Nenagh and Clodiagh maintain title challenge

By Gary Culbert

It’s looking ever more likely that Killavilla United and Nenagh Celtic will go head-to-head for the Premier Division title this season as the title race enters its closing stages.

Borroway Rovers 0-3 Nenagh Celtic

Nenagh Celtic brushed Borroway Rovers aside with a solid 3-0 victory to go one point off Killavilla at the top of the table, albeit with a game more played than the Roscrea men.

Ronan Clifford and Brian Mitchell were on target for the champions, whilst an own-goal also found its way into the Borroway net.

League action takes a break next weekend with two Munster Junior Cup matches down for decision with Killavilla’s trip to Rearcross on Sunday morning being the one to watch as a potential banana skin for Denis Moloney’s side.

Clodiagh Rangers 6-4 Borrisokane

Clodiagh Rangers and Borrisokane played out a ten-goal thriller in Drombane on Sunday, with the home side coming out on top 6-4.

Clodiagh secured the points courtesy of a brace apiece from Sam Van Dam and James Murray, and a goal each from Paudie Guidera and John Carew.

David Nevin, Gordon Harding, Conor Gavin, and Brian Donnelly all found the net for the visitors.

Both sides are still in with a shout for the title, but to reach the summit they would need to stay perfect for the rest of the season and hope that other results go their way. Either way, both sides have still had a tremendous first season back in the Premier Division.

Moneygall 2-8 Lough Derg

Lough Derg took a big step towards safety by smashing Moneygall 8-2 in a relegation six pointer in Moneygall.

The Offaly men were 4-2 down at the break, Nistor Toderici and Matt Longe on target for the hosts. However, the Shannon-siders scored four unanswered goals after the break to win 8-2. Jack Lynch helped himself to four goals with whilst Rob Cassidy, Lee Mowat, Dave Cassidy, and Eoin Sheehy also on target.

With Eddie Brady stepping away from management duties in the NT&DL, Moneygall must now look for a successor to guide them out of the relegation zone.

Ballymackey 3-2 BT Harps

Ballymackey produced an incredible comeback in Ballinree to secure all three points against rock bottom BT Harps on a 3-2 scoreline.

The hosts were two down at the break, Ben Stapleton and Aaron Quinlan doing the damage for BT. At half time it looked as though Ballymackey were going to be pulled into a relegation battle, but Aidan White had other ideas; the young forward netting a hat-trick to complete a sensational comeback which leaves Bally clear of the drop.

Division 1

Heading into Sunday’s local derby, in-form Ardcroney were three points clear of the visiting Cloughjordan, who have had a hit-and-miss season. The reverse fixture saw Ardcroney secure a rare away win over their neighbours, so there was a lot of pride at stake for Clough in this one.

Ardcroney lined up with five at the back and three in midfield, which gave them a numerical advantage in the centre against Clough’s two. Alan Darcy and co utilised the extra man in midfield well, and they got the goal their start deserved on ten minutes courtesy of Kieran Spain, his fifth of the season. The forward pounced on a missed clearance in the Clough backline before rounding the keeper.

The visitors weren’t at the races at all, and the hosts smelt blood, but a moment of Matthew Moyles magic from 35 yards dragged Clough back into the game. Everyone in the ground expected the former Ardcroney talisman to float the ball in from the free kick in a central position, but Moyles audaciously decided to hit a powerful curling effort which nestled neatly inside the post.

A couple of minutes later the home side were in trouble again, this time from a Moyles corner. Bryan Williams won the first ball and Liam Hannon rose highest for the second, only to be wiped out by a late challenge, which landed him in Nenagh hospital with a broken nose. The referee pointed to the spot, but due to the nature of the injury a lengthy stoppage ensued, during which Moyles had to keep focused – and that he did, sending the keeper the wrong way and rattling the net for the fifth time this season.

Hannon’s replacement was former Premier Division hit-man Kevin Kennedy, who added class but more importantly guile to the Clough eleven. On countless occasions he got the visitors up the pitch by using his skill and experience to great effect.

A goal down at the break, the hosts came out firing and got themselves back into the game thanks to their most impressive player on the day, Luke Dervan. The equaliser came from a free kick which was awarded after a foul on Brian Dooley. Dervan was a handful in both boxes and on this occasion the former Cloughjordan underage player rose highest, meeting the ball with perfect timing to power home his header.

With these two clubs being so closely linked, there were many players on the pitch who had played for both; Moyles and Dervan had already scored good goals against their former club, but the best was yet to come from another ex-player Martin Grace. Being outnumbered in the middle, the Clough centre-midfielder had already put in a tireless shift, but he had enough energy left to go on a solo run and smash home a winner on the 82nd minute. Picking the ball up on the end line on the right side, Grace had a lot to do; a couple of tricks later he was inside the box with the ball on his weaker left foot, no one expected a shot from the tight angle, but he unleashed an unstoppable effort which the Ardcroney net did well to survive.

In recent seasons Ardcroney were defensively weak, but they are no longer a team which rolls over for other sides - the acquisition of ex-Celtic man, Shane Doran, a big factor in the change.

An upset was well on the cards at half-time in Drombane, where the visiting Arra Rovers found themselves 2-1 down to point-less Clodiagh Rangers ‘B’, however, Dermot O’Halloran’s men rallied and scored three unanswered goals to keep their unexpected promotion charge in full health with a 4-2 win.

AJ Willis got the Portroe side off the mark in the first half, before Ruadhan Mulrooney became top scorer in the division when he pulled his side level after the break. Man of the match, Cathal O’Brien, gave Arra the lead from the spot, ahead of AJ Willis netting his second of the day which put daylight between the sides.

Portumna Town produced the biggest upset of the round with their 5-0 trouncing of Birdhill.

The Galway men took the lead thanks to an Adam Fogarty free kick. They doubled their lead shortly after through Donnacha O’Meara, and two became three courtesy of a David O’Meara strike. After the break, Graham Fogarty’s men continued the onslaught through Oisín O’Sullivan, before Fogarty added his second to put him off the top scorer in the division.

This is a statement win for Portumna, which suggests that the two newly promoted sides may in fact be the two sides heading back to division 2 in December.

Division 2

Rearcross ‘B’ kept the score respectable at half-time when the newly formed side entertained Holycross on Friday night, however, the floodgates opened in the second half with Holycross scoring 6, whilst the host’s only reply came through Aidan Bryan. For the visitors, Ben Slattery helped himself to four; Seanie Comerford netted a brace; and Jack Ryan also found the net in a 7-1 rout.

Templetouhy kept the pressure on Sallypark with a solid 2-0 away win in Borrisokane. Christy Moore netted his 14th of the season, whilst Jamie Bartlett got his fifth of the campaign.

Sallypark kept their promotion hopes alive with a 4-0 home win over Ballymackey ‘B’. Jimmy Shanahan scored twice for the hosts, whilst Danny Keogh and Danny O’Donoghue were also on target for Shane Hogan’s charges.

Youths Leagues

In division 1, Moneygall travelled to Templemore to take on BT Harps where the hosts ran out 7-2 winners’ courtesy of goals from Brian Bourke, Mark Davidson, Ciaran Barry, Dylan Quinlan, Mickey Coffey, and a brace from man of the match Jack Ryan. Both of the visitor’s goals came from Dylan McCormack.

At Villa Park, six first half goals were shared between Lough Derg and Killavilla United, before the hosts ran out 6-4 winners. Best for Killavilla was Michael Fitzgerald, who netted a brace; while Lee Doran, Josh Moriarty, James Treacy, and Richie O’Brien all found the net. Lough Derg goaled through Darragh Hickey and Cathal O’Donnell, with the latter rounding off an excellent display by completing his hat-trick.

In division 2, Ardcroney stayed perfect with a 3-0 home win over Silvermines ‘B’. The hosts took the lead through Jack Mulcahy, before doubling their advantage after the break – Andrew Hayes converting from the spot. Stuart Fox rounded off the scoring on the 82nd minute, in what was a physical game that lacked quality for large parts.

Lough Derg ‘B’ picked up all three points from their fixture against Holycross.