KDFL SENIOR DIVISION TEAM FOCUS

League cup action!

Coill Dubh AFC 1 2 Newbridge Hotspurs FC (AET)

On a picturesque Friday evening in Coill Dubh, the hosts welcomed Senior League outfit Newbridge Hotspur to Cusack Park for the second round of the prestigious KDFL Lumsden League Cup. Despite a spirited and confident performance, Coill Dubh were edged out in extra time, with Hotspur booking their place in the third-round draw.

The opening stages saw both sides cautiously sussing each other out. Coill Dubh nearly made the breakthrough in the 11th minute when Jamie Mooney found himself with a golden opportunity, only for a heroic combination of goalkeeper and defender to clear his effort off the line.

Though short on confidence, Coill Dubh were the more threatening side. However, it was Newbridge Hotspur who struck first against the run of play. A well-worked move saw Michael Murphy deliver a pinpoint cross to Owen McGrath, who finished clinically to put the visitors ahead.

Coill Dubh responded superbly, finding an equaliser through Jason Devine. Joe Bowers whipped in a precise cross which Devine met with a stunning volley to level the score at 1–1 going into the break.

The second half was perhaps a game which lacked many clear cut chances. That said, some chances did occur. On the 48th minute, Mikey Murphy had a shot blocked and from the rebound, Chris Higgins shot at goal went just wide. On the 65th minute, Scott O’Donoghue had a shot but it also went wide of the post. On the 71st minute, Niall Flynn following good foot work struck a ferocious shot at goal but the keeper pulled off an excellent save. On the 88th minute, Conor McLoughlin had his header saved by the Coill Dubh keeper. The game was 1-1 and extra time was now required to try settle this game.Hotspurs changed formation and some personnel at full time. This had the desired effect. It was on the 5th minute in extra time when the key moment occurred. Niall Flynn done well on the left hand side and found space, he looked up and seen Scott O’Donoghue in space on the right, Flynn played a delicious pass to O’Donoghue who struck on the volley to go past the Coill Dubh keeper, 2-1 to Hotspurs. In the 3rd minute of the second half in extra time, Flynn nearly made it 3-1 but the keeper was on hand to thwart the effort. Game finished 2-1 to Hotspurs who now advance to the next round.Best for Hotspurs were Sean Higgins, Eamon Doyle, Mikey Murphy, Niall Flynn and Hotspurs man of the match Tomas Hennessy. Best for the home side were Joe Bowers and u17 player and man of the Match Lennon O'Shaughnessy 

Senior League action !

Clane United FC 3 3 Naas United FC

Naas Utd came from behind three times to come away from Doctors Road with a vital point. Two penalties from centre back John Paul Higgins and a screamer from winger Owen Moran keep Naas in second spot in the table. Clane were looking to bounce back after a disappointing result against Clonmullion started bright and soon took an early lead .  Stephen Leavy whipped in an inviting comer and as it bounced around the box Sean Connolly reacted best to give the home side an early advantage.  Naas had to defend three more corners before Joe Murray had their first chance as he broke away and struck a shot just over on 7 minutes. This definitely boosted the away side as they could see they were a threat to both full backs and on 11 minutes they equalized for the first time when Joe Murray picked the ball up on the half way line, feinted to go down the left, but turned inside brilliantly and worked the ball out wide to Owen Moran, Moran took his man on as he reached the corner of the box he unleashed a perfect shot low across the keeper and into the bottom corner. On the half hour mark Clane regained the lead as Andrew Hyland played in Aidan Ralph who made no mistake to make it 2 - 1.  The lead didnt last too long though as Naas were awarded a penalty when Joe Murray was hacked down as he won the ball first after good play from Stephen Tilly. John Paul Higgins stepped up from center back to take the spot kick and he calmly slotted the ball to the bottom left to level the scores at 2-2. On the stroke of half time Clane were dealt a blow as they lost Sean Connolly to injury. Both teams had half chances for the rest of the half with Murray, and Scott O’Neill shooting from distance for Naas, while Clane had a great effort from 30 yards out saved by Keith Higgins as Hyland hit a pile driver. Aidan Ralph had swapped to the right but he found Stephen Tilly in no mood to allow him any freedom and Naas defence tightened up well to see out the half at 2-2. 

The second Half started in the same vein with the home side having the majority of the possession and Naas looking dangerous on the break and defending brilliantly with a series of blocks notably from Jamie Dunne from a Cathal Geoghegan effort bound for the net .  Clane took the lead for a third time with a Mark Kelly header from a Ryan Murran corner .  Clane who failed add a 4th were under pressure in closing stages with Naas committing more players forward .  In the 92nd the visitors were awarded a penalty as Haverty took down the Naas striker.  The referee pointed to the spot and Higgins again made no mistake to level it up 3 3. Naas displayed a serious never say die attitude tonight and both side served up a fantastic game of football. Hyland was outstanding for Clane, while Naas had Stephen Tilly as there man of the match with Joe Murray and John Paul Higgins also standing out for there involvement in the goals. Best for Clane were Sean Connolly and Ryan Murran.

Clonmullion FC 3 0 Arlington FC

Clonmullion continued their fantastic unbeaten run by defeating Arlington in Micheál O Neill Park on Saturday evening. Constant pressure from the home side eventually paid off in the 23rd minute when Ceilum Maher slid a ball into Cody Mulhall who’s deft flick drew the foul from James Haberlin inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot and Mulhall picked himself up to slot the spot kick off the inside of the post to give keeper McEvoy no chance. The Mull played some fantastic possession football and a patient build up move between Nathan Robinson and Johnny Fennel fed the ball out wide to Chris Chanders who whipped in a great ball which Maher just failed to get on the end of on the half hour mark. Garry Comerford and Keane Cully were in total control in the heart of the home defence and their distribution was causing Arlington real problems. Despite dominating possession some wayward finishing and good goalkeeping by McEvoy kept the lead to a minimum until half time. 

Five minutes into the second half Lee Doyle headed an Iain Higgins corner clear to Bryan Byrne who raced clear and played Maher through but a last ditch tackle by Haberlin denied him a clear shot on goal. On the hour mark Jake Nicholl picked out Chanders with a lovely free kick but his headed effort was cleared off the line by Mark Ugochukwu but Byrne clipped the ball back in to Maher who's shot went just over the bar. Five minutes later came the goal that all the pressure by the home side deserved when a brilliantly worked corner routine by Robinson picked out Mulhall loitering on the edge of the box and his half volley crashed into the back of the net. With 75 minutes on the clock Byrne who was causing the visitors defence real problems all game with his pace and trickery passed to Tom Nolan who's first time effort was charged down by Phelim O Kane. Home keeper Evan Gratton was called into action with ten minutes left from a snapshot on the edge of the box from B McEvoy but he saved comfortably. Just before the final whistle full back Doyle went on another overlapping run down the right and as he was about to shoot he was fouled by O Kane and the referee pointed to the spot again. Mulhall stepped up and made no mistake to make it 3 nil which was no more than the winner's deserved. 

Old Fort Celtic FC 3 3 Newbridge United FC

Old fort Celtic welcomed Senior division high flyers Newbridge United who are in fine form to Portlaoise on Sunday morning. It was Newbridge who started The brightest and looked dangerous in the final third but the Old Fort rear guard of David Costigan, Eoin Carroll and Daniel Harty dealt with everything in the early exchanges. Half way through the first half, Newbridge started to turn the screw, Ryan Kearney playing a free role was starting to dictate things and his link up play with Denis Kave was starting to cause some problems. It was a set piece which created the biggest change of the first half, a dangerous cross into the box was met by the Newbridge attacker but it found the post, the follow up fell to Kearney who fired his shot off the crossbar and the chance had gone.

Denis Kave was next to have a big chance only to see his effort superbly saved by Conor Lewis in the old fort goal. Half time came and it was 0-0 at the break. 15 minutes into the 2nd half, Newbridge broke the deadlock. It came from a corner with the ball being whipped into the back post where it took an unlucky bounce off Ben Doyle’s knee which turned it into his own net. It didn’t take long for Newbridge to get a 2nd, a through ball down the left found the on rushing Cian Kennedy who made no mistake with a back post finish.

Being 2 goals down didn’t seem to phase Old Fort and immediately tried to get back into the game, it only took 5 mins when Byron McGuirk got on the end of an Eoin Carroll diagonal pass and McGuirk made no mistake with a lobbed finish over Newbridge keeper McDonnell. 

3 minutes later, Old Fort kept the pressure in the Newbridge defence, Daryl Ntumba picked the ball up in the penalty area and drove past 2 players before he was bundled over and awarded a penalty. Liam Browne stepped up and slotted it into the bottom corner to make it 2-2.

The visitors keen to reply went straight on the attack and won a corner, it fell to the Newbridge player 8 yards out and what looked a certain goal, Conor Lewis spread himself and pulled off another superb save to keep the game level at 2-2, the ball broke out to Old Forts Daniel Gorman on the right hand side who drove at the United defence, some nice link up play and he found himself running towards the byline and his pin point cross found Patryk Staniec at the back post and he made no mistake with a finish into the roof of the net. 3-2 to Old Fort with 10 mins left.

The visitors started to throw everything at the Old Fort defence in the final minutes and had some half chances but their 3rd goal came on the 90th minute. Again another corner causing problems which was failed to be cleared, the ball landed at the feet of James Mahoney on the edge who whipped in a dangerous cross that beat everyone and found its way into the bottom corner of the net to make it 3-3.

There would still be some final drama in the closing stages when a long clearance from the Old Fort defence found Staniec who went through on goal and looked certain to score but his effort was mishit and sailed wide. Just moments later, another through ball was picked up by Sean Savage who raced through on goal but his effort was saved by McDonnell in the Newbridge goal.

Final whistle came and result was 3-3 which both teams probably felt they could have won it but they shared the points. Best on the day for Old Fort was Patryk Staniec, Byron McGuirk and substitute Dan Gorman was brilliant when introduced, but man of the match goes to the Old Fort keeper Conor Lewis who made some unbelievable saves throughout the game and can feel very unlucky not to be on a winning side today. Best for United  were James Mahoney  and Jamie Headon.

Rathangan AFC 2 1 Moone Celtic FC

No reports received.