*The victorious Newmarket Celtic squad and management.
NEWMARKET CELTIC have claimed the President’s Cup and Avenue Utd held off a stern challenge from Tulla Utd to progress in the Munster Junior Cup.
Planning permission has yet to be lodged for a trophy cabinet at McDonough Memorial Park in Newmarket-on-Fergus but were one to already exist, it would need an extension given the unprecedented level of success experienced by Paddy Purcell’s charges.
On Sunday, Avenue Utd were pushed all the way by an improving Tulla Utd side as they just about advanced to the fourth round of the Munster Junior Cup.
Meanwhile in the most recent games in the Premier Division, Shannon Town left a win behind them in Tom Steele Park when Lifford rescued a draw while Tulla Utd fell down to Coole FC and Avenue Utd steam rolled through the challenge of Kilkishen Celtic.
President’s Cup claimed by Celtic on penalties
Newmarket Celtic 1
Derg View 1
Newmarket win 4-2 on penalties
Historic wins have been part and parcel of Newmarket Celtic’s run over the past seven months. Having become the first Clare club to win the FAI Junior Cup, they followed that up by beating Rockmount to claim the Tom Hand Memorial Cup and on Saturday overcame the challenge of Derg View to add the President’s Cup to their collection.
Newmarket-on-Fergus already has claim to a President given that the current resident of Arás an Uachtaráin, Michael D. Higgins was schooled in Ballycar, there was a welcoming of another President though when the President’s Cup arrived back in the village on Saturday evening.
Nathan Boaventura had given Newmarket Celtic the lead but an equaliser from Johnny Lafferty sent the tie to the shootout. The Northern Ireland side appointed Emmet Friars as their new manager earlier this month.
Experience of coming out on both the right and wrong side of penalty shootouts stood to Celtic when it came to the spot-kicks. Ronan McCormack with a calm and composed dummy, Tadhg Noonan’s bullet, Eoin Hayes’ delicate finish to the bottom right corner and Harvey Cullinan’s kick off the left into the bottom corner saw them score each and every penalty while netminder Shane Cusack made two saves to ensure more silverware was obtained by Paddy Purcell’s charges.
They will have an opportunity to enjoy even more celebrations if they dump out rivals Avenue Utd of the FAI Junior Cup next weekend.
Newmarket Celtic: Shane Cusack; David O’Grady, Ethan Fitzgerald, Harvey Cullinan, Conor McDaid; Jack Kelly, Aaron Rudd, David McCarthy, Cian Foley, Nathan Boaventura, Eoin Hayes.
Avenue advance against Tulla Utd
Avenue Utd 2
Tulla Utd 1
Venue: Roslevan
Avenue Utd were made work all the way before sealing their place in the last thirty two of the provincial competition.
Without Conor Mullen in the heart of their defence and leading goal scorer Elias Kunz, Avenue Utd were boosted by the first appearance of Gavin Cooney who was introduced on the hour mark.
Nnabuike Nneji once again delivered a commanding performance from the middle of the field for the winners.
Avenue started the better and Philip Talty brought a good save out of Arron Curtis with five minutes on the clock.
Mark Roche stepped up with the resulting corner, swung it into the danger area where Nnabuike Nneji ended up getting a volley to the ball, it was stopped on the line by Dan Withycombe but he managed to fumble his control and the ball crossed the line giving the hosts the lead with five minutes played. Curtis had to make another important save on eight minutes when he pushed a shot from Jamie Roche over the crossbar.
More attention was then placed on which football was to be used in the contest. Tulla Utd’s management became vexed when the ball was swapped for an Avenue Utd free, the next break in play for a throw-in saw the swapped ball kicked away by Tulla mentors prompting an intervention by referee, Michael Rock who reminded those present that the ball used should not be the focus of the day, “do we care what football is used,” the experienced match official remarked.
Sean Withycombe produced a fine volley on twenty six minutes which was denied by the crossbar and bounced on the line and not over, to the relief of netminder Luke Woodrow, himself a former Tulla Utd goalkeeper. This strike would have been earmarked as Tulla’s goal of the season had it went in but instead it strengthened their belief that they could pull something from the game and from here, they began to take control.
Just four minutes later, they equalised. They were beginning to put some nice passages of play together with nice passing under pressure evident when it worked. Adam McNamara’s throw was controlled at the feet of Dan Withycombe and given back to the left-back who delivered the ball to Emmet Lynch, he won the race against Jamie Roche before tucking the ball low past Woodrow to make it 1-1.
A diving header from Talty went wide of the mark before McNamara cleared a cross from the left flank, the breaking ball falling to Eoghan Thynne but his shot was well blocked by Dan Withycombe to clear the danger and leave the sides tied at half-time.
On the restart, Avenue upped the ante and had three good goal-chances in as many minutes. Captain Ronan Kerin hit the first over, Conor Hehir cut in and saw his effort wide for the second before Kerin came close again but this shot was stopped by the feet of Curtis.
Ayoub Aguerram failed to cap off a nice Tulla passage of play with his shot undoing this work on fifty minutes.
Like Withycombe’s free in the first half that gave Tulla Utd a lift, for Avenue a similar boost arrived when Dylan Casey was denied from a free, only the post kept out his shot on sixty minutes.
Then in their next attack, David Russell’s side regained the lead. Aguerram gave away a needless free, it was taken by Casey, headed on by Kerin and bundled over the line by Mark Roche with sixty three minutes on the clock.
Tulla’s best chance of getting level again arrived on eighty two minutes. Substitute Raymond Bane delivered a nice cross which was met by a diving header from Éanna Culloo but it was saved by Woodrow.
Clear signs of improvement are evident among this young Tulla side, had they picked up a win here or even forced extra time it would really have lifted their spirits and confidence at an early stage in the season. They can take solace from their display and must target overcoming perceived bigger sides in the Premier Division and Clare Cup. They are sitting at bottom of the table in the Premier Division but must secure some big wins.
Having been pushed off the ball at times early on, they learned and began to use themselves a bit better but on the physical stakes they came out second best. Dan Withycombe impressed for Mike Moloney’s charges along with goalkeeper Arron Curtis and Dara Ryan.
This result means Avenue Utd are still standing in the Munster Junior Cup but a repeat performance next weekend against Newmarket Celtic in the FAI Junior Cup will see them wiped out. Lifting every aspect of their game must now be the focus for David Russell and his management. Apart from Nnabuike Nneji, their players were off the levels they have shown in the past two seasons.
Gavin Cooney’s addition is a big plus but Paddy O’Malley’s return to Australia robs them of a talented player that definitely would have posed problems against the top sides. Set pieces proved to be where they exposed Tulla but in attack they over-played and hesitated on the ball which prevented them from hitting the target on more occasions and they must showcase a ruthless approach up front in order to dethrone Newmarket next weekend.
Avenue: Luke Woodrow; Mikey Dinan, Jamie Roche, Dylan Casey, Conor Hehir; Nnabuike Nneji; Philip Talty; Eoghan Thynne, Mark Roche; Witness Odirile, Ronan Kerin.
Subs: Gavin Cooney for Talty (60), Mossy Hehir for Roche (71), Stephen Jordan for Witness (76), Gary Roche for Kerin (90)
Tulla Utd: Arron Curtis, Fiachra Hale, Neil Callaghan, Dara Ryan, Adam McNamara, Ayoub Aguerram, Dan Withycombe; Sean Withycombe, Eoin Hassett, Éanna Culloo; Emmet Lynch.
Subs: Diarmuid Molloy for Callaghan (65), Jashar Aliu for Aguerram (65), James Wallace for S Withycombe (65), Raymond Bane for Lynch (78), Fionn Ryan for Hale (78).
Referee: Michael Rock
Lifford level it to seal draw with Shannon Town
Lifford FC 3
Shannon Town Utd 3
Venue: Tom Steele Park, Ennis
Shannon Town left Drumcliffe seeting on Sunday last with three points thrown away as they collapsed in the second half.
Jack Ryan finished with a hat-trick to his name but his effort were in vain as Shannon Town had to settle for a share of the spoils against a physical Lifford outfit.
Ryan was the only goal scorer in the opening half, giving the visitors a two goal cushion. He had the first early on and the second with forty minutes played, the move started with a quick restart from goalkeeper Gary Cusack but made by a Kai Khetan cross which Ryan did well to finish to the net.
Lifford netminder Peadar O’Keeffe was struggling under pressure with his clearances in the opening half.
Timing on the tackle was a strength of the Ennis club at this juncture, even though they were behind. Josh Brack made a great block on Kai Khetan while captain Chuks Obadeyi had a super tackle to stop Jack Ryan from getting into the danger area before the half hour mark.
Charlie Morrison should have made it 3-0 before the break, Ryan had managed to disposses O’Keeffe but Morrison shot over the crossbar in what was a crucial miss.
On the restart, Lifford were showing more productivity and they pulled a goal back on fifty minutes when Darren O’Neill finished a volley to the top corner of the net, leaving Gary Cusack with no chance but subsequent verbals between him and Finn Woods saw the duo booked.
Within three minutes they were level, O’Neill who was proving to an effective tool in attack had a shot saved but the rebound was headed over the line by centre-half Eoin Monaghan.
One way traffic was all in Lifford’s favour with chances then falling to Ikem Ugwueru, Clinton Bempah and Finn Woods but none managed to cross the line.
On seventy four minutes, their momentum was stalled when Jack Ryan exploited a gap to put the ball past O’Keeffe.
They failed to see out the game and with ninety minutes played, Lifford netted an equaliser. Substitute Eddie Prunty was the hero for the hosts, Kai Khetan had fouled Chuks Obadeyi, the free kick was swung into the danger area but not dealt with and Prunty stuck it over the line to salvage a draw.
Prior to this, Shannon Town had been unbeaten and a win would have left only six points between them and league leaders Avenue Utd, a gap that could have been closed had they won their two extra games. It is a result that they are likely to regret as the season progresses but frailties in how they defended were really exposed as Lifford poked holes that resulted in floods. Jack Ryan, Kai Khetan and Daithi Lohan stood out for Shannon Town but they are a side that can contribute a lot more, piecing the pieces of the jigsaw together for them is a lot easier said than done however.
Ikem Ugwueru’s physicality and composure on the ball was a big asset to Adrian Walsh’s Lifford. The Clare footballer is rarely pushed off possession but with the ball at his feet, he rarely made the wrong call. His Éire Óg and county teammate Darren O’Neill adds a new dimension to their team and is a nightmare for any centre-half to contend with. The duo along with the excellent Chuks Obadeyi were best for them. With just two league games played, they have four points under their belt but could certainly do with more action to gain some further improvements.
Lifford FC: Peadar O’Keeffe, John Ikebey, Eoin Monaghan, Josh Brack, Emmanuel Ikebey; Chuks Obadeyi, Emmanuel Obadeyi, Ikem Ugwueru, Clinton Bempah, Chiby Okerye, Darren O’Neill.
Subs: Eddie Prunty for E Ikebey (HT), Finn Woods for Brack (inj) (HT), Ethan Cronin for Okerye (67), Paul Martin for Bempah (85).
Shannon Town Utd: Gary Cusack; Eoghan Gough, Steven Carroll, Daithí Lohan, James Fahy; Liam Boland, Ben O’Neill, TJ O’Dwyer, Charlie Morrison, Kai Khetan, Jack Ryan.
Subs: Colin Curran for Gough (73), Jamie Doyle for O’Neill (81)
Referee: Michael Rock
Avenue ease past Kilkishen Celtic
Avenue Utd 7
Kilkishen Celtic 0
Venue: Kilkishen
Elias Kunz scored a hat-trick, captain Ronan Kerin struck for a brace while substitutes Mark Roche and Paddy O’Malley bagged a goal each to ensure Avenue Utd remain unbeaten in the Maloney Garden Machinery Premier Division.
Roche’s strike was a memorable one and a strike that the school teacher can certainly be proud of.
Kilkishen Celtic who are in their first season in the top flight will admit that it was a tough outing for them as they uncovered the gulf in class between some of the teams in the Premier Division.
With five wins from five outings, Avenue have an eight point lead on their nearest challengers. The Roslevan based club will be waiting on other teams to play catch up with Newmarket Celtic, Bridge Utd and Lifford FC only having played two games each in the Premier Division.
Avenue Utd: Luke Woodrow; Mikey Dinan, Jamie Roche, Conor Mullen, Dylan Casey; Eoghan Thynne, Stephen Jordan, Nnabuike Nneji, Elias Kunz, Ronan Kerin, Witness Odirile.
Subs: Gary Roche for Kunz, Mark Roche for Kerin, Paddy O’Malley for Jordan, Philip Talty for Nneji.
Kilkishen Celtic: Paul Tuohy, Christy Philpott, Dennis Murphy, Enda Murphy, Mark Pewter, Sean Murphy, Aidan Fawl, Cian Mulqueen, Cormac Murphy, Stevie Donnellan, Conor Henry.
Subs: Johnny Fern, Conor Cooney, Alan McInerney, Sean Cotter, Declan O’Reilly
Refere: Dylan Shannon
Coole FC put Tulla bottom
Coole FC 4
Tulla Utd 3
Venue: The Cragg, Tulla
Tulla Utd fell to a disappointing 4-3 loss to Coole FC to leave them without a win and at bottom of the table in the Premier Division.
Sean Withycombe, Jack McSweeney and Daragh Corry were the goalscorers for the East Clare side who would have targeted this as a very winnable contest.
The win which is Coole’s first in five games pushes them to fifth spot in the league while Tulla’s mood was made worse after the experienced Corry sustained further damage to his knee.
Tulla Utd: Arron Curtis, Neil Callaghan, Adam McNamara, Diarmuid Molloy, Dara Ryan, Jack McSweeney, Sean Withycombe, Ayoub Aguerram, Eoin Hassett, David O’Donnell, Eanna Culloo.
Subs: Darragh Murphy for Aguerram, Daragh Corry for O’Donnell, James Wallace for Withycombe, Emmet Lynch for Hassett, Fionn Ryan for Molloy, Denis Whelan
