eircom League round-up

Last updated : 08 April 2006 By Gerry Ormonde
St. Patrick's Athletic 0, Drogheda United 1
Keegan 87
Paul Keegan was again a match-winner as Drogheda United struck late to extend their run at the top of the eircom League, Premier Division, table by picking up three precious points at Richmond Park.

Both teams went into this game unbeaten but it failed to produce the fireworks expected. Perhaps it was the cold, perhaps it was the rain, but neither team struck top form on a night when a draw looked a certainty for a long time.

It was St. Pats who enjoyed the better of the opening half but against a Drogheda defence that has yet to concede a goal in the League, they found chances difficult to create.

Drogheda were a much more effective force in the second half but just when it looked as if they would have to settle for a share of the points Paul Keegan stepped out of the shadows to centre stage.

He raced clear of the St. Pats defence and was cool and collected as he beat goalkeeper Barry Ryan to give Drogheda a fourth consecutive 1-0 win. After scoring winning goals already against Bray Wanderers and Bohemians, Keegan showed again why he has just been voted “Player of the Month” by the members of the Soccer-Writers' Association.

Cork City 2, Longford Town 1
O'Flynn 20, 54 Doherty 76
Cork City lost their first goal of the current eircom League campaign to Longford Town at Turner's Cross and were relieved at the final whistle not to have lost a little more.

Cork were the superior team for an hour and were not flattered to open up a two goals lead through centre-forward John O'Flynn within 54 minutes.

But a couple of substitutions helped invigorate Longford and their spirited come-back had Cork defending desperately for the closing ten minutes.

Cork were deserving of their win over the 90 minutes and their football at times was a joy to watch. But they were extremely wasteful of their chances and it was significasnt that both goals should have come from Longford errors.

The first came after 20 minutes when O'Flynn's persistence enabled him knock a ball out of the possession of centre-back Dan O'Connor. The ball ran to Roy O'Donovan on the right wing and his speeding cross was beautifully by Neale Fenn with his instep for the flying O'Flynn to hammer it home.

The second came in 54 minutes when Cillian Lordan forced Stephen Paisley to chase a ball towards his own goal with a long clearance.

Paisley was conscious of O'Donovan chasing him down from the right wing and as he attempted to head the ball back to goalkeeper Seamus Kelly he could not have seen O'Flynn racing from his left-hand side. O'Flynn cut the attempted back-pass off and stepped around Kelly before walking the ball into the net.

Cork lost goalkeeper Michael Devine with a knee injury after just 29 minutes and will probably have to play against Shelbourne in the Setanta Sports Cup against Shelbourne on Monday without him.

Substitute Mark McNulty was beaten by Kevin Doherty in the 76th minute after substitute Gary Cronin had set up another sub, Robbie Martin, for a cross from the left-wing.

But McNulty saved his side twice in the closing five minutes, holding a weak effort from Alan Kirby and then reacting brilliantly to save from Martin in added time.

Derry City 1, Bohemians 0.
O'Flynn 49

DERRY City maintained their excellent record over Bohemians in the eircom League, Premier Division, at the Brandywell last night.

And for 'Candy Stripes' boss, Stephen Kenny, it will have been a welcome win, Derry having amassed nine points from their opening four games.

The game was decided in the 49th minute when Paddy McCourt gained possession in the corner and his cut-back to Stephen O'Flynn was superbly chipped home from the edge of the area.

But the victory may have come at a cost as Derry lost the services of their star striker, Mark Farren, after just 17 minutes due to injury.

Waterford United 0, Shelbourne 1
Jason Byrne 40

A relieved Shelbourne recorded their first win of the campaign when, thanks mainly to a first half performance, they proved too good for bottom of the table side, Waterford United, at the RSC.

In a scrappy encounter, the Reds scored the game s only goal five minutes before half-time when a powerful 35-yard free by Jason Byrne beat the defensive wall and skidded into the net underneath the body of goalkeeper Jimmy Fyffe.

Shelbourne completely dominated the first 45 minutes, large portions of which were played deep inside the Waterford half. The Reds goalkeeper, Steve Williams, was never threatened but his counterpart was kept extremely busy although most of the goal-intended shots were slightly off target.

After only four minutes, Glen Crowe slipped a clever through ball to Joseph Ndo but his effort from 20 yards shaved the outside of the upright. Six minutes later, Crowe himself was on target but Fyffe did well to get his body behind the waist-high ball.

In the next half-hour, Dave Crawley, Bobby Ryan and Jamie Harris all went within a whisker of opening their account while, on 33 minutes, Crowe won possession six yards out from goal but was unable to swing his leg as he was crowded out by the United defence.

United introduced Darryl Kavanagh at half-time and he made an immediate difference as the Blues improved considerably. They put Shelbourne under considerable pressure for the first ten minutes and a Paul McCarthy blockbuster from an Ian Fraher free was deflected out for a corner.

On 68 minutes, United's Gavin Doyle almost caught the Shelbourne defence napping as he intercepted a short passing movement but his shot was weak and Williams reacted well to snuff out the danger.

However, it was not all one-way traffic and Fyffe had to be alert to save from Jason Byrne on 55 minutes and Crowe on 75 minutes.

Dublin City 0 Sligo Rovers 0

Dublin City were probably the more disappointed of the two teams not to have won at Dalymount Park in the eircom League, Premier Division, but Sligo Rovers could have snatched it in the second half.

This contest between the two teams promoted last season was tight and competitive but both teams spoiled their chances of taking all three points by poor finishing.

Dublin produced their best form in the opening half when Derek Pender, the lively David Freeman and Gavin McDonnell all troubled the Sligo defence.

Keith Foy, a former Dublin City player, was prominent for Sligo in the second half when they racked up missed chances as Paul McTiernan, Adam Hughes and att Judge all threatened but failed to deliver.

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