Amond whose effort came crashing back off the crossbar. A goal at this stage would have ensured an exciting finish, but in fairness, Waterford did not deserve to take anything from the game as they gave a lacklustre display on the night and Derry were by far the better team.

The result sees Derry three points adrift of league leaders Shelbourne, while at the end of the table we have Waterford in third last position, two points clear of Drogheda who have a game less played. A disappointing statistic is Waterford have now lost five of their twelve league games, winning just three.

This coming weekend is the May bank holiday double fixtures.

Waterford will travel to the Showgrounds to play Sligo Rvs, who themselves were defeated away in Drogheda last Friday. When the teams met at the RSC on 29th March an Ellis Chapman goal was enough to give the three points to the team from the west. Sligo are just one point above Waterford in the table before they play each other this Friday. We all have memories of good days and bad days at the Showgrounds and for us, the standout and best memory of the lot is our very first visit to the Showgrounds back in 1966 when a young Johnny Matthews scored his first goal for Waterford to win the game and then go on to win the league for the very first time. Ah yes, memories!

This Friday, Waterford will need to come away with at least a draw, a win much better, if they want to move away from the relegation area. On Monday next, Waterford will be on the road again when they travel up the motorway to Tallaght Stadium to play the league holders, Shamrock Rovers. Rovers had to depend on a goal in the last few minutes to rescue a point against Galway in a 1-1 draw at Tallaght on Friday night. When Rovers came to the RSC on Easter Monday, they won 1-2. Since then, they have crept up the table and are now five points behind leaders Shelbourne with a game less played. They will have played in the big Dublin derby against Bohemians at Dalymount Park on Friday. Waterford can expect to be playing in front of at least 4,500 to 5,000 fans at Tallaght with a 5pm start.

Finn Harps 0 Cork City 2

League leaders Cork City made the long trip to Finn Park, Ballybofey for the early kick off against Finn Harps on Friday. Due to lighting problems, the game kicked off at 6pm. Our Cork colleagues kept us up to date on the happenings during the game.

The opening half saw Harps creating chances and they appeared to be the better of the two teams. Considering the home team had lost their two previous league games, the second one away to Cobh Ramblers that we reported on last week, this, we were informed, was a much better performance from Darren Murphy’s team. City keeper Brad Wade was called into action early in the game to save from Patrick Ferry and while he parried the save, the advancing Sean O’Donnell was unable to take advantage. Indeed, Ferry had another great chance a short time later but was unable to capitalise on some sloppy defending from the visitors. The only real threats in this half for the league leaders came from Cian Bargary and Sean Murray. Half-time arrived and the teams were scoreless.

We were told City could have been a goal or two down at this stage and will have to improve for the second half. 18 minutes into the second half a Greg Bolger corner kick was headed to the net by Murray.

The second goal came ten minutes later when substitute Jaden Umeh took advantage of a defensive mix up to find the net and the game as a contest was literally over.

City played out the last minutes in complete control and at the final whistle were deserving winners. Cork City now have a seven point advantage over second place UCD and this Friday night they will play the Munster derby away at Mounthawk Park against Kerry FC. The Kerry venue will be rocking for this fixture as was Turner’s Cross when the teams met in February, with City winning 2-0. While Kerry have not been getting the results they have had six draws in their twelve league games and we have seen them twice and one was a draw, they could and should have won that very same game, so Tim Clancy and his team can take nothing for granted.

On bank holiday Monday, Cork City will be back playing at Turner’s Cross when Wexford are the visitors with a 5pm start. Wexford are having an inconsistent season, but defeated Longford away on Friday and will have played Athlone Town on Friday at Ferrycarrig Park.

Athlone 2 Cobh Ramblers 1

Cobh Ramblers made the journey to Athlone Stadium on Friday to play an Athlone team that had a five point advantage over the Ramblers and a win for Gary Hunt’s team would see them cut the lead and move up the table. Athlone had won their two previous league games, while the Ramblers had defeated Finn Harps in their last league game.

From the reports we were receiving, the opening half did not offer very much from either team in attack and we were told the game was crying out for a goal. The goal did arrive four minutes before the break when a Rambler’s defender lost possession, allowing Athlone striker Ebbe a run in on goal and he easily rounded keeper Darragh Burke to score and this was the score at half-time.

After the restart the pace of the game moved up as Cobh went in search of an equaliser and the woodwork came to the home team’s rescue, before Ebbe doubled his and Athlone’s tally by scoring in the 56th minute. But back came Cobh and they were rewarded when substitute Brendan Frahill got on the end of a long throw into the area to fire to the net. Unfortunately, the Ramblers were unable to breakdown the home defence as they went in search of the equaliser and at the final whistle Athlone were winners. Cobh remain third last in the table.

This Friday we will have the official opening of the “new” St. Colman’s Park when Bray Wanderers are visitors. Bray defeated Kerry FC at the Carlisle Ground last Friday and are joint third. When the teams met at the Carlisle Ground in March the game ended 2-2. Friday night should see a large crowd at St. Colman’s Park when the new pitch and facilities will be officially opened.

On Monday, May bank holiday, Cobh Ramblers will travel to the Bowl in Belfield to play UCD. When they met at Turner’s Cross in March, the students came out on top winning 1-2, a game that had the Ramblers in the lead up to the last few minutes with the winning goal scored in injury time. At present UCD are in second spot, seven points adrift of Cork City and the students will have played Longford on the Friday night.

So, for everyone involved with Waterford, Cork City and Cobh Ramblers, there is no shortage of fixtures over the weekend.

Last week we were all delighted to hear that Turner’s Cross is once again available for games in the Airtricity League and the Women’s National League. The Cross has been closed since the start of April while repairs to the pitch took place. The famed Turner’s Cross pitch, a pitch that has won the pitch of the year a number of years back, had to be closed by the MFA as it had suffered from all the bad weather of the past few months and the number of games that were being played on it. But last weekend the news came through that games will take place from this weekend, with Cork City Women’s team playing this Saturday against Treaty Utd.

Bank holiday Monday will see Cork City play their first game back at Turners Cross since April 5th v Wexford FC in the 1st Division.

MEMORIES

For the past number of weeks, we have been unable to include our Memories slot due to lack of space as there has been so much activity taking place with local, national and international affairs. With four teams from the WW/EC playing in the Waterford League we try to have match reports from the clubs each week that they are playing. Nationally, we cover the Airtricity League and we are very well aware how popular this segment is for so many of our readers, as we have been told so many times.

1993/94 season was what we were researching the last time we wrote Memories and it was very short and what had dominated the start of the season, we wrote that Liam Fitzgerald had taken over as fixture secretary and Rod Rodgers was the referee’s representative at delegate meetings.

There was also a problem which arose at the AGM as there was no league PRO. Eventually, after a few meetings, Dec Whelan from Grange accepted the post. Unfortunately, Dec had to step down in late November and once again there was a vacancy. However, at the December delegate meeting two of the Araglen club, Johnny Kenneally and Paul Neligan, offered to share the PRO position and this was accepted by the clubs.

We are aware that so many of our readers enjoy this section each week as it brings back memories of the days of the Red House League leading into the WW/EC Junior League. We ourselves enjoy researching the archives and only three weeks ago we met a former Valley Rgs supporter who told us he looks forward to reading our column each week and hopefully we can continue to relive those years each week with a few snippets.

In the next week or two, we should be giving a more in-depth look back through the archives.