Premier Division
ST. MICHAELS 3–0 CULLEN LATTIN
St. Michaels got their Premier Division campaign off to a winning start on Wednesday night with a convincing 3–0 victory over a spirited Cullen Lattin side at Cooke Park.
The Saints started brightly and created a number of opportunities in the opening stages. David Slattery headed over from a corner after just two minutes, while Cullen Lattin threatened at the other end when a Tony O’Neill effort from the left forced a save from Adam Gallagher.
St. Michaels continued to press, with Willie Armshaw seeing an effort come back off the Cullen post on three minutes. Two minutes later, a Gallagher clearance following a back pass fell to D. McGrath, whose right-foot effort struck the left post.
David Slattery went close again on eight minutes before St. Michaels finally broke the deadlock on 17 minutes. Daniel O’Dwyer found space 20 yards from goal and produced a fine right-foot finish into the corner of the net to put the Saints 1–0 ahead.
Willie Armshaw got in behind the Cullen defence on 23 minutes but delayed his shot and the opportunity was lost. However, St. Michaels doubled their advantage on 26 minutes when David Slattery found space on the right and unleashed a powerful right-foot strike into the net.
Alexei Sidorov nearly added a third when he narrowly failed to connect with a Willie Armshaw free kick, while Daniel O’Dwyer was unlucky to see a deflected effort come back off the crossbar on 32 minutes.
St. Michaels wasted little time adding to their advantage after the restart. On 48 minutes, Alexei Sidorov reacted quickest inside the Cullen penalty area and finished with a close-range toe poke to make it 3–0.
Both sides made use of their substitutes as the game progressed, and the intensity dropped somewhat in the latter stages. St. Michaels substitute Paddy Ryan went close on 66 minutes, while Cullen Lattin continued to work hard despite the deficit.
Cullen had a couple of half chances late on, while substitute Darragh Bresnan came close with a header from a Paddy Ryan cross.
The Saints were ultimately comfortable winners and had the three points secured long before the final whistle. Credit must also go to Cullen Lattin, who gave a spirited performance and showed plenty of promise on their introduction to Premier Division football.
A strong opening-night performance from St. Michaels. The Saints were clinical when their chances arrived and could have added to their three goals, with the woodwork also denying them on occasions. Cullen Lattin deserve credit for their effort and attitude throughout, but St. Michaels’ experience and attacking quality ultimately proved the difference.
The result gives St. Michaels an ideal start to their Premier Division campaign and sets them up nicely for their next big challenge — the visit of Peake Villa to Cooke Park in early September.
Peake Villa 1–0 Clonmel Celtic
A tough opening game for both sides proved to be a closely fought contest, with Peake Villa eventually edging it by the narrowest of margins.
Clonmel Celtic started with real purpose, refusing to sit back and instead putting the Villa defence under pressure in the early stages. Celtic came close twice inside the opening 20 minutes, hitting the upright and then forcing an excellent one-handed save from Willie Tierney in the Villa goal.
Pippy Carroll went close for Villa at the other end, seeing his volley sail just over, and the sides went into the interval level at 0–0.
The second half opened up, with Villa going close to taking the lead midway through the half when Kieren Hennessy’s close-range header went over.
The decisive moment came in the 80th minute. Peter O’Dowd delivered a great ball to Pippy Carroll, whose effort was well saved by the Celtic goalkeeper. Keith Cahill was quickest to react, following up to score the rebound and give the reigning League Champions all three points.
A good, tough battle between two competitive sides, with Peake Villa just edging it.
Cashel Town 2–1 Cahir Park
Cashel Town secured a hard-fought 2–1 victory over Cahir Park after taking a commanding 2–0 lead into half-time.
Cashel opened the scoring after just 10 minutes when an unfortunate own goal put the home side in front. They continued to press and doubled their advantage after 20 minutes when Daniel Fitzpatrick rose highest to power home a header.
Cashel went into the break 2–0 ahead and looked in control of the game.
Cahir came out strongly after the interval and were handed a lifeline when they were awarded a penalty. Joey Mulcahy stepped up and calmly converted from the spot to reduce the deficit to 2–1.
Despite Cahir’s efforts to find an equaliser, Cashel held firm to secure a valuable three points. The result was built on a strong first-half performance and determined defending after the break.
Bansha Celtic 0–10 Two Mile Borris
Bansha Celtic’s Premier Division campaign began at Celtic Park, but it proved to be a difficult opening night as Two Mile Borris ran out 10–0 winners.
Two Mile Borris took control early, with first-half goals from J. Lee (2), T. Kelly (2), S. Hawkins (2), J. Kelly and T. Maguire.
The second half began with substitutes introduced for both sides, and it was great to see the much-awaited return to the playing field of Evan Kennedy.
Further goals from J. Delaney and J. Cleary completed the scoring.
Division 1
Ballingarry Albion 0–0 Wilderness Rovers
Ballingarry Albion enjoyed the early share of possession but were unable to turn it into clear-cut chances.
Wilderness finished the first half the stronger side, although they too struggled to create any real openings.
The visitors were much the better side after the interval and forced two excellent saves from Ballingarry goalkeeper David Cashin. Neither side could find the breakthrough, and the game ended in a goalless draw.
Clonmel Town FC 5–1 Tipperary Town
Ben Brown was the undoubted star of the show, scoring four of Clonmel Town’s five goals as the home side made a very positive start to the new season.
In the battle of the Towns, the home side settled quickly and were rewarded with two goals in five minutes. Brown combined well with Fred French Davis to finish a neat move before, in the 30th minute, Jamie Ahearne beat the offside trap and squared for Brown to tap home.
Tipperary Town got back into the game in the 65th minute when Jamie Ahearne was adjudged to have handled Russell Bowe’s free kick. Oleksandr Ivanov dispatched the resulting penalty past Oisin Martin.
Clonmel Town restored their two-goal advantage just two minutes later when Kobie Quinn headed a superb cross past Luke Bennett.
Ten minutes later Brown completed his hat-trick with a well-taken header from Liam Kelly Joyce’s cross. Brown then added his fourth and Clonmel Town’s fifth with a fine shot from the edge of the box.
Clonmel Town will be delighted that their young side got off to such a positive start to the new season.
Goals: Clonmel Town: Ben Brown 24′, 28′, 72′, 80′; Kobie Quinn 66′. Tipperary Town: Oleksandr Ivanov 64′ (penalty).
Peake Villa (B) 4–2 Rosegreen Rangers
These two teams finished first and second in Division 2 last season and met in the opening game of this season.
Villa started well, with Eoin O’Dwyer and Cathal McElgunn both going close. Rosegreen had a few half-chances, but the Villa defence dealt with them, with veteran Kevin Croke and youngster Inzaghi Freitas both performing well at the back.
The sides went into half-time level at 0–0.
The game opened up in the second half. Villa’s high press was rewarded with a penalty in the 50th minute when Cathal McElgunn was brought down. McElgunn stepped up and converted.
Just a minute later, Eoin O’Dwyer played in David Mahoney, who scored to make it 2–0. A Mahoney corner then found Darren McGuire at the far post, and he made it 3–0.
O’Dwyer provided another assist in the 68th minute, playing in Alex Moloney to score Villa’s fourth.
Rosegreen continued to battle and pulled one back in the 72nd minute before being awarded a penalty in the 77th minute, with Bradley Barry converting to make it 4–2. Villa held on for the win.
Division 2
Cashel Town (B) 1–1 Vee Rovers
Cashel Town B were held to a 1–1 draw by Vee Rovers in an entertaining game in which both sides battled hard for the points.
Cashel went into half-time 1–0 ahead after taking the lead in the 43rd minute. Guido Angeloni rose highest to power a header into the net.
Vee Rovers responded strongly after the interval and levelled in the 55th minute. Lorcan Butler reacted quickest during a scramble inside the box to find the equaliser.
Cashel pushed hard in search of a winner and created a number of chances late on, but they were unable to find the decisive second goal. In the end, the points were shared, although Cashel Town B will feel they had enough opportunities to take all three.
Donohill & District 4–0 Two Mile Borris (B)
Donohill & District got off to a winning start against Two Mile Borris St. Kevin’s, with Brian Buckley finding the net in the 36th minute.
The supplied match report records the fixture heading as 4–0, while the accompanying match description states that the game finished 1–0. The score has therefore been retained as supplied in the fixture heading, but the available goal detail only confirms Brian Buckley’s 36th-minute goal.
Old Bridge 2–1 Powerstown
A very enjoyable game was played before a good crowd at a sun-drenched Green Lane. The first half was played at a good pace as both sides showed their intent, but despite their best efforts the deadlock could not be broken.
The second half opened with both sides attacking at will. In the 55th minute, the home side took the lead when Davy Garrett headed home a Connie Power corner.
Powerstown were level within 60 seconds when David Grace seized upon a defensive header to set up John Lowes for the equaliser.
Both sides created chances and will be disappointed not to have converted more of them. In the 75th minute, Declan Nee got his head to a ball and steered it into the Powerstown net for what proved to be the winner.
There were further chances in a frantic finish, with Powerstown hitting the bar while Connie Power saw a stunning shot brilliantly saved by Powerstown goalkeeper Peter Boland.
Division 3
Donohill & District FC (B) 4–0 Tipperary Town (B)
Donohill & District FC’s B team got off to the best possible start, winning their first league match comprehensively against Tipperary Town FC B.
A strong first-half performance left the score 4–0 at the interval, with Jack Morrissey netting twice and John Hayes and Harry Maher each getting a goal before the break.
The home side saw out the second half to secure an excellent start to their inaugural season.
Dualla FC 3–2 St Nicholas FC
Dualla started the stronger of the two sides but fell behind in the 27th minute when a ball from the wing was headed home at the back post.
Dualla levelled in the 34th minute when Ben Kirby’s shot from outside the box found the bottom-left corner. They then moved in front on 45 minutes when Paulius Alexnavicius fired into the top corner from inside the box.
Dualla added a third in the 55th minute when a ball delivered to the back post was headed home by Niall O’Dwyer.
St Nicholas pulled a goal back in the 78th minute and pushed for an equaliser, but Dualla stayed strong at the back to secure a 3–2 victory.
Mullinahone 9–0 Suirside
Mullinahone started extremely strongly, going two goals up inside the opening four minutes, and never eased off throughout the first half.
The second half followed much the same pattern, with the home team totally on top as they ran out comfortable winners.
The supplied report records the final score as 9–0. The goal list provided identifies Jamie Hindley (6′, 32′), Jack Ryan (10′, 42′), an own goal (22′) and Michael O’Shea (72′, 88′), with two further goals not identified in the supplied details.
Killenaule Rovers 2–5 St Michael’s (B)
St Michael’s second team secured a 5–2 victory after a strong attacking display.
Mullinahone (B) 3–2 SC&K United (B)
Mullinahone were the stronger side throughout the first half and went into the interval one goal ahead, with the score 2–1.
SC&K United started the second half strongly and found themselves level after a few minutes. However, the home side refused to lie down and scored the winner late in the second half.
Goals recorded in the supplied report: Steven Hickey, Wayne Laslett and Mike Cooper.
Week 1 Verdict
Week 1 produced an excellent opening weekend for the TSDL, with plenty of goals, close contests and some impressive early statements. In the Premier Division, reigning champions Peake Villa began with a narrow 1–0 win over Clonmel Celtic, while Cashel Town also made a winning start against Cahir Park. Two Mile Borris produced the biggest result of the weekend with a 10–0 victory over newly promoted Bansha Celtic, immediately putting down an attacking marker.
Clonmel Town’s 5–1 victory over Tipperary Town was another standout result, with Ben Brown’s four-goal performance ensuring he was one of the weekend’s headline performers. Peake Villa B also began strongly in Division 1, defeating Rosegreen Rangers 4–2 in a meeting of last season’s top two Division 2 sides.
There were also strong opening-day wins for Donohill & District, Dualla and St Michael’s B, while Ballingarry Albion and Wilderness Rovers shared the points in a goalless draw. With the season only beginning, it is far too early to draw firm conclusions, but the opening weekend has already provided plenty of talking points and suggests another highly competitive TSDL campaign lies ahead.