Leinster Heat Pumps Senior Division Team Focus.

League action

Old Fort Celtic FC 1 2 Kildare Town AFC 

Old Fort Celtic and Kildare Town played out a tightly contested, entertaining affair for their fourth meeting of the season.  Despite both squads missing a number of regular players, it was the visiting Kildare Town who ultimately walked away with a narrow 2–1 victory.

Kildare Town started the brighter of the two sides and found the breakthrough just eight minutes into the match. Sam Murphy triggered the move with a delightful pass wide to Josh Burns.  Burns whipped a sweet ball across the penalty area, and amidst a moment of confusion in the Old Fort backline, the impressive Evan Flynn found himself unmarked to flick the ball home from close range. Fuelled by the early advantage, Kildare's front four of Flynn, Dylan Connolly, Ross Farrell, and Leon Tsang began causing massive problems for the hosts. 

However, Old Fort responded with resilience. A combination of committed defending and excellent goalkeeping kept Kildare from extending their lead. As the half progressed, Old Fort grew into the game. Ashby Bermeo came agonisingly close to an equalizer, forcing two outstanding saves from the Kildare goalkeeper with a pair of well-struck efforts.  While Kildare controlled long stretches of possession, sloppy finishing and Old Fort's stubborn rearguard kept it a single-goal game at the break.

Old Fort started the second period with much greater urgency, spearheaded by the tireless pressing and intelligent movement of Patryk Staniec.  The hosts' pressure finally broke the Kildare defence in the 70th minute. Staniec brilliantly dispossessed the last defender, rounded the keeper, and selflessly pulled the ball back to Bermeo.  Bermeo showed great awareness to feed Lee Carroll Talbot, who produced a delicate, clinical chipped finish from 20 yards out to make it 1–1. Stung by the equalizer, Kildare immediately regained control of the tempo and pushed bodies forward.  The decisive moment came just five minutes later in the 75th minute, engineered by two inspired substitutions from the Kildare bench. Jack Downes intercepted the ball and picked out Dylan Aulsberry with a brilliant pass. Aulsberry got in behind the defence, danced past three defenders, and showed superb composure to round the Old Fort goalkeeper before smashing the ball into the empty net to restore Kildare's lead. Old Fort threw everything forward in the closing stages, pressing hard for a late equalizer, but a resolute Kildare defence held firm under pressure to secure all three points.

Best for the vistors were Dan Harty:  Earned the top individual honours for a commanding, rock-solid performance in defence. Lee Carroll Talbot: Shone in midfield and capped off his performance with a brilliantly technical 20-yard goal. Tyler Dempsey, Ashby Bermeo, & Brian Smith:  All put in highly impressive shifts to keep Old Fort competitive throughout.

For the winners Sam Murphy: Assured, calm, and dominant at the heart of the defence all game while helping spark the opening goal. Evan Flynn:  A constant menace for the front four, taking his early goal with excellent predatory instincts. Adam Downes:  Instrumental in maintaining the visitors' shape and intensity across the 90 minutes.

Caragh Celtic FC 1 Clonmullion FC 5

Caragh hosted league leaders Clonmullion at Donore on Sunday morning in perfect conditions on a beautiful surface. It didn't take the visitors long to create the first chance when Cody Mulhall passed to the overlapping Lee Doyle who pulled the ball back to Nathan Robinson who shot first time but keeper Barry Cassidy got a hand to it to push it onto the post and out for a corner. Mulhall took charge and in a well-rehearsed set piece rolled the ball to Joe Doran who returned it and Mulhall drilled it low to the keepers right to put his side ahead after 5 minutes. Two minutes later Nathan Doyle won the ball back in midfield and passed to Mulhall 35 yards out and he unleashed a swerving, dipping shot that arrowed into the top corner giving Cassidy no chance and make it 2 nil. The Doyle brothers combined to set up Mulhall 5 minutes later and he cleverly scooped the ball over the advancing defence for Doran but Cassidy was quickly off his line to smother the shot. Caragh forced their way back into the game in the 35th minute when Eoghan Merriman won the ball back in midfield and passed to Joseph Coffey who finished clinically from 12 yards out. Clonmullion squandered several chances to score a third mainly from the hard working Lee Doyle who was causing huge problems for Caragh down the right with his pace and crosses. Doyle could have got on the score sheet himself as he latched onto the ball after a clever dummy by Mulhall but he shot over the bar from close range. 

The second half started in much the same manner with the visitors dominating possession and Nathan Doyle crossed to Doran but he volleyed wide. Nathan Moore picked up the ball in midfield and passed to Merriman who's effort just cleared the post with ten minutes gone in the second half. A minute later Nathan Doyle made a brilliant run down the right and crossed to the back post where Jake Nicholl took a touch to control the ball and smashed it in to the bottom corner to make it 3 1 to The Mull. Shortly after Mulhall turned provider as he picked out Doran at the back post and he volleyed home to score the fourth. Nathan Robinson whipped in a wicked free kick with 15 minutes remaining but Cassidy stretched to finger tip the ball over the bar. Mulhall completed his hat trick from the penalty spot after Nicholl had been taken down inside the box. Best for Caragh were Cassidy in goals Merriman and Coffey in midfield. Best for the visitors were full backs Nicholl and Doyle while wingers David Murphy and Nathan Doyle were dangerous throughout while man of the match was hat trick hero Cody Mulhall who continued his outstanding form through his work rate and leadership.

Midweek report (League action!)

Clonmullion FC 4 Coill Dubh AFC 0

A severely depleted Coill Dubh side produced a spirited display despite falling to a 4-0 defeat away to league leaders Clonmullion. With injuries, holidays, work commitments and a midweek fixture leaving the squad stretched, Coill Dubh fielded seven second-team players, while manager Trevor McLoughlin was also named on the matchday squad. Despite the setbacks, the visitors more than held their own for long periods against a Clonmullion side that has been the dominant force in Kildare football over the past decade.

Coill Dubh set up to frustrate the hosts and executed their game plan well throughout the opening exchanges. Clonmullion struggled to create clear-cut chances until the 20th minute when Cody Mulhall's effort deflected off David Murphy into the path of Joe Doran, the striker made no mistake as he slotted home to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. The visitors responded well and created their best chance of the half on 32 minutes. Jamie Mooney, who has been one of Coill Dubh's standout performers this season, surged past several challenges before delivering a dangerous low cross that somehow evaded Jamie Byrne at the back post.

Clonmullion enjoyed plenty of possession but were largely restricted to efforts from distance, with Nathan Robinson and Chris Chanders both testing the Coill Dubh goalkeeper from long range.

Half-time: Clonmullion 1-0 Coill Dubh

Coill Dubh were forced into a change at the break when Dion Dowling, who had impressed during the opening 45 minutes, was unable to continue after feeling unwell. Manager Trevor McLoughlin came on and took over in goal, prompting a reshuffle in the visitors' formation.

Clonmullion capitalised on the disruption early in the second half. Cody Mulhall delivered a dangerous corner and Chris Chanders rose highest to head against the crossbar.  Mulhall continued to test the stand-in goalkeeper with several efforts from distance, but the 46-year-old McLoughlin rolled back the years with a string of assured saves, dealing comfortably with everything that came his way. Coill Dubh continued to ask questions of the Clonmullion defence, and Jamie Mooney again threatened, forcing an excellent save from Mick Lawless.

However, Clonmullion extended their lead on 58 minutes. Mark Hughes found Jake Nicholl, whose pinpoint cross was met first time by Joe Doran, who rifled an unstoppable volley home from eight yards for his second goal of the evening. To their credit, Coill Dubh never let their heads drop and continued to battle until the final whistle. Will Carroll, scorer of 16 goals for the club's second team this season, came close to reducing the deficit but was denied by another fine save from Lawless. Clonmullion introduced several substitutes and nearly produced the goal of the game when Mark Hughes danced through the Coill Dubh defence, only to be denied by a superb save from McLoughlin, who somehow managed to push the effort around the post. The hosts eventually added a fourth when Nathan Doyle finished off an excellent team move to round off the scoring. While Clonmullion remain firmly on course to claim another league title, Coill Dubh can take great encouragement from a brave and committed performance. Given the circumstances and the quality of the opposition, the visitors left Michael O'Neill Park with plenty of positives despite the scoreline. Best for Coill Dubh were Jamie Mooney, Joe Bower, Craig Lenehan and Trevor McLoughlin. While best for the winners were  Chris Chanders,  Joe Doran and Ricky Moriarty.