League action !
Kilcullen AFC 0 Clane United FC 7
Clane travelled to Kilcullen for the second week in a row with three points a must to keep in the league title hunt . Kilcullen came into the game minus a lot of Senior players and relied on their Under 20 squad who have begun their 24/25 preseason this week. The home side started the better and nearly took the lead as they stuck the Clane cross bar . Clane grew into the game and went close on several occasions through Dean Comiskey forcing keeper Lawlor into a good save and James Ralph hitting the crossbar. On twenty seven minutes the visitors took the lead as Liam Deane won a free kick at edge of the box. Deane who is starting to emulate his father and uncle as dead ball specialists in a Clane jersey struck a wicked effort only be to parried out by the keeper for the alert Comiskey who was on hand to convert the rebound to put Clane one up . With the Opening goal settling Clane down . In the next 6 minutes Clane added two more goals firstly through Comiskey again who reacted first from a James Ralph shot parried by the keeper and Nathan Carr making it three assisted by Deane. On thirty nine minutes Ralph effectively finished the game as he made it 4 - 0 going into the break . The second half continued in same vein with Clane well in control . Carr added his second on sixty three mins to make it 5 nil . With fifteen minutes remaining Clane centre half Gavin o Dwyer headed a Ben Kirwin corner into the bottom corner to Score his first goal in 4 years. On the eight third minutes Scott Britton made it 7 with a smart finish after bit of great individual play from Carr to assist. Best for Clane Dean Comiskey, Nathan Carr and Adam Hinds. A tough evening for Kilcullen but they can take solace from their Under 20 players performance but Clane were clinical and go into the end of season chasing down table toppers Naas Utd
Old Fort Celtic FC 2 Arlington FC 2
Old Fort Hosted Local Rivals Arlington in our 3rd meeting of the Season Friday night having Lost 4-2 first league game. Then knocking them out of the Senior Cup two weeks ago. Old Fort Started the Strongest of the two but failed to capitalise on two early chances having missed the target with the first one and the keeper pulling off a great save for the second attempt.
Arlington were awarded a penalty safter they had went close as Old Fort Keeper Bland brought down the Arlington attacker and Captain Shane Nealon made no mistake from the spot as he Converted Calmy to give the visitors the lead. Old Fort’s Josh Akanji and Daryl Ntumba had a few half chances but they were well defended by the visiting rearguard. A few minutes later Tyler Dempsey pressed the full back of Arlington into a mistake as he won the ball high up put the ball perfectly into the box for Josh Akanji and he couldn't convert his chance with the ball eventually going wide. The ball didn't seem like it wanted to Find the net for Old Fort and the half ended 1-0 to the visitors.
Arlington Started brighter and caught Old Fort sleeping when they punished them once again as the prolific Nealon added his and his side’s second. Old Fort were not about to be outdone and they introduced Ashby Bermeo into the mix and he proved a vital addition as he offered new output. Ogie Browne made an incredible run down the right, beating two Arlington defenders en route before whipping in a pin point pass to the inform Darly Ntumba to convert and put the minimum between the sides. David Costigan rolled back the years as he threw it back to his youth days with an incredible performance in midfield along side Lee Carroll Talbot and Byron McGuirk for the Portlaoise men. Brian Smith came on to inject new pace to the OFC attack and he proved instrumental in the equaliser as he paved the way for Ashby Bermeo to score. Best for the home side were the midfield trio of Costigan, Carroll Talbot and Ntumba and Robbie Farrell and Tyler Dempsey impressed. While for Arlington Joe Gorman at centre back, Mark Collins Ugochuwu in the centre of midfield, Alex O Leary at right wing and two goal hero Shane Nealon.
Clonmullion FC 4 Naas United FC 0
The Senior Division title race is finally poised with a couple of games remaining in a really closely contested campaign. Clonmullion have been the epitome of footballing excellence the past several year's throughout Kildare and have undoubtedly been the team to beat ,but an indifferent season this year has left them adrift in the league and irrespective of the outcome Saturday evening there will be a passing of the proverbial torch this season as a new senior division champion will likely be crowned for the first time in three seasons. Naas remain in pole position with their faith firmly in their own hands. Win their remaining four games, and they will be crowned champions . If they are to be ordained champions this season , the fortress that has been Micheal O Neill Park in Athy must be breached in the process. With Naas dumping Clonmullion out of the Senior Cup the previous week 2-0 in a fiercely contest game. Reigning champions Clonmullion title aspirations have all but dwindled for the current season but the Athy side can have a massive impact on where the title will reside if they were to put Naas to the sword it leaves the door ajar for Clane United who are in close pursuit right on Naas United tails a really cliffhanger of a league finale. With just a point separating Naas United and Clane United now at the summit, Clane still have a game in hand as it currently stands.
Clonmullion make four changes to their starting line-up with Jake Nicol, Ceilum Maher, Chris Chanders, and Cody Mulhall all included in the home clash with League leaders Naas United. Naas line-up remained unchanged from the previous week .Victor Oladapo got Naas on the front foot straight from the kick-off as he drove with menace down the right flank and whipped in a ball that Lawless gathered in with easy to settle the home side. There was a palpable tension in the opening exchanges as both side's in their haste to ascertain control were misplacing passes, which made for an erratic opening ten minutes. That Lawless, Mulhall combination has been fruitful over the year's and proved the adage "If its not broke don’t fix it" with Micheal Lawless pinged a huge kickout in the path of Mulhall who brilliantly controlled it before unleashing a dipping a volley that nestled into top corner leaving Keith Higgins with no chance in the Naas goal 1-0 after fifteen minutes. Naas responded well with Daragh Faherty, really causing havoc for the visiting side out wide. It was Daragh Faherty again who created Naas best opportunity as he got to the end line with a great mazy run before slipping a pass to Paul Omoteso who didn't get a clean connection on the strike and was moped up by the Mark Hughes. Clonmullion Lee Foley was forced off through injury, and Jay Connell replaced him after twenty minutes. Jody Dillon worked hard up top for the mull with exceptional hold-up play, introducing Chanders and Maher into the game with clever little five yard passes. Jamie Dunne snuffed out any danger for Naas, making some vital interception with great positional play from Centre-half. It is a difficult game to establish any real pattern of play with both sides cancelling each other through midfield with Robinson and Comerford just starting to gain the upper hand on Philips and Oladapo. Paul Omoteso up top for Naas was fulcrum for their attack, leading the line admirably, but lack of support left him a little isolated at times . Clonmullion again forced into a change after Jody Dillon sustained a knee injury, and Lee Day entered the fray just after the half-hour mark. Both sides were guilty of conceding silly freekicks in threatening areas but nothing that troubled either goalkeeper. Clonmullion carved open a decent chance right before the half after Ceilum Maher picked up a loose ball in midfield, broke two tackles before setting Cody Mulhall away down the left wing Mulhall got his shot away that just whizzed passed Keith Higgins left stanchion and wide on the stroke of halftime.
Clonmullion came out in the second half with a little more purpose to their play lead by Comerford, Robinson, and Hughes. But it was that man Mulhall that provided the ingenuity after a brilliant run that got him to the end line he placed a perfectly weighty pass across the six yard box with Chris Chanders on hand to convert to double Clonmullion's lead. Naas undeterred with this early set-backs pushed forward with Manny and Danny Philips really looking for openings but couldn't unearth anything concrete for Naas. Sheldon Ebala had United best chance to pull a goal back after Clonmullion failed to clear a corner kick after several attempts the ball ricocheted about the six yard box before falling into Ebalas path and he got a clean strike but couldn't keep his effort down as he flew over the crossbar with nearly an hour on the clock. Naas made some changes with Flyer Dane Higgins coming into the game for Manny Philips, the newly introduced subs was only on the field a mere minute before he sustained a serious injury whilst running, a huge blow for Naas who now had to substitute the substitute and hopefully the injury isn't too severe. Brian Nolan made several changes then with Sheldon, Niall, and Jamie Dunne making way, and Jamie Nolan, Samson Omoteso, and Jack Conway introduced for Naas. Clonmullion also freshened up their lineup, with stalwarts Ricky Moriarty, Johnny Fennell, Cory Lammon coming into the game. Keith Higgins made routine catch from a set-pieces in his haste to get ball forward he scuffed his kickout, and it fell to Gary Comerford who picked it up on the halfway line he travelled two steps forward before he spotted Keith Higgins just off his line. From just inside the Naas half, he struck an audacious lob that perfectly sailed over the hapless Higgins to further increase Clonmullion lead 3-0 with seventy minutes played. Naas threw caution to the wind and poured bodies forward with Samson Omoteso pace a real threat out wide. But in reality, they were reduced to a couple of long range efforts from Jack Conway, Darragh Faherty. Clonmullion were much more fluid with Jake Nichol, Ceilum Maher, and Cody Mulhall linking up seamlessly. Some great one touch football to watch. Nathan Robinson put in a Captain’s performance showing his willingness to chase and harass, that work rate was rewarded as Robbo stripped Jack Conway just inside the Naas Eighteen yard box before picking out Ceilum Maher to covert from ten yards to put Clonmullion 4-0 with ten minutes remaining. Naas was still searching for the elusive goal, but there was no way past Mark Hughes, Jamie Boyne, and the evergreen Micheal Lawless who were impervious today.
Naas will take a moment to ruminate on this performance. It was substandard in comparison with the level they've played at this season. United will need to ameliorate their performance for the coming fixtures but a single loss won't define this team who are still in contention on three front with everything still to play for. Best for Naas were Jamie Dunne in defence, Daragh Faherty out wide, and Paul Omoteso up top worked tirelessly. Clonmullion showed they are still a force to be reckoned with and that any team with aspirations will find it difficult to pick up points in the Athy venue. The home side was equally effective on both ends of the pitch playing some exceptional football, showing a champions pedigree in the process. Best for Clonmullion were Lawless, Hughes, Nichol in defence, Robbo , Celium Maher ,Cody Mulhall with Gary Comerford playing a blinder in Midfield to grab the Man of the match award.
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