AVENUE UTD remain in top spot of the CDSL Premier Division win while Ennis Dons and Kilrush Rangers have both claimed vital victories for their campaigns.
Only three Premier Division ties have taken place in the past seven days due to Munster Junior Cup and the Oscar Traynor.
Avenue Utd survived a scare from Lifford AFC to record their fifth league win on Sunday last while Ennis Dons picked up their second win in the top flight. Kilrush Rangers bounced back to overcome Lifford this Sunday with a result that really ignites the battle for survival.
Avenue go top of Premier Division
Avenue Utd 2
Lifford AFC 1
Venue: Roslevan
Five wins from five outings is the factual position on Avenue’s run to date in the Premier Division but their form is far from the levels expected of a side chasing a third league title on the bounce.
Ryan Mahony’s goal five minutes from the end saw them just about hold off second from bottom Lifford and ensure they didn’t drop points. Come the business end of the season, only the results will matter but Avenue will admit their performances do not reflect a side sitting in prime position.
Referee Mark Reilis could easily be credited with the assist for their first goal. He incorrectly penalised Lifford striker Bradley Higgins for a foul on Seán O’Callaghan when no to minimal contact was made. The free kick was finished to the back of net by Dylan Casey on fifteen minutes.
Match officials had nothing to do when it came to Avenue’s missed attempts to double their advantage. Ronan Kerin managed to round Lifford netminder Luke Kennedy but his finish trailed wide. A corner from Casey met the head of Conor Finnucane but also went wide, just before the half hour mark.
Kennedy saved a penalty from Ger Myles with forty two minutes played while a volley from Kerin sailed wide in their last attack of the half.
Eoin Monaghan had big contribution on the restart, first shoving a Nnabuike Nneji effort out for a corner and then going up the field and equalising. Kieran Doyle’s free was pushed through by Guilfoyle and into the path of Monaghan who duly finished to the net.
Moments after coming close to putting Avenue back in front with a header, Conor Mullen had to make a vital tackle on Guilfoyle who was through on goal following a David Keenan pass, an intervention that was necessary to stop Lifford from edging ahead. Captain Mullin would make another big tackle, this time on Higgins in the final quarter of an hour to dent the growing Lifford momentum.
Adrian Walsh is putting a big emphasis on youth development since taking charge of Avenue and ‘The Kids Are Alright’, more than alright in fact as it was Ryan Mahony and Ryan McCarthy who combined for the winner. McCarthy delivered the ball to the back post where Mahony was on hand to tap home and help Avenue pick up the three points.
Avenue Utd: Luke Woodrow; Jamie Roche, Conor Mullen, Séan O’Callaghan, Dylan Casey, Eoghan Thynne, Nnabuike Nneji, Ryan Corcoran, Conor Finnucane, Ronan Kerin, Ger Myles.
Subs: Gary O’Connell for Corcoran (59), Ryan Mahony for Finnucane (67), Ryan McCarthy for Myles (80), Fiachra Roche for Thynne (90)
Lifford AFC: Luke Kennedy, Kieran Doyle, Eoin Monaghan, Chibby Okoye, Hocine Bensadok; Chuks Obadeyi, Cain Guilfoyle, Messiah Chirwa, David Keenan, Bradley Higgins, Joseph Chukwuemeka.
Subs: De Oliviera for Guilfoyle (80)
Referee: Mark Reilis
Dons deliver big win out West
Ennis Dons 2
Kilrush Rangers 0
Venue: Gallery Park, Kilrush
Declan Ensko’s Ennis Dons charged tasted their second victory in their first ever Premier Division campaign when leaving Kilrush with the full three points on offers.
Minus the services of goalkeeper James Tierney and centre-half Ethan Cronin, it didn’t deter the Dons who have been competitive in their maiden season in the top flight. A week on from their draw with Fair Green Celtic, a game they created more chances in, the Dons knew this was a game that had to claim the maximum points and that they did.
Emmanuel Obadeyi who was in rich scoring form for the League Cup, opened the scoring on five minutes when he was free was fumbled over the line on thirty six minutes.
He doubled his tally on forty one minutes, Michael Akujobi providing the assist to put the visitors in a commanding position.
Before they broke the deadlock, they were aided by the dismissal of Kilrush midfielder Ben McKiernan on a straight red card.
McKiernan getting his marching orders didn’t help Kilrush, this evident by the fact they conceded two goals within six minutes of his red card, the first arising from a free which he gave away.
Ennis Dons: Mark Cleary, Stephen Jordan, Aaron Duggam, Alex Akujobi, Thomas Collins, Barry Woods, Philip Talty, Kingsley Makombe, Donal O’Halloran, Emmanuel Obadeyi, Michael Akujobi.
Subs: Sid Fletcher Burke for O’Halloran (70), Finn Whyte for Duggan (76), Jack Devitt Stubbs for Akujobi (79).
Kilrush Rangers: Dylan Russell, Robert Burns, Adam Haugh, Tadhg Lillis, Seán Madigan, Ben McKiernan, David Tubridy, Richard Gadjecki, Chris Hehir, Ahsan Badakshi, Scott Greaney.
Subs: Chigbo Godvin for Greaney (52), Sean Lysaght Minott for Badakhsi (83), Kyle McKiernan for Hehir (89).
Referee: Darius Mostowy.
Kilrush Rangers rally to overcome Lifford
Kilrush Rangers 1
Lifford AFC 0
Venue: Gallery Park, Kilrush
Kilrush Rangers have the battle for survival to life after overcoming Lifford AFC in what is their first league win of the season.
Travelling to West Clare can be the downfall of some sides and it proved to be the case for Lifford who didn’t arrive with a plentiful supply of bodies. Substitute Finn Woods was forced off with an injury and player/coach Aidan Jordan was forced to come on outfield, his appearances on the field tend to be between the posts.
On the other hand, numbers are growing for Kilrush Rangers who are recording increased attendances at training following the conclusion of the U21 football championships.
It was the experienced Ronan Browne who kicked the defining goal, hitting the target on forty nine minutes.
This result now puts them level on points with Lifford AFC and Shannon Town Utd at the bottom of the table. All three are just one point behind Fair Green Celtic who alongside Shannon Town have a game in hand. It blows the race for survival wide open and stresses the importance of every single match.
Having been very competitive against Avenue Utd, the consistently inconsistent Lifford will be rightly frustrated with this setback. They need to bounce back quickly and are on the road next Sunday, this time heading for Lynch Park where a win against Shannon Town Utd can settle their campaign once again.
For the third weekend in a row, Kilrush will have a home fixture and their next visitors to Gallery Park are Tulla Utd who have been out of action since defeating Bridge Utd two weeks ago.
Kilrush Rangers: Conor Downes, Sean Gilligan, Adam Haugh, Tadgh Lillis, Sean Madigan, Dylan Russell, Norbert Knucki, Richard Gajdecki, Ronan Browne, Dylan O’Brien, David Tubridy.
Subs: Christopher Hehir for Russell (66), Ahsan Badakshi for Browne (66), Jack Cleary for Tubridy (74), Scott Greaney for Gadjecki (80).
Lifford AFC: Luke Kennedy, Eoin Monaghan, Hocine Bensadok, Kieran Doyle, Chibby Okoye, Chuks Obadeyi, Cain Guilfoyle, Messiah Chirwa, David Keenan, Bradley Higgins, Joseph Chukwuemeka.
Subs: Finn Woods for Bensadok (55), Aidan Jordan for Woods (80) (inj)
Referee: Paudie Hayes
