Match Report: AIB 5-1 Seaford Rock United
LSL Sat Division 3
Seaford were soundly beaten by title-chasing AIB on a sunny afternoon in DCU.
The home side controlled the game from start to finish, taking the lead inside five minutes when Mark Hughes rifled home an unstoppable 20 yard strike, and pulling further clear after a quarter of an hour when Dermot Grier nicked in ahead of keeper Luke Ginnell, the ball just evading Robbie Murray's desperate lunge on the goalline.
Seaford were handed a lifeline on the half hour mark when, from Francis Mulhall's chipped pass, AIB keeper Tom Brennan clattered into Carl Doyle, and the referee pointed to the spot. Mulhall smashed home the penalty to make it 2-1.
But the bankers were awarded a penalty of their own late in the half, when Marc Smith was adjudged to have fouled Will Kerwin, and Hughes slotted in his second of the afternoon. And the result was put beyond doubt early in the second period, when a quick free kick caught Seaford's defence napping, allowing Shuki Byrne to smash in AIB's fourth.
The remainder of the match was largely uneventful, with the visitors struggling to mount any kind of a fightback against their experienced and physically dominant hosts. The closest they came was when Conor Geoghegan fired inches wide from Mulhall's backheel, but it was always the home side who looked more likely to add to the scoring. Ginnell denied twice Byrne in close succession, first making a one-on-one block, before producing an incredible reflex save to keep out a close-range header, but he could do nothing about the winger's emphatic finish on 88 minutes, after a stunning volleyed through-ball from substitute Stephen Cash..
Although the scoreline was a somewhat harsh reflection on the balance of play, there was no question but that the better team won and the three points leaves AIB in good shape to secure the Division 3 title.
Seaford: Luke Ginnell, David Devaney, Robbie Murray, Marc Smith, Darren Grealish, Conor Geoghegan, Mark O'Brien, Chris Sastre (Mikey Kane, 45) Donal Howley (Shane Lauritsch, 71), Carl Doyle (Daire Ralph, 58), Frank Mulhall Goal: Mulhall (pen 31)
AIB: Tom Brennan, Emmett O'Neill, Rory Clerkin, Stepen Bradley, Chris Condon, Rob Kelly (Michael Murphy, 80), Dermot Grier, Mark Hughes, Will Kerwin (Stephen Cash, 75), Garry Clifford, Shuki Byrne. Goals: Hughes (5, 40 pen), Grier (15), Byrne (47, 88)
DCU Sportsground, 8 April 2017
The home side controlled the game from start to finish, taking the lead inside five minutes when Mark Hughes rifled home an unstoppable 20 yard strike, and pulling further clear after a quarter of an hour when Dermot Grier nicked in ahead of keeper Luke Ginnell, the ball just evading Robbie Murray's desperate lunge on the goalline.
Seaford were handed a lifeline on the half hour mark when, from Francis Mulhall's chipped pass, AIB keeper Tom Brennan clattered into Carl Doyle, and the referee pointed to the spot. Mulhall smashed home the penalty to make it 2-1.
But the bankers were awarded a penalty of their own late in the half, when Marc Smith was adjudged to have fouled Will Kerwin, and Hughes slotted in his second of the afternoon. And the result was put beyond doubt early in the second period, when a quick free kick caught Seaford's defence napping, allowing Shuki Byrne to smash in AIB's fourth.
The remainder of the match was largely uneventful, with the visitors struggling to mount any kind of a fightback against their experienced and physically dominant hosts. The closest they came was when Conor Geoghegan fired inches wide from Mulhall's backheel, but it was always the home side who looked more likely to add to the scoring. Ginnell denied twice Byrne in close succession, first making a one-on-one block, before producing an incredible reflex save to keep out a close-range header, but he could do nothing about the winger's emphatic finish on 88 minutes, after a stunning volleyed through-ball from substitute Stephen Cash..
Although the scoreline was a somewhat harsh reflection on the balance of play, there was no question but that the better team won and the three points leaves AIB in good shape to secure the Division 3 title.
Seaford: Luke Ginnell, David Devaney, Robbie Murray, Marc Smith, Darren Grealish, Conor Geoghegan, Mark O'Brien, Chris Sastre (Mikey Kane, 45) Donal Howley (Shane Lauritsch, 71), Carl Doyle (Daire Ralph, 58), Frank Mulhall Goal: Mulhall (pen 31)
AIB: Tom Brennan, Emmett O'Neill, Rory Clerkin, Stepen Bradley, Chris Condon, Rob Kelly (Michael Murphy, 80), Dermot Grier, Mark Hughes, Will Kerwin (Stephen Cash, 75), Garry Clifford, Shuki Byrne. Goals: Hughes (5, 40 pen), Grier (15), Byrne (47, 88)
DCU Sportsground, 8 April 2017