TSDL Premier League 19th May 2024 Match Reports
Tipperary Town 5 – 0 Wilderness Rovers
Tipperary Town gave themselves a massive shot at escaping the relegation trap door with a five goal win at home to already relegated Wilderness Rovers on a sunny Sunday morning at the weekend. Knowing nothing less than a victory would do, Olek Ivanov got the ball rolling at the Arra Rd when he finished off a peach of a cross from Caleb Hickey in the tenth minute. But they were extremely wasteful after that, missing a host of chances to extend their lead before going to the break a single goal to the good. They found their groove however in the second half, and only four minutes in, added a second when Ryan Maher capitalised on a defensive error to finish from close range. In the sixtieth minute, Ivanov linked up with Alex Mason and whipped a brilliant finish to the top corner to make it three. That became four twenty minutes from time when Vinny Godfrey hit what has now become a trademark free kick that left the visiting keeper flapping at air. Caleb Hickey rounded off a good display to finish a one on one and end the game with a fifth goal three minutes from time.
Cahir Park 2 – 2 Bansha Celtic
With Tipperary Town getting a big win at home, it was imperative that Bansha Celtic get something from this game, and they duly managed a vital point in a pulsating two all draw. The home team got off to the perfect start taking the lead after just three minutes, thanks to a shot by James Darcy that finished low in the corner of the net from edge of area. This gave the hosts control of the game, and they really should have killed it off with the chances they made inside the first quarter of an hour. But Celtic hung on, and got their reward for perseverance when they were awarded a penalty in the twentieth minute that was finished to the net by Cian O Dwyer to level the game. The remainder of half was very even with few more chances and no more goals.
The hosts dominated the second half but failed to score, until veteran Chris Higgins finally found the net twenty minutes from the end. He finished of his own good work with a fine strike from ten yards. But like busses another goal came along almost immediately when Eamon Quirke popped up at the end of a rare Celtic attack to score from the edge of the area. That was how the game was to finish, giving Celtic some hope of survival, but their fate is now out of their own hands, so they will be left to wait and hope on the results of other games from here on in.
Clonmel Credit Union Tipperary Cup Final 18th May 2024
Tipperary Cup Final
St Michael’s 1 – 0 Clonmel Celtic
They came, they saw and they conquered on a sunny Saturday evening, as St Michael’s retained their Tipperary Cup title once again, beating Clonmel opposition. Last year it was the Old Bridge who fell to the Saint’s at the final hurdle, while this years edition saw Clonmel Celtic put to the sword. But the losing side didn’t make it easy, and are a testament to the strength of football in the TSDL, with how hard they pushed the league champions on the night. In fact, in front of a huge crowd at Cahir Park, it was the Clonmel side who started the better, flashing the ball around at pace, and dragging the normally composed Saint’s defence this way and that on a number of occasions. The first real chance of the game came six minutes in, when Celtic fashioned a good move down the right hand side, and a ball was flashed across the penalty area, with the inrushing Sean Browne only inches away from making the contact that would have put his side in front. Five minutes later, in a very similar move, but this time down the opposite side, another ball across the area eluded both Julian Kerton and Philip Drohan, and the game remained scoreless. And as so often happens, when a team faces Michael’s in the ascendency, and do not take advantage, they are made to pay. In the sixteenth minute, veteran winger Jimmy Carr showed his full range of skills when he cut inside from the left and placed a brilliant cross onto the head of Ed O Dwyer who made no mistake from close in, and put the holders in front. After this, they had a number of close efforts as they attempted to kill the game off quickly, but Celtic composed themselves and they two teams played out a dour midfield struggle for the rest of the half, with Michael’s going into the break in front.
The second half then followed a similar pattern as the concluding part of the first, with Saint’s having the better of the midfield battle, but finding it difficult to make progress, in many cases due to the excellent work of Celtic’s Kevin Hawkin’s, who was universally regarded as having a brilliant game by both sets of supporters. They finally looked to have found a leveller midway through the half, when Siant’s keeper Adrian Walsh uncharacteristically dropped a shot at the feet of Sean Browne, but he showed all his years of experience in getting a foot on it to make a block from Browne’s close in effort. This shook St Michael’s into getting back to trying to get a second to make things more comfortable, and they almost did with fifteen minutes left to go, when Rhys O Regan dinked an effort from the edge of the area, that saw Fabian Kerton back pedal and tip over the crossbar, for a brilliant save. Just minutes after this, Saint’s were reduced to ten men, when one of their players was unlucky to pick up a second yellow, and Celtic committed more players to try to find a leveller. The closest they came was when Rory O Dowd found himself in space on the left, cut in, and forced Walsh to make a save, and the chance was lost. After that, the Saint’s showed why they are serial winners, and closed down the game to run out champions and pick up their third piece of silverware in what has been another very successful season.