Munster Junior Cup quarter final 19th March 2023
Match Reports
Peake Villa 2 – 3 Fairview Rangers
There was heartbreak for TSDL side Peake Villa on Sunday last in Thurles, when a late penalty in normal time denied them a famous victory against Limerick kingpins, and then losing out in extra time. The game started at a frantic pace and Villa had the first chance at goal in just the second minute when Pippy Carroll attempted an audacious lob, but his effort slid just inches wide. Carroll was involved again in the fifteenth minute, being the provider this time, to Ronan McGuire whose header went just over. Fairview weathered the storm, and bounced back like so many great teams, and against the run of play they took the lead in the twenty seventh minute when Jeffery Judge scored, slipped beyond the home defence and made no mistake from close in. Villa didn’t drop the heads however, and again Carroll came close from a free kick in the thirty sixth minute, but it was well saved by Josh McCarthy in the Fairview goal. They went to the break a single goal behind and came out with real purpose in the second half, creating chance after chance. They finally made the pressure count in the seventieth minute when a great cross was put in by Darragh Byrne and left back Dale Loughnane who made his way into the box, got on the end of it to steer his shot under the keepers body and level the game. They were then forced to defend almost immediately from the kick off when Fairview almost struck back only for a great goal line clearance by veteran Alan Leahy. The Tipperary side turned the tie on its head, when they took the lead in the seventy third minute, with Keith Cahill playing in Ronan Mc Guire to score with a fine finish. This forced the Limerick side to throw everything at Villa in the search of a leveller, it looked like the home side would hold out, until the final minute of time added on, when the visitors were awarded a penalty that Steven Bradley scored, and sent the game to extra time. Extra time was played and it was clear that Villa having done brilliantly to get back into the game were still hurting after the late equaliser. Just three minutes in, Jack Arra caught the home defence flat and fired home a leading goal for his side. After that the home side tried to get back level again, but Rangers employed all their experience and nous, and played out the final minutes without giving the home side any real chance to get back into the game.
TSDL Premier League 19th March 2023 Match Reports
St Michael’s 1 – 1 Clonmel Town
This was a game that was always going to be viewed as one that would have a huge outcome on the final destination of this seasons Premier League title, and current league leaders Clonmel Town will feel they let it slip after leading, while Saints will feel a little disappointed to have not come away with all three points after getting themselves back into what turned out to be a physical and well contested game. Both sides pushed from the off and the hosts went close inside the first minutes of the game, their best chance being a Russell Quirke effort that just cleared the crossbar, with the visiting keeper stranded. Town soaked up that early pressure and as the game went on, started to make chances of their own, with Adrian Walsh needing to be smart to keep out a thirty yard effort from Rhys O Regan just after the quarter hour mark. When the breakthrough did finally come, it came to the visitors who were awarded a penalty kick in the twenty second minute, and Alan O Donnell kept a cool head to fire it to the net, to the delight of the large crowd of Clonmel supporters. Saints responded well and forced Town into making three goal line clearances in quick succession, but eventually the break came with the visitors still on top. The second period followed a similar pattern to the first, with the home side dominating the ball for large parts, but coming up against a well drilled and stubborn Town defence. Eventually the pressure told however, and the game was levelled when the evergreen Jimmy Carr found Ed O Dwyer in space in the area, and he made no mistake from ten yards out. After that the home side continued to push and David Slattery was very unlucky when his headed effort, just went narrowly wide of the post. Sean Guerin’s had an even better chance, but saw his effort come back off the post, as the Town defence didn’t break. In the end, they were value for their point, with both sides still very much in the hunt for what is turning out to be a fascinating Premier League title race.
Tipperary Cup, 3rd Round, 19th March Match Reports
Galbally United 3 – 5 Bansha Celtic (AET 3-3)
This tie went all the way to extra time and produced an eight goal thriller for the watching crowd, before Premier League side Bansha Celtic finally got the better of Second Division side Galbally United on Sunday afternoon. The home side sprang from the traps and opened the scoring just five minutes in when Owen O Sullivan got in behind the Bansha defence to fire his side ahead. But the lead lasted just six minutes, as Celtic hit back level with a fine effort by Eamon Quirke. This didn’t stop the home side having a go, and they showed no fear of their higher ranked opponents, re-establishing their lead just before the twenty minute mark when Cathal O Mahoney stroked home to the delight of the home crowd. After that breath-taking twenty minute spell, the game slowed down and there were no mor goals in the first half. However, the second half was just a minute old when it was level again, when a Danny O Dwyer shot was deflected and left the home keeper stranded as h watched the ball fly past. Five minutes after the hour mark, it looked like Bansha were finally asserting themselves on the game, taking the lead for the first time in the afternoon thanks to a strike by Darren Mc Grath, who came onto a well placed Danny O Dwyer assist. But with ten minutes left to play, the hosts got themselves level when Josh Dineen bundled home a Bernard O Brien free kick from close in. This was the final goal in regulation time, and the teams had to start again in extra time to look for a decisive goal. That finally came when Eamon Quirke put Bansha back in front in the first half to extra time, and then as time began to run out in the second period, the home side over committed to attack leaving themselves open at the back, and Danny O Dwyer finished the tie as a contest scoring a fifth for his side in the final minutes.
TSDL First Division 19th March 2023 Match Reports
Clonmel Town 1 – 1 Old Bridge
Clonmel Town and Old Bridge shared the spoils in an entertaining derby game in the First Division on Sunday afternoon. Both teams settled in pretty well into the game but chances were far and few between in the first half. Shane O Connor pulled off a good save to keep the visitors at bay while at the other end Michael O Sullivan and Dylan Guiry saw their half chances go wide of the post. By the time half time came, the side went in relatively pleased with it being still being all square. The second half was a bit more open and the Bridge were dealt a blow when their goalkeeper received a red card for taking down Dylan Guiry outside the box when it looked like he was going to put the hosts ahead. The red card seemed to galvanise the visitors and they started to get on top, and two minutes after the hour mark, a Jake Mulcahy shot found its way past the home keeper to put the The Bridge a goal up. This seemed to wake Town back into life and they had a number of chances to level the game before Dylan Guiry was on hand to blast home eight minutes from time. The two teams continued to look for a winner, but on a heavy pitch and a with a swirling wind it was hard to create clear cut chances and they had to be satisfied with a point each in the end.
TSDL Second Division Shield 19th March 2023 Match Reports
Clerihan 1 – 2 Rosegreen Rangers
Rosegreen made the short trip to Clerihan on Sunday afternoon, and progressed to the semi-finals of the Second Division Shield with a two goal to one win on the day. The game was a tight one with neither side dominating play for any significant time during a tense first quarter. The closest either side came in the first half was in the twentieth minute, when home keeper James Maher was called into action diving to his left touching a strike onto the post and then reacting quickest to gather the rebounding ball from the feet of an onrushing forward. The game went to the break level, but the scoring was finally opened five minutes into the second period when the visitors broke quickly from defending a corner in their box, to finding Gavin Ryan at the opposite end of the pitch and he finished smartly past the advancing home keeper. Five minutes after the hour mark the away side added a second when a long free kick was headed across the box and half volleyed to the back of the net by Jack Marshall. The hosts did rally, and twenty minutes from time cut the deficit in half whne they were awarded a penalty and Aaron Blanche stepped up to slam a shot into the top left corner. But despite this, Rosegreen were able to play out the rest of the game in a controlled manner and assured their win by limiting the home side to hopeful long shots that were easily dealt with for the rest of the game.
Cashel Town 0 – 1 St Nicholas
The home side have already suffered relegation, and were unable to salvage their disappointing league season with a run in the Shield, when they went down at home to St Nicholas on Sunday afternoon. The game was played in very difficult conditions with heavy rain and strong winds. It was a very even affair, with neither side really taking the initiative for long periods, and it looked like it would go all the way to extra time scoreless. But the supporters were spared another twenty minutes in the poor conditions when the visitors were awarded a penalty for handball, and Jason Sutton stepped up to fire home and secure his side a semi-final berth.
TSDL Third Division 19th March 2023 Match Reports
Burncourt Celtic 4 – 2 Killenaule Rovers
The home side started very well and could have been a goal up inside the first but for a wonderful save from the visiting keeper. Killenaule then had a period of domination but were unable to make it count, and the home side were the ones that finally opened the scoring eight minutes before the break when Matty Darcy played through Pa Ryan and he made no mistake, finishing high into the away net. Three minutes later they doubled their advantage, when the Cagney brothers David and Sean combined for David to finish at the back post from a pin point cross. This was how the game was at the break, but eight minutes into the second period, the visitors pulled one back when the home side failed to clear, and Tommy Delaney took full advantage from the edge of the area. But it wasn’t long before Eoghan Heffernan restored the hosts two goal advantage after being set up by Pa Ryan. Sixteen minutes from time the away side set up a tense finish when they brought it back to a single goal game after a well taken effort by John Madden who fired to the roof of the net from just inside the box. But inside the final ten minutes, a short corner from the home side saw Sean Cagney head home from a Pa Ryan cross, to ensure that Burncourt would take all three points on the day.
TSDL Youths 19th March 2023 Match Reports
Cullen Lattin 2 – 1 Clonmel Celtic
Played in front of a big crowd in Cullen on Saturday, these two teams treated their supporters to a brilliant game of football. The result may have been a surprise to some neutrals, but to anyone that has watched this Cullen team they would have known that they were well capable of big results. The game itself was played at a great pace with both teams probing and creating chances, and but for some great goalkeeping and some poor shooting, it would have been a surprise that the game managed to get to half time scoreless. But that it did. The second half started similar to the first, but this time goals would be added to the action, and just five minutes in, a Tom Ryan Bob corner was met by Stephen Carey to bullet a header home and put the home side in front. But back came Celtic almost straight away and on fifty-five minutes Alex Greene scored a wonder goal to make it one all. Both teams traded chances for the next twenty minutes, but the decisive effort came fifteen minutes from the end, when Javier Seranno set up Dylan Mc Grath to fire home, and restore the hosts lead. Though both sides had chances after this, the home side shut up shop and held the title favourites out to record a great win.
Two Mile Borris 1 – 3 Peake Villa
Borris’s slim hopes of winning the Youths first division title, were extinguished at home on Saturday against local rivals Peake Villa, when they went down by three goals to one after a game that was played in ideal conditions and was a good spirited and entertaining game. First blood went to the away team when Paul Noonan hit a shot from all of forty yards out, which evaded the reach of the Borris keeper to find the bottom corner of the net in the eighteenth minute. The goal gave the home side a wake up call and they eventually equalised when Jake Cullen Jordan crossed for Charlie Walsh to head past the visiting keeper shortly before the break. Both teams had chances to score before halftime but neither side could find the net. The second half was as even a match as the first with both teams creating plenty of chances. But it was Peake that took advantage of the chances when a speculative cross was dropped by the Borris keeper straight onto the foot of Michael Anthony McCarthy and from ten yards out he made no mistake with a simple finish to an empty net after seventy minutes. The visitors scored their third and final goal of the game when a free kick was crossed into the box and went straight into the Borris net seven minutes from time.