Match Report: Seaford Rock United 2-1 Sacred Heart Firhouse Clover
LSL Saturday Major 1A
Seaford overcame injuries, a missed penalty and an inspired goalkeeping performance to get their season off to a winning start in Blackrock following a second half fightback.
It looked as if Richie Sayers's Seaford debut was going to be a very brief one when the new keeper pulled up injured inside three minutes after denying Carl Hamilton who was through one-on-one. He eventually continued, but was visibly hampered for the rest of the game, rendering all the more impressive the defensive performance in front of him.
The hosts thought they'd hit the front on 23 minutes when .Robbie Creevy set up Darragh Connolly, but although Connolly lobbed Darragh Dixon, a covering defender managed to hook the ball off the line as it was about to bounce into the net. At the other end, Sayers parried Sean Flanagan's long range drive into Hamilton's path, only for Stephen Kelly to make a sensational saving tackle to deny the Sacred Heart frontman a tap-in.
But the Tallaght outfit hit the front on the half hour mark when Sean Kennedy's free kick was deflected into the net with Sayers left rooted to the spot.
Seaford bounced back immediately, substitute Alex Smirnoff laying in Harry Crowe with his first touch, and although Crowe slipped the ball past Dixon it was just wide of the post. Dixon then excelled himself with a breathtaking save to deny Connolly, following good play from Smirnoff and Chris Monk, and again kept Connolly out late in the half when Sam Browne had laid in the Dundalk man.
Into the second half, Seaford continued to dominate and were rewarded with a penalty kick on 57 minutes,. From Kelly's raking cross-field pass, Connolly trapped the ball instantly near the corner flag and then glided past Shane O'Connor as he cut into the box, drawing a foul from the bamboozled fullback .But again there was no way past Dixon, who parried away Creevy's spot kick.
Finally, on 63 minutes, Seaford got the breakthrough they had thoroughly deserved. Smirnoff's whipped free kick drew Dixon off his line, but Browne managed to get there first and, with a little help from Connolly, bundled the ball over the line.
Still the home side poured forward, showing immense determination to recover the ball, notably through Browne, who set the tone with a series of meaty challenges on the dangerous Kennedy. Connolly was yet again denied by Dixon after he had beaten three defenders, the inspired stopper somehow blocking the ball with his trailing leg as he flew off his line. Until, finally, Crowe produced the winning goal on 77 minutes, powering home a downward header from Connolly's whipped corner.
Suddenly it was backs to the wall for the Penguins, as Sacred Heart produced the kitchen sink in search of an equaliser. But the Seaford defence, expertly marshalled by Fionn Lawlor and featuring a stellar display from Kelly alongside him, kept the reds at bay, securing a precious three points to start the campaign.
Seaford: Richie Sayers, Owen Brayden (Steve Kane, 69) Gavin Walsh (Darragh Roche, 69), Fionn Lawlor, Stephen Kelly, Sam Browne (Peter Tierney, 78), Robbie Creevy, Chris Monk, Darragh Connolly, Garrett Connolly (Alex Smirnoff, 34) Harry Crowe (David Higgins, 88) . Goals: Browne (63), Crowe (77)
Sacred Heart Firhouse Clover: Darragh Dixon, Shane O'Connor (Eamon Murphy, 78), Martin Donegan, Derek Rogerson, Alan Breslin, Sean Flanagan, Peter Davis (Glen Davis, 58), Darragh Kilduff, Carl Hamilton, Sean Kennedy (Alan Byrne, 67), Daniel Farrell : Goal: Kennedy (30)
Rockfield Park, 19 August 2019
It looked as if Richie Sayers's Seaford debut was going to be a very brief one when the new keeper pulled up injured inside three minutes after denying Carl Hamilton who was through one-on-one. He eventually continued, but was visibly hampered for the rest of the game, rendering all the more impressive the defensive performance in front of him.
The hosts thought they'd hit the front on 23 minutes when .Robbie Creevy set up Darragh Connolly, but although Connolly lobbed Darragh Dixon, a covering defender managed to hook the ball off the line as it was about to bounce into the net. At the other end, Sayers parried Sean Flanagan's long range drive into Hamilton's path, only for Stephen Kelly to make a sensational saving tackle to deny the Sacred Heart frontman a tap-in.
But the Tallaght outfit hit the front on the half hour mark when Sean Kennedy's free kick was deflected into the net with Sayers left rooted to the spot.
Seaford bounced back immediately, substitute Alex Smirnoff laying in Harry Crowe with his first touch, and although Crowe slipped the ball past Dixon it was just wide of the post. Dixon then excelled himself with a breathtaking save to deny Connolly, following good play from Smirnoff and Chris Monk, and again kept Connolly out late in the half when Sam Browne had laid in the Dundalk man.
Into the second half, Seaford continued to dominate and were rewarded with a penalty kick on 57 minutes,. From Kelly's raking cross-field pass, Connolly trapped the ball instantly near the corner flag and then glided past Shane O'Connor as he cut into the box, drawing a foul from the bamboozled fullback .But again there was no way past Dixon, who parried away Creevy's spot kick.
Finally, on 63 minutes, Seaford got the breakthrough they had thoroughly deserved. Smirnoff's whipped free kick drew Dixon off his line, but Browne managed to get there first and, with a little help from Connolly, bundled the ball over the line.
Still the home side poured forward, showing immense determination to recover the ball, notably through Browne, who set the tone with a series of meaty challenges on the dangerous Kennedy. Connolly was yet again denied by Dixon after he had beaten three defenders, the inspired stopper somehow blocking the ball with his trailing leg as he flew off his line. Until, finally, Crowe produced the winning goal on 77 minutes, powering home a downward header from Connolly's whipped corner.
Suddenly it was backs to the wall for the Penguins, as Sacred Heart produced the kitchen sink in search of an equaliser. But the Seaford defence, expertly marshalled by Fionn Lawlor and featuring a stellar display from Kelly alongside him, kept the reds at bay, securing a precious three points to start the campaign.
Seaford: Richie Sayers, Owen Brayden (Steve Kane, 69) Gavin Walsh (Darragh Roche, 69), Fionn Lawlor, Stephen Kelly, Sam Browne (Peter Tierney, 78), Robbie Creevy, Chris Monk, Darragh Connolly, Garrett Connolly (Alex Smirnoff, 34) Harry Crowe (David Higgins, 88) . Goals: Browne (63), Crowe (77)
Sacred Heart Firhouse Clover: Darragh Dixon, Shane O'Connor (Eamon Murphy, 78), Martin Donegan, Derek Rogerson, Alan Breslin, Sean Flanagan, Peter Davis (Glen Davis, 58), Darragh Kilduff, Carl Hamilton, Sean Kennedy (Alan Byrne, 67), Daniel Farrell : Goal: Kennedy (30)
Rockfield Park, 19 August 2019