Compiled by Adrian Cooke
FAI Junior Cup – 7th Round
Nenagh Celtic ‘A’ were once again the road the Dublin and were knocked out of the competition in heart breaking fashion by top Dubin side Liffey Wanderers FC. Buoyed by large travelling support, a confident Celtic side settled well into the game and tested the strength of the home woodwork when Danny Ryan struck the crossbar to signal the visitor’s intent. Celtic took a deserved lead in the 40th minute when Stephen Flynn played Craig Connolly through who finished from close range to take a 1 nil lead into the half time break. The Dublin side flew out of traps at the start of the second half and drew level after just 3 minutes. Celtic nearly took the lead again only 5 minutes later but Jimmy Hynes saw his effort cleared off the line. Liffey Wanderers were awarded a penalty in the 60 minute which was expertly saved by Aidan Herlihy, but Celtics endeavours saw a setback when the home side took the lead with twenty minutes to play. As we have seen all season with Celtic, they have the ability to dig deep and produce goals when needed, and this was the case when Benny Sheehan fired home from distance in the 75th minute. With extra time looming under the lights in Dublin, Celtic’s dream of getting one step closer to the Aviva were dealt a fatal blow when a long clearance in the 94th minute found Roche for the Dublin who slotted home off the post to break the hearts of the Hoops and their travelling fans. Nenagh Celtic have to be complimented on their hard work and commitment in addition to the fantastic representation of the NT&DL in this year’s FAI Junior Cup.
Munster Youths Cup Semi Final
Drombane was the venue for the epic Munster Youths Cup semi-final encounter between Nenagh AFC Youths and Kilreen Celtic Youths from Cork City. In an entertaining game from start to finish it was the Nenagh side who booked their spot in the final courtesy of a penalty shootout after the game finished 2 – 2 after extra time. Nenagh goal keeper Adam Healy was the main difference on the day as he turned in a man of the match performance to keep the game level before Josh McCarthy opened the scoring in the second half with a top class free kick. Kilreen drew level not long after thanks to a Cian Hawkins header and extra time ensued, where Stevie Daly scored just on the stroke of half time in extra time. Not to be outdone, Lee Cooke repeated the late goal trick for Kilreen to set up a penalty shootout where Nenagh successfully converted all their penalties to set up a mouth-watering all Tipperary final where they will meet top TSDL side Clonmel Town.
Premier League
Cloughjordan ‘A’ finished out their league game last Sunday on the road away to BT Harps ‘A’ with a worthy 3 – 1 victory which will see them finish no lower than third place in this year’s Premier League. All the goals in this game came in the first half as Cloughjordan raced into an early 3 nil lead, thanks to strikes from PJ O’Brien, Mike O’Brien and Kevin Kennedy. Harps replied on the stroke of half time when John Doran netted. Lough Derg ‘A’ entertained Roscrea ‘A’ in Clarisford and produced an exciting 3 – 3 draw in a game where the visitors snatched a late equaliser to deny an in form Lough Derg a worthy victory. Man of the match, Jason Comely scored twice for the home side in addition to a goal from Jamie Stuart. However, Roscrea relied on top striker Paul Kirwan and team mates Joe Moloney and Brian Moloney to grab an unlikely draw to keep them in contention for next seasons John Delaney Cup.
First Division
Rearcross ‘A’ secured their First Division status with a hard fought 1 – 1 draw away to Borrisokane and were thankful to a late Liam Ryan penalty in the second half to cancel the early first half penalty from Daniel Butler. Rearcross have now completed their league campaign and finished with 5 drawn games, the most in the league and will look to build towards next season where promotion back to the Premier League will be their main focus.
First Division Barry Cup
Streamstown Celtic ‘A’ maintain their unbeaten streak as they overcame Moneygall by the odd goal in 5. Moneygall got the game’s first goal courtesy of a penalty converted by Michael Parlon. This spurred the visiting Roscrea side into action as they scored three times with Brian Franks, Craig Byrne and Craig Phelan all getting in on the action. Moneygal did score a second, but it was in the dying moments of the game when Dwayne Collison netted but it wasn’t enough to deny Streamstown safe passage into the semi-finals.
Third Division
Lough Derg ‘B’ confirmed their promotion to the Second Division with a comprehensive 7 – 3 win over Barnane. The star man for Lough Derg was Keith Stritch who netted 4 times. Jamie Stuart and Eric Monaghan both converted a penalty with Lowell Ryan scoring also. Fantastic effort from the Kilaloe side who secured promotion with two games to spare having a current goal difference of plus 41 thanks to the efforts of Jamie Stuart and Keith Stritch. Ballywilliam finished their league campaign with a narrow 1 nil loss against Streamstwn Celtic ‘B’. The game’s only goal came early in the first half thanks to Shane Carroll. Ballywilliam will look to build on this year’s maiden adventure in the NT&DL and were a welcome addition to this season’s third division