Munster Junior Cup
With the poor weather conditions of late dictating that a large portion of the weekends fixtures were postponed, the two games to decided who progressed to the open round of the Munster Junior went ahead. Up first was the latest instalment of the Nenagh AFC ‘A’ and Nenagh Celtic ‘A’ sage which took place at the Brickfields venue. The weather conditions didn’t allow for the usual brand of free flowing football that both sides are known for, but it was a battle of wills with neither side troubling the opposition goal in the first half with any incident of note. The deadlock was broken in the second half when Celtic were awarded a penalty which Danny Ryan slotted home. Celtic were composed in their defending but were undone by a Dan Dalton penalty to see it level with 15 minutes remaining. Extra time ensued but neither side could grab the elusive winner and it was penalties that decided the outcome. Aaron Savage was the hero on the day as he saved two penalties to help his side win 3 – 1 in the shootout to set up a fourth round home fixture with Castleview of the Cork AUL. BT Harps ‘A’ travelled to face Cloughjordan ‘A’ and ran out 3 – 2 winners to book their place in the open round. Cloughjordan took the lead early in the game thanks to Adrian Browne, however Harps then scored three times before the break with Mikey Greed grabbing two and the impressive Sam Van Dam also netting. Harps had all the hard work done in the first half and defended comfortably throughout the second half despite a later consolation goal from Diarmuid Kennedy to set up a home fixture between the winners of Tramore, Carrick United or St. Saviours from the Waterford League.
Premier League
There was only the one fixture in the top flight this weekend and it turned out to be an exciting game between Sallypark ‘A’ and Roscrea United ‘A’ which ended a 4 – 4 draw. With Roscrea needing league points having lost their previous two matches, they struck an early lead through Paul Kirwan but it was a short lived lead as Sallypark hit their guest with 3 unanswered goals thanks to Eugene Foley, David Keogh and Robbie Fitzpatrick. Not to be outdone, Roscrea found the net twice thanks to Paul Kirwan and Stephen Murphy to leave it level at the break. Fifteen minutes into the second half, Roscrea took the lead when Paul Kirwan completed a hat trick to move himself clear at the top of the leagues goal scoring table. However, Sallypark made it two league draws in league action against the Kennedy Park side when Kieran Ryan headed home a late equaliser.
Second Division
Ballymackey despatched of Cloughjordan ‘B’ and condemn them to Division 3 with a 4 – 1 victory where Timmy Fleming continues his scoring ways with a well taken hat trick. Ballymackey had raced into a 3 nil lead before Cloughjordan got off the mark thanks to a strike from Dean O’Meara. However, the home side added a fourth from Denis Haverty to all but confirm third place for Ballymackey. Nenagh AFC ‘C’ secured a vital three points as they overcame Kilcommon on a 2 – 0 score line to help pull clear from the relegation zone. Senan Stanley and Patrick McInerney bagged the all important goals for Nenagh.
NT&DL Tipperary Cup
This seasons Tipperary Cup kicked off in earnest with a number of both preliminary and first round matches taking place. Barnane travelled to face Streamstown Celtic ‘B’ and ran out comfortable 6 – 2 winners to book their place in the first round. Celtic took the lead in this game through a Michael Kirwan free kick but only saw Barnane level matters shortly afterwards. Again, Celtic took the lead through Jason Curry but it was all Barnane after that as they scored 4 goals without reply. On the mark for Barnane were David Butler with a hat trick, Liam Ryan, Oisin Jordan and JP Dwan. Gurtagarry had to dig deep to overcome their fellow division 3 side Borrisokane ‘B’ as they ran out 3 – 1 winners after extra time in Latteragh. Borrisokane took the lead in the game thanks to Gary Ryan and appeared to have the edge over Gurtagarry who played a large portion of the game with only ten men. Billy Cocoran levelled the game to ensure extra time, where he scored a second in addition to a Steven Cummins strike to see Gurtagarry through to the second round. Ballymackey ‘B’ were away to Lough Derg ‘B’ and lost out 3 – 2 despite a spirited display. Lough Derg opened the scoring thanks to a Keith Stritch strike. Conor O’Meara levelled for Ballymackey 5 minutes later with a quality strike Connor O’Meara. However, Lough Derg then raced into 3 – 1 lead at half time with Keith Stritch grabbing his second and Mark McInerney also scoring. Rory Monsey then reduced the deficit to the minimum with twenty minutes remaining but Lough Derg held out for the win despite some late pressure and late claim for a penalty for Ballymackey.
Munster Youths Cup
Nenagh Celtic Youths entertained local rivals Nenagh AFC Youths at the VEC venue Saturday afternoon and it took an extra time wonder goal to separate the two sides. It was 1 – 1 at the break with little between the sides after Paul Walsh had put Celtic ahead only to see his effort cancelled out by a Dylan Sheehan header. A game defining moment occurred only minutes into the second half as Nenagh AFC Youths were awarded a penalty after Celtic were reduced to ten men for the conceding the penalty which was coolly slotted home by Jake Morris. The visitors started to dominate proceedings with their numerical advantage but couldn’t find the killer goal and late in the game, Paul Walsh grabbed his second to level the game with a well placed header to bring the game to extra time. With both sides sitting back and not committing men forward, it was Nenagh AFC Youths who scored the winning goal in the second half of extra time through Francis Munsterberg who after cutting in from the wing, unleashed a long curling effort beyond the reach of Mikey O’Leary in the Celtic goal.