*Kyle Kirby keeps the ball from Lee Clohessy. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
BRIDGE UTD bounced back to winning ways in the CDSL Premier Division at the hands of a Fair Green Celtic outfit who fell apart in the second half.
Bridge Utd 4
Fair Green Celtic 0
Venue: Lees Rd, Ennis
In their first Premier Division outing since their shock 3-1 home defeat to Tulla Utd, Bridge Utd put their league bid back on solid ground.
They were of course helped by a disastrous second half showing from Fair Green Celtic who lost focus, ambition and their temper with their own teammates. Their concession of three goals in thirteen minutes proof of this.
After finishing the opening half so strongly, Fair Green left themselves in a decent position at interval, they may have traled but they looked the more threatening before the half time whistle sounded.
Their cause was greatly weakened by the departure of striker Bruce Piggot, he swapped Lees Rd for Semple Stadium in Thurles to link up with the Éire Óg senior hurlers where he is a member of their extended panel.
It was from the penalty spot that Bridge Utd opened the scoring. Witness Odirile was fouled with Jack O’Halloran dispatching to the net on eleven minutes. Odirile had the best chance to score from play on twenty seven minutes but the visitors didn’t manage to double their lead.
With the final three chances of the half, Fair Green came close but fell short in their efforts to nab an equaliser. William Bello worked hard to get the ball out to winger Lee Clohessy whose cross met the head of Piggot only for Mulready to save and force a corner.
Piggot and Josh Ryan had further chances in the final ten minutes of the opening half.
Frustration was beginning to simmer from Fair Green as the second half commenced, they were annoyed when Dean Coughlan was ruled offside with forty eight minutes on the clock.
Their mood worsened after they conceded their second goal on fifty eight minutes. Captain and centre-half Shane Browne collided with Bridge winger Brian Corry which somehow prompted goalkeeper Alan Reidy to leave his goal-line and move to the edge of the box so when Eddie Shaw gifted the ball to Conor Whelan and he passed to Odirile, the task of finishing to the net was made much easier with Reidy out of his goal.
Whelan went from provider to finisher when he headed a Jack O’Halloran cross to the back of the net, a minute later to make it 3-0.
Goal number four was the most disappointing from the Fair Green camp. Goalkeeper Alan Reidy had made a save, then took his time getting ready to launch the ball forward, so much so that he ended up getting dispossessed by Conor Whelan who duly took advantage of the opportunity put on a plate for him.
Reidy did well with further saves from substitutes Dean Neary and David Kennedy to ensure the damage wasn’t worse for the Ennis side.
Collecting the full three points on offer helps Bridge Utd take a step in the right direction so far as their league aspirations are concerned. Much tougher tests await including their last sixteen showing with Pike Rovers in the Munster Junior Cup next month, they will need to improve in order to qualify for the quarter-finals for the second year running.
Mark Culbert’s side are showing they have depth to their squad with the addition of Conor Whelan adding a much needed goal-threat to their attack. Kyle Kirby, Scott Kirkland, Liam Flynn and Brian Corry also did well in their latest outing.
Mixing the good and the terrible, Fair Green Celtic will need to reflect following this 4-0 loss. The finish to the first half had them producing some of the best football since they’ve arrived in the Premier Division when they threatened and were on top of one of the leading sides in Clare.
However, the manner in which they fell apart completely in the second half will be a big worry for them. They don’t appear to be a united side with several instances of players roaring at each other, little encouragement could be heard from their players and the lack of camaraderie does not bode well for an outfit that is likely to be battling for survival over the coming months.
What will add to the frustration for Richie O’Grady and his management is that the Ennis club just last weekend came very close to making the last sixteen of Munster, losing out on penalties to BT Harps. However, their lack of a scoring threat is their achilles heel at present.
Bridge Utd: John Mulready; Darragh Whyte, Alan Mulready, Liam Flynn; Scott Kirkland; Kyle Kirby, Adam Fitzpatrick, Brian Corry; Witness Odirile; Jack O’Halloran; Conor Whelan.
Subs: Dean Neary for Fitzpatrick (54), Luc Fitzpatrick for Whyte (59), David Kennedy for Mulready (71)
Fair Green Celtic: Alan Reidy; Josh Ryan, Hubert Kantecki, Shane Browne, Dario Fernandes; Stephen Ogundare; Eddie Shaw; Dean Coughlan, William Bello, Lee Clohessy; Bruce Piggot.
Subs: Eoghan Fox for Piggot (HT), Zak Kebayli for Ryan (68), Etnik Aliu for Shaw (72).
Referee: Paudie Hayes
