Hill Mechanical & Electrical Division 2
Moone Celtic FC 5 Kildare Town AFC 0
Moone Celtic and Kildare Town faced off in this KDFL Division 2 game in warm conditions at Fortfield Park on Sunday. From the tip off Moone went on the attack with the first chance falling to Kian Lawler within the opening sixty seconds however he failed to convert. Kian making his first start of the season was eager to impress and was lively with every opportunity that came his way and soon after his first attempt his second was a lob over the keeper but was unlucky not to open his account.
Moone were dominating the early exchanges and their next effort came from a long range shot from Liam Horan but that went narrowly wide on twelve minutes. Kildare Town started to get into the game after this period making inroads through their wingers numbers 7 and 11 who were keeping Aaron Dunne and Rory McCarthy busy in the Moone defence. Gaps started to appear in the Moone midfield and on twenty four minutes Kildare Town had their first chance but Cian Flood in the Moone goals was equal to it and put the ball out for a corner kick. Paddy Deering and Kian Lawler started to combine well upfront with both having chances before Moone opened the scoring on thirty three minutes. Owen Fox and Liam Horan combined to set Leon Fleming free down the left where he turned back onto his right and crossed for Curtis Fleming to control with the chest and shoot passed the Kildare keeper, no more than Moone deserved.
Moone continued to push and both Paddy Deering and Kian Lawler brought good saves from the Kildare Town keeper. Kildare were reduced to ten men on thirty six minutes when their number 4 was sent off for a deliberate handball as Curtis Fleming went to flick the ball around him which would have put him clean through on goals. From the resultant free the Kildare goalkeeper made another good save but could not hold onto the ball and Kian Lawler duly slotted home the rebound for his first and Moone's second. At this stage Owen Fox and Liam Horan were dominating the midfield exchanges, Fox particularly good at releasing his wingers with diagonal balls in behind the full backs. Half Time Moone Celtic 2-0 Kildare Town.
On the resumption of the second half Moone continued as they finished the first. Paddy Deering shooting inside the first sixty seconds and soon after a through ball from Owen Fox was a little too far for Kieran Flynn to get on the end of. Kildare themselves won a free when quick play out of their defence put Moone's defence under pressure however the resultant free kick never troubled Cian Flood in the Moone goals. With the comfort of a two goal lead, Moone made their first substitution when James Ashmore replaced Aaron Dunne. Kildare's goalkeeper came to their rescue again when he made another good save from a Liam Horan and Leon Fleming worked free kick. Second substitution saw Jamie Farrell replace Rory McCarthy. Moone never let up and the combination of Paddy Deering drew more shots on goal, Deering being released by Lawler only to be thwarted by the Kildare keeper, firstly saving to give Moone a corner and secondly gathering the resultant corner.
Kian Lawler continued to torment the Kildare defence and on the fifteenth minute of the second half drew three Kildare defenders to release Paddy Deering but Paddy's bad luck in front of goals today continued as he shot narrowly wide. Liam Horan picked up a loose ball in the middle and released Paddy Deering who turned provider for Kian Lawler to slot home his second. James Ashmore intercepted a ball on the right hand side of Moone's defence and from the resultant play going forward, Paddy Deering's bad luck continued as he shot wide in front of goals. Next two substitutions of the day saw Evan Farrell replace Liam Horan and James Byrne replace Owen Fox. As the game entered the final twenty minutes Kian Lawler collected a well deserved hat-trick following good work from Evan Farrell in midfield breaking up a Kildare attack. Charlie O'Connor was introduced for Kian Lawler soon after and both he and Evan Farrell were instrumental in setting Curtis Fleming up for his second and Moone's fifth. Soon after Moone worked the ball well up the right and a pinpoint cross from Paddy Deering was met on the edge of the box by Leon Fleming but he could not direct his powerful header on goals. Moone closed out the game comfortably and so it finished 5-0 to Moone.
While Kildare may have played well in patches, Moone dominated this game from the off and it could have been a lot more than the five but for some wayward shooting and some excellent saves from the Kildare goalkeeper. The goalkeeper along with numbers 7 and 11 were Kildare's best players. Defensively Moone were never really troubled, Cian Flood only being called into action twice. This goes down to good work from the defence and midfield who never let Kildare settle on the ball, particularly Aaron Dunne, Liam Horan and Owen Fox. Curtis Fleming was busy throughout and upfront Paddy Deering and Kian Lawler tormented Kildare for most of the ninty minutes.
Man of the Match is a tough one to call between Paddy Deering and Kian Lawler but today the award goes to Kian Lawler, never let up on the Kildare defence, got a well deserved hat trick, it could have been more and was unselfish in bringing other players into the game.
Other Feature game
FAI Angela Hearst Women’s Inter League Trophy 2023
(Group 2 Series 3)
Kildare & District League 2 Kilkenny & District League 3
The KDFL’s women's representative team hosted the Kilkenny league on a perfect Sunday afternoon at Doctors Road, Clane. Kilkenny, fresh from their comprehensive victory over Tipperary in the previous round of fixtures started the game very quick and dominated the midfield battle from the first whistle. With less than five minutes on the clock they got their early reward for the high pressing energy they brought to the game when they took an early 1-0 lead. Minutes later the KDFL gave themselves a mountain to climb when Kilkenny again got joy down the right wing when a cross whipped in evaded Kildare keeper Alice Breen and the No.7 slotted home to double their advantage.
This spurred Kildare into life and they began to wrestle back the initiative in midfield with Aoife Daly and Chelsie O Driscoll starting to pull the strings. Aoife called the Kilkenny defence into action for the first time in the game when her shot from the edge of the box was blocked after good build up play from Molly Nason. Midway through the half the Kildare ladies pressure paid off when Derry Rovers duo Colleen and Jessie Brereton combined down the right to get a great cross into the box that forced an OG to half the deficit. Alicia Kavanagh and Brooke Dunne were called into action again in the heart of the Kildare defence on the stroke of half time to keep a resurgent Kilkenny side at bay to see out the half with Kilkenny leading 2-1.
The second half started the same as the first with Kilkenny coming out of the traps quick and strong and within five minutes of the restart restored their two goal advantage when a miskick in the Kildare midfield allowed the Kilkenny number 8 to slot an inch perfect pass through the centre of the KDFL defence for their striker to make it 3-1. Kildare to their credit never dropped their heads and again were rewarded for their efforts when a free kick from Kilkenny broke down and the impressive Molly Nason picked out Chelsie O Driscoll who scored a contender for goal of the season when she spotted the Kilkenny keeper off her line and clipped the ball over her from all of thirty five yards to again put the minimum between the sides.. This spurred Kildare on again and Sarah Byrne released Aoife Daly down the left who turned inside to unleash a fierce shot that rattled the Kilkenny crossbar on the hour mark with the Kilkenny defence mopping up the rebound off the line. As Kildare went in search of the equaliser Kilkenny were defending well and looking dangerous on the counter attack but Alice Breen in the Kildare goals was equal to their efforts. Kildare emptied their bench with fifteen minutes to go hoping fresh legs would bring the equaliser with Enfield’s Hannah Dempsey and Edenderry Town’s Sarah Mc Nelis coming on to bolster the Kildare attack. Hannah quickly began to dominate the right wing and put in some great crosses for the Kildare strikers but Sarah Byrne and Molly Nason could not capitalise with the Kilkenny defence in no mood to give up their slender advantage. The final chance of the game fell to Alicia Kavanagh after some great work down the right by Fiona Byrne and Hannah who squared the ball to Alicia on the edge of the box who saw her well struck strike saved by the Kilkenny keeper. Kilkenny saw out the remaining two minutes of injury time to see out an impressive away victory and send them through to the semi finals with 2 wins from 2 in the campaign seeing them top group 2 of the series. Best for Kilkenny who will be formidable opposition to any team in the semi finals were the no.4, no.6 and no.8 while the KDFL Women who done themselves proud by never dropping their heads having conceded two early goals were best served by Alice Breen, captain Brooke Dunne and player of the match Chelsie O Driscoll.
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