LOI First Division Friday Round-Up
Friday, 2 October 2009There were wins for Mervue and Wexford Youths, while Shels and UCD and Monaghan and Sporting Fingal fought our high scoring draws.
KILDARE 0-1 MERVUE UNITED
Mervue Utd recorded their third win in eleven months at happy hunting ground, Station Road, as they moved ten points clear of bottom of the table Kildare County after this 1-0 win tonight.
A second half cracker from young 18 year old midfielder Pat Hoban settled this contest and has surely confined Kildare to a second successive bottom finish and another relegation play-off.
It was a deserved win for the visitors as they were on top for large portions of the game particularly in the second half. Mervue began the game with David Goldbey and Rory Gaffney recalled to the side in place of the suspended duo of Mark Ludden and Alex Lee while Kildare had five players serving suspensions.
Mervue were on top in a scoreless first half with Rory Gaffney missing a good chance on 28 minutes after being set up by young Hoban, but he tried to lob Kildare keeper Darren Kelly but his effort flew over the crossbar. Two minutes later Mike Tierney flicked on a Gaffney cross for Hoban to flash a diving header just wide of the mark as they looked the more likely to open the scoring.
Kildare were unlucky just before the break when a Phillip Hughes effort caught Mervue keeper Eoin Martin out, but a mound of sand on the goal line seemed to prevent the ball from crossing the line before Martin gratefully gathered the ball!
It took Mervue until the 74 minute to finally break the deadlock but it was a goal worthy of winning any game. Hoban picked up the ball inside the Kildare half and ran at the defence before unleashing a cracking drive into Kelly's top corner for what was to be the winning score.
Mervue thought they had added a second minutes later when Mike Tierney's shot was palmed away by Kelly only to sub Evan Connolly and he blasted the ball to the back of the net, only for the assistant referee to flag for offside.
Despite some late pressure and a number of Kildare corners the visitors defended well and secured a vital three points which saw them jump above Longford Town and put ten points between themselves and Kildare with only five games remaining.
Kildare County: Kelly; Walsh, Tiernan, Coleman, Powderly (Lawrence h/t); Daly, Jackson, Kinsella, Brady; Hughes, Bowers.
Mervue Utd: Martin; Curran, O'Rourke, Danaher, Farrell; Hoban, Crehan, Tierney, Gaffney (Keady 80); O'Dowd, Goldbey (Connolly 75).
Referee: S. Templeman.
SHELBOURNE 2-2 UCD
Ten man league leaders UCD twice came from behind to earn a draw in a cracking game of football in Tolka Park, to remain ahead of hosts Shelbourne on goal difference.
David McAllister had put the Reds ahead on 8 minutes, only for Brian Shortall to level the game 9 minutes later. McAllister popped up again after a goal mouth scramble to give his side the lead again on 35 minutes.
Despite having Shortall sent off just after the hour, the Students fought back to share the spoils, with a 75th minute equaliser from David McMillan.
MONAGHAN UNITED 2-2 SPORTING FINGAL
Sporting Fingal's First Division promotion hopes suffered a blow when they were held 2-2 by battling Monaghan United at Kingspan Century Park.
A slow Fingal start saw them trail to a well-taken Darragh Hanaphy strike in the 15th minute.
But Conan Byrne's slick free-kick on 26 and a spectacular volleyed goal from Alan Kirby two minutes later seemed to turn the game decisively in their favour.
United dominated the second half however and deservedly equalised through Alan Byrne's header in the 68th minute.
Monaghan had the better winning chances, with their keeper Aaron McCarey almost clinching the game for them in stunning
fashion with a wind-assisted clearance upfield that his opposite number Chris Kanopka had to tip over the bar.
