LEINSTER HEAT PUMPS SENIOR DIVISION FOCUS.

Lumsden Cup Action.

Suncroft AFC 0 4 Clonmullion FC

The defending champions travelled to Suncroft on a breezy Friday evening to begin their

Lumsden League Cup campaign. They had a great chance to open the scoring after just

4 minutes when Michael Lawless brilliantly picked out Cody Mulhall with a pinpoint pass.

Mulhall expertly controlled the ball as it dropped out of the clouds and with his second

touch rolled the ball into the path of Joe Doran but he shot straight at Doyle who parried

the ball to safety. Three minutes later Tom Nolan won the ball back 25 yards out and

passed to Mulhall who set up Nathan Robinson who's shot went just wide. On twenty

minutes Robinson turned provider as he slipped Nolan in but he also shot straight at

Doyle who gathered comfortably. The breakthrough came two minutes later when a Jake

Nicholl throw in was flicked on by Chris Chanders and fell to Mulhall with his back to

goals. But his quick thinking seen him flick the ball up for himself to hit an amazing

overhead bicycle kick into the back of the net to illustrate the quality of an outstanding

player. Suncroft were working hard to gain possession but were limited to a couple of long

range efforts from Cathal Mahon. With ten minutes to the halftime whistle Clonmullion had

a long spell of possession pulling the Croft midfielders out of position and allowed Mark

Hughes to stride out from the back to put Mulhall through again and he unselfishly passed

to Doran who's well struck shot went just wide. With five minutes remaining in the first half

after good approach play by substitute Keelan Lacey and Nicholl the visitors were

awarded a corner after which Robinson beautifully flighted the ball in to the danger area

and it flew into the back of the net to make it 2 nil. Two minutes later Mulhall chipped a

great pass over the defence to Doran who rounded the keeper but the angle was too

narrow and his shot hit the outside of the post and wide. 

Five minutes into the second half it was 3 nil when Mulhall was taken down inside the box

and picked himself up to make no mistake from the spot. He was at the heart of another

dangerous move as he played a classy one two with Nicholl with the latter stinging the

hands of the keeper from 12 yards out. Suncroft never stopped working hard and the front

three of Josh Lee, JJ Harnett and Craig Durney looked lively but were limited to crosses

and shots from out wide which Lawless could deal comfortably with. Keane Cully and

Noel Kelly were introduced with thirty minutes remaining for the injured Jay Connell and

Doran and a great diagonal pass from Cully picked out Lee Doyle who's first time effort

fizzed just wide of the mark. Robinson was running the show from midfield and his work

rate was a huge factor in his team's dominance. He picked out Kelly with a 40 yard cross

field pass and he again shot narrowly wide. However the scoring wasn't finished yet and

in additional time Lawless released Danny Thompson down the wing and he passed to

Lacey who returned the ball to Thompson who squared to Kelly who tapped home from

close range. Best for Suncroft were keeper Kelly, Mahon in midfield and Lee, Harnett and

Durney up top. The back four for Clonmullion were rock solid coolly marshalled by

Hughes. The central midfield duo of Chanders and Robinson ran the game with a

combination of vision and work rate. While the overhead bicycle kick of Mulhall to open

the scoring will be remembered and spoken about for years to come. 

Newbridge Hotspurs 2 1 Straffan AFC

Hotspurs finally got their Lumsden cup campaign underway on Saturday evening at a

sunny Snigs Brogan Park. Straffan were the visitors to Snigs Brogan and came there full

of confidence after having a flying start to the year in the Premier Division only losing 1

game and looking good for promotion to the Senior division. 

The game started at a frantic pace and Hotspurs started off on top. The pressure told in

the 8th minute when Hotspurs took the lead. A ball played from the left hand side by

Tommy Walsh into Ciaran Glynn. Glynn then skipped by 1 player and laid off a ball to

Scott O Donoghue on the left who whipped in a beautiful ball to the on rushing Niall Flynn

who finished excellently. 1-0 Hotspurs. Hotspurs didn’t let up and were again rewarded on

the 22nd minute. A corner whipped in by Eamon Doyle from the left to the back post was

met by the head of Glynn. Glynn directed the header back across the box to Eoin

McGrath who tapped it in to make it 2-0 to Hotspurs.  5 minutes later, Straffan got their

first opportunity when a ball played in behind the Hotspurs defence to the number 8 of

Straffan who struck it first time but Sean Higgins in goal made a excellent save onto the

post to keep it 2-0. 

Turning point of the game came in the 33rd minute when Hotspurs were reduced to 10

men. 

This didn’t deter Hotspurs who 5 minutes later won a penalty thanks to excellent work by

Niall Flynn. Flynn stepped up to take the penalty but missed. 2-0 Half time. The second

half was a different tale to the first. Straffan with the extra man advantage started to pile

the pressure onto Hotspurs. However, the backline of Scott O Connor, Barry Doyle,

Robbie Higgins and Tommy Walsh. Most of the game was played with Straffan keeping

the ball but Hotspurs defended brilliantly with 10 men. On the 82nd Minute Straffan were

awarded a penalty and dispatched it making it 2-1 with 10 to play.  The last 10 Hotspurs

defended brilliantly again and didn’t give Straffan another chance meaning Hotspurs

progress to meet Newbridge United in the 2nd Round.  Best for Hotspurs - Sean Higgins

in goal, Robbie Higgins and Scott O Connor at the back, Eamon Doyle in Midfield and

Niall Flynn and Scott O Donoghue up front. 

Hotspurs Man of the Match - Tommy Walsh

Clane United 4 0 Kildare Town

Clane United produced an outstanding attacking display to secure a comprehensive 4–0

victory over Kildare Town on Friday evening with young striker Gavin Denton delivering a

4 star performance.

Clane started the brighter of the two sides on a perfect night for football at Doctors Road

In the early stages Clane looked sharp in possession, applying sustained pressure on the

Kildare Town defence. Kildare, playing with the benefit of a strong breeze, looked to go

from back to front quickly and test Clane's verten duo Jack Kelly and Thomas Hyland at

the heart of the defence but found both in fine form on the night. Despite dominating

possession and territory Clane gave up the first big chance of the night on 10 when some

real quality from Farrell and Sheedy in the Kildare midfield freed up Jack Downes whose

shot from 18 yards failed to trouble Anderson in the Clane goal.

At the other end Clane's Nathan Carr and Kildare's Josh Burns were enjoying a fantastic

tussle with Carr getting the better on 20 and winning his side a corner that came to

nothing. as the half worn on Ryan Murran and Josh McDonald started to dominate the

middle of the park and it was a deft pass from mcDonald on 37 that saw young Denton

spring the offside trap and finish past McDonnell for the breakthrough . The goal reflected

Clane’s control in the opening period.

Just before the interval, Clane midfielder Stephen . Leavy was shown a yellow card (45'),

adding a slight note of caution, but the home side maintained their advantage heading

into the break with Andrew Hyland and Murran controlling the game. Clane United began

the second half with intent and extended their lead on 51 minutes. following great play

down the Clane Left , McDonald clipped the ball towards Denton who got across the

defender , clipped the ball up and volleyed brilliantly past McDonnell who could do

nothing.

The game was effectively put to bed on 59 when Denton chased down a long clearance

by Cathal Geoghegan and cut in off the left and struck from 20 yards to the bottom left

corner - a real poachers goal!.

With a comfortable lead, Clane rotated their squad Ross Murphy and Eoin Doyle added

to a dominant front line performance. The changes maintained Clane’s intensity, and they

capped off an excellent night in the 89th minute, when Denton fired home his fourth goal,

sealing an emphatic victory and completing a remarkable individual performance.This

was a dominant and clinical performance from Clane United, combining attacking

sharpness with strong game management. Denton’s four-goal haul was the standout

feature, but the cohesion across the team—particularly in midfield and attack—proved

decisive. Best for Clane, Gavin Denton – Four goals (37’, 51’, 59’, 89’), Josh McDonald –

Two assists, Jack Kelly - excellent in a clean sheet performance