Seaford secured their place in Major 1 with five games to spare with a second handsome win over Maynooth in the space of seven days, in a match that will be remembered for the great Ryan Scollard bringing up a century of goals for the club.. 

The match followed a similar pattern to the sides' previous clash in Blackrock a week prior, with Seaford comfortably dominating proceedings before half-time, before suffering a brief wobble early in the second period, and then re-establishing superiority. towards the end.

Scollard had to wait until the last kick of the game to record his landmark goal, but it would have been a lot sooner but for Corey McKeon in goals for the hosts, who made a brilliat save to deny Scollard's header on 14, making up for his own mistake after Rob O'Shea 
​had nicked hte ball off him before crossing in.

Instead it was Sam Browne who broke the deadlock, nodding home his sixth of the season after Scollard had flicked on Craig Conlon's corner..

Then the visitors gifted Seaford two quick goals in as many minutes. First, defender Ryan Moran concede possession to Fionn Nally, who did brilliantly to finish from a tight angle with his left, before McKeon let O'Shea's tame shot slip under him and into the het. 

It was 0-4 on the stroke of half-time as Scollard ran on to a long ball forward from keeper, Oisin Geoghegan and then teed to Nally for an easy finish.

But just as they'd done a weak earlier, Seaford let Maynooth back into the game witha  calamitous start to the second half. James Kelly headed home a free kick on 47 minutes, and then Ethan Hennessy punished Browne's error to make it 2-4 just four minutes into the second half. 

The Penguins' boat was rocking now and, despite dominating possession, they were struggling to generate much forward momentum. The crucial fifth goal arrived 20 minutes into the second half, as O'Shea completed a slick attack by receiving a perfectly weighted Jack Keegan pass and rounding McKeon for 5-2.

Scollard lashed home a free-kick in stoppage time for his big goal, meaning that Seaford are all-but mathematically safe for another campaign.

Seaford: Oisin Geoghegan, Rory Carberry, Brian Murphy (Zitian Xiang, 72),, Sam Browne, Eoin Mahon (Alan McGeady, 72), homas Murphy, (Jack Keegan, 63) Craig Conlon, Rob O'Shea, Fionn Nally (Darragh Connolly, 72),   Kuanxian Kang (Niall Holleran, 55)   Ryan Scollard

Maynooth Town: 1 Corey Mc Keon, 2 Ryan Moran, 3 Charlie Lyons, 4 Thomas Lunn, 5 Evan White, 6 Evan Hartnett, 7 James Kelly, 8 Jamie Lee Byrne, 9 Oisin Beirne, 10 Milosz Konczarek, 11 Ethan Hennessy. Subs: 12 Finn van Velzen, 13 Ethan Tansey, 14 Craig Fagen, 15 Daniel Tijani, 16 Rian Doyle, 18 Dumitru Mangir

Both sides were left with work to do to avoid the drop after a rough-and-tunuble clash at the Rockies.

Perspiration exceeded inspiration during a first half punctuated by full-blooded collisions in the air and on the ground. Ciaran McGlynn had the first opening fo rthe visitors, but lifted his shot just wide, before Garrett Connolly  teed up Ian Daly for Seaford, but the side-foot finish lacked power.

The Penguins hit the front through skipper  Al Kennedy, who waited 19 matches to break his seasonal duck only to bag two in the space of three days, this time arriving at the back post to conver Rob O'Shea's  whipped cross.

Liffeys ought to have levelled when Dylan Whelan fired low across the face of goal, but Philip Roche Hogan was unable to get his toe to it, and they could consider themselves unlucky to trail at the break.

The Penguins showed more in the second half and should have doubled their lead on the hour when Jamie McCaul released Daly with a great flick, and big playmaker, usually nerveless in front of goal,  sat down Gabriel Allionu but somehow failed to apply the finish with the goal at his mercy.

Gradually Liffeys regained their foothold, with Seaford's back four forced into ever more desparate interventions until eventually, on 77 minutes, the dam broke when Evan Byrne's free kick took a nick off the wall and wrong-footed Oisin Geoghegan. It almost got even worse for the home side four minutes later when Liffeys were awarded a penalty, but Dylan Murphy shot off target.

Momentum swung back in Seaford's favour, as they finished strongly. Twice Alilionu made spectacular saves to keep out Timi Silva's free kicks, before Sam Browne was inches off-target with a diving header. And Bursnie's boys had the ball in the net in the final minute courtesy of Fionn Nally, but it was chalked for a contentious offside call.

Neither side left satisfied with a single point, which puts Liffeys in relegation peril with just a single match left in their season. Seaford remain a point behind them but with five to play.

Seaford: Oisin Geoghegan, Eoin Mahon, Brian Murphy,, Sam Browne, Al Kennedy , Craig Conlon, (Timi Silva, 71) Rob O'Shea, Fionn Nally,  Garrett Connolly (Conor Fennell, 62)   Ian Daly (Daniel Mac Dermott, 88) Jamie McCaul

Liffey Wanderers: 1 Gabriel  Alilionu, 2 Daniel Wilson, 3 Dylan Whelan Bray, 4 Daniel O'Connor, 5 Stephen Dillon, 6 Adam Walsh, 7 Ciaran McGlynn, 8 Sandip Chhantyal, 9 Philip Roche Hogan, 10 Jake Gregg, 11 Dylan Murphy Subs: 12 Luke Cunningham 14 Ethan Costello 15 Kyle Leyland Swaine 16 Evan Byrne 17 Alexander Salazar Rojas 18 Conor Doran

Seaford showed bottle and character to book a place in the quarter final of the Tom Carroll Cup with a hard-fought win over Kilnamanagh. 

The Penguins got off to a flying start when skipper Eoin O'Farrell whipped in a great fcross for Conor Fennell - not renowned for his aerial ability - to bury a header in the bottom corner after eight minutes.

Kilnamanagh had a great chance to level quickly when Alex Molloy almost got in at the back post only to be denied by a brilliant O'Farrell block, and Graham Moran fired the rebound over the bar. 

Seaford's second goal was spectacular. It was creadted by Mate Salacan , who bulldozed a Kilnamanagh midfielder with a meaty challenge, and when the ball broke for Michael Aherne-Gray , the teenager wrapped it into the top corner from more than 25 yards.

The visitors pulled one back through Luke Harman, but Seaford had a great chance to restore thier advantage right on half time when they were awarded a spot-kick. There was nothing wrong with Fennell's penalty but keeper Charlie Hughes sprang to his right to make a stunning save.

Into the second half, now facing ten man, Seaford continued to make the running.  Angel Nunez was dened a goal on his first start by a brilliant Kyle Fox tackle, and somehow Desmond Eiffe failed to convert a brilliant Fennell cross.

And Seaford were punished for their profligacy when the Rockets were awarded a penatly of their own , as Fionn McLoughlin was cruelly punished  for a trip, rushing off his line to grab the rebound form his own fine save.  Shane Maguire made no mistake from 12 yards and it was game on.

But Seaford got their noses in front with the game's third penalty., following a handball near the corner of the box affer an Oscar Fennell throw-in. This time Niall Holleran stuck it away for 3-2.

Kilnamanagh earned a second red card as the game ticked towards 90 minutes and Fennell, who was at the hart of all Seaford's best moves , sealed the win with a fourth in the last minute.

Seaford: Fionn McLoughlin, Eoin O'Farrell, Carlos Monserrat, Alan McGeady  Daniel Mac Dermott ,  Mate Salacan (Oscar Fennell, 76), Michael Aherne-Gray, Niall Holleran, Angel Nunez (Jakub Kot, 64) Conor Fennell,   Desmond Eiffe

Kilnamanagh: 1 Charlie Hughes, 2 Kyle Fox, 3 Alex Molloy, 4 Ryan Kelly, 5 Kenneth Clarke, 6 Conor Hayes, 7 Luke Haybyrne, 8 Luke Harman, 9 Keith Moloney, 10 Shane Maguire, 11 Graham Moran. Subs: 12 Seán Nugent, 13 James Sullivan, 14 Cian Ryan, 15 Mark Mc Sweeney, 16 Nathan Caswell, 17 Anthony Hanavey​

Seaford bounced back from recent disappointments with a dominant win which consigned Maynooth to relegation.

Jamie McCaul bagged an early brace to given the Penguins a commanding lead, first tapping in Sam Browne's flick-on before finishing via a deflection for 2-0.

Seaford’s busy late-season schedule caught up with them as both Darragh Roche and Greg Hughes were forced off in the opening half hour, but it was nonetheless one-way traffic as the home side poured surged time and again.  Fionn Nally squared to give  Ian Daly a great chance, but he side-footed over the top, and then Nally had the ball in the net himself but was pinged for offside. 

The Penguins finished the half in complete control and it was incredible that they didn't add to their tally in the dying moments. McCaul forced an error from Lee Corcoran but keeper Corey McKeon did brilliantly to deny both him and Nally. McCaul then attempted an audacious lob from the near the halfway line that had McKeon scrambling backwards, but it was inches too high. And in stoppage time he had the best chance of all, heading over from an Al Kennedy throw-in with the goal at his mercy.

Instead, it was Maynooth who bagged shortly after half time. Glory Odunze seemed to clearly offside before thumping a high shot past Oisin Geoghegan, but the goal stood and suddenly Seaford seemed nervous, missing all of the fluency which they had shown before the break. Kennedy made a brilliant covering tackle to stop Odenze from equalising, and Thomas Lunn also went close from the edge of the box, as the hosts threatened to implode.

But gradually Burnsie's boys began to reassert themselves, with Timi Silva testing McKeon with a low drive, before the floodgates eventually opened.

Sam Browne got the crucial third goal, heading home Silva's corner before Silva volleyed home himself for 4-1, and the two Seaford centre backs combined for the fifth, as Browne nutmegged David Jordan Konan near the corner flag and played the ball along the edge of the six, where skipper Al Kennedy tapped in at the back post.

The three points finally moves Seaford out of the relegation zone, and still with five games in hand on the teams around them as they look to finish strongly and move up the standings.​

Seaford: Oisin Geoghegan, Eoin Mahon, Brian Murphy,, Sam Browne (Fionn Geoghegan, 78) Craig Conlon, Al Kennedy Greg Hughes (MJ TIerney, 28) Fionn Nally, Darragh Roche (Timi Silva, 9)  Ian Daly (Niall Holleran, 81) Jamie McCaul  (Darragh Connolly, 76)

Maynooth Town: 1 Corey Mc Keon, 2 Ryan Moran, 3 Thomas Lunn, 4 Evan White, 5 Lee Corcoran, 6 Evan Hartnett, 7 Alan Dolan, 8 Reece Harman, 9 Sean O'Donnell, 10 Milosz Konczarek, 11 Glory Odunze. Subs: 12 James Kelly, 14 David Jordan Konan, 15 Ethan Hennessy​

It was a chastening evneing on the northside as Killester got revenge for the Penguins' comperhensive win only a week earlier by dishing out a hammering of their own at Hadden Park. 

The evening kick-off meant a frantic scramble across the city for Alan Burns's men, necessitating last-minute changes to the starting team, and Seaford couldn't have looked more under-prepared as they found themslves 2-0 down inside six minutes.

First, skipper Adam Power was left unmarked to nod home a corner at the back post. The second goal also came from a corner - at the other end - as the hosts broke at speed, with Louis Butler squaring for Calvin Madden to double the lead.

Seaford bounced back and went agonisingly close to pulling one back in spectacular fashion when Jamie McCaul picked  Nathan Fitzpatrick's pocket and curled a beauty from the corner of the box that crashed off the inside of the far post. McCaul then ran on to a brilliant Garrett Connolly flick, only to smash the ball just wide, before Greg Hughes forced a stunning save  out of Stephen Brennan with a cracking volley.

The chances were all at one end but nothing would go in for Seaford. In the second half,  Killester managed the game commandingly, albeit without offering much threat in the other direction, save when  Shane Hyland burst through to force Oisin Geoghegan into a terrific stop. 

The visitors did everything but put the ball in the net, such as when Sam Brownecut the ball across the goalline, but couldn't find anyone to apply the finishing touch, and subsitute Kuanxian Kang set up a golden chance for Al Kennedy, who was unable to convert late on.

Instead, it was the men in red who had the final say, as  Gary Comiskey followed up a rebound in injury time to complete a miserable evening for Seaford.

Seaford played their best football of the season and routed their promotion-chasing opponents with a vintage display at Rockfield Park, ending their dismal run of league defeats in the bargain.

It was a blistering start from the Penguins, who could have been three up in less than four minutes.  First, Jamie McCaul raced on to a long diagonal and smashed it into the side netting, before Ian Daly,  put Rob O'Shea clean though, ony for Stephen Brennan to deny him a goal. The ball rebounded to Ryan Scollard who smashed it goalward with his left, only for a a defender to block on the goalline.

Seaford continued to pour forward, and made the breakthrough on four minutes, when O'Shea released Fionn Nally to slot home his fourth of the campaign.

But the lead was short-lived. With their first attack of the game, Killester leveled when Jamie Thompson's 20 yard effort took a wicked deflection which Oisin Geoghegan gave no chance.

It almost got worse for Seaford when Calvin Madden whipped in a brilliant right-wing cross which was superbly defended by, Darragh Roche just as Javier Medina Jiménez was about to convert.

Otherwise though, it was one-way trafffic, as Seaford's front four battered the northsiders, who couldn't handle the relentless running from  Scollard, Nally and McCaul on and off the ball, with Daly orchestrating everything with adhesive control and uncanny vision.

It was Daly who laid Scollard in to make it 2-1, before O'Shea saw his low free kick experlyl saved by Brennan. Then Daly struck the crossbar with a vicious corker kick, and shorlty afterward saw another one flicked goalward by Sam Browne, only for Nathan Fitzpatrick to clear it off the line.

It was more of the same after the break, and it seemed only a matter of time before Seaford extended their lead. Eventually it was McCaul who nabbed it, poaching a third for the Penguins at the second attempt after Killester failed to deail with another Daly delivery.

Ben Kelly laid in .Scollard to make it 4-1 and Kelly ought to added one himself with a free header from yet another Daly whip. Instead it was another sub, Greg Hughes, who got the fifth with his first involvement off the bench, bursting down the left wing and smashing it into the top corner..

The hosts had the cigars out by now, but Killester almost got one back couresy of an extraordinary 40-yard Howitzer from Calvin Madden, but Geoghegan did well to parry it. Scollard might have had th efinal say by compelting his hat-trick but unselfishly tried to square it for Zitian Xiang  to score, but a a defender intervened.

A quick turnaround for Burnsie's boys, who take on Templeogue United on Saturday aiming for a third straight win.

Seaford: Oisin Geoghegan, Darragh Roche, Brian Murphy,, Sam Browne (Craig Conlon, 78),  Al Kennedy  Rob O'Shea (Ben Kelly, h/t),, ,Thomas Murphy (Eoin Mahon, 75)  Fionn Nally (Greg Hughes, 80)  Ian Daly, Jamie McCaul (Zitian Xiang, 79) Ryan Scollard

Killester Donnycarney: 1 Stephen Brennan, 2 Jamie Keating, 3 Sean Connor, 4 Louis Butler, 5 Darragh Geraghty, 6 Jack Power, 9 Calvin Madden, 10 Malik Shushan, 11 Javier Medina Jiménez, 12 Stephen Power, 16 Jamie Thompson. Subs: 7 Daniel O'Mahony, 8 Cian Whelan, 13 Nathan Fitzpatrick, 14 Karl Crawford, 15 Michael O'Mahony, 17 Ryan Morris

Seaford ought to have won by a wider margin, but secured passage into the national draw of the FAI Junior Cup by knocking out their old rivals Booth Road Celtic.

Playing into a gale force wind during the first half, the Penguins took a little time to find their bearings and almost fell behind when Callum Lapsley slipped in behind their defence in chase of a wind-assisted long ball, but directed his finish just off target.

But as the half progressed, Seaford took control. They were twice denied by tight offside decisions before  taking a deserved lead when Sam Browne bagged from close range. That goal threatened to open the floodgates. Ian Daly bamboozled two opponents with his footwork before setting Thomas Murphy down the left, whose cross was met by a Jamie McCaul's brilliant diving header, which was just wide. 

Moments later, a calamitous moment for the hosts as Rob O'Shea burst down the right wing and squared for an easy finish but both Daly and Fionn Nally fluffed their lines and were unable to convert.

Then McCaul tested Tom Healy with a rasping drive, which the Booth Road keeper did well to tip onto his bar.

Finally, the breakthrough. This time was made down the left, with Kuanxiang Kang arriving at the back post to score his first ever Seaford goal and make it 2-0.

Into the second half, Kang might well have had his second after being put clean through by Daly, but Healy blocked with his feet. 

Aaron Byrne squandered a good chance for Booth Road's, before Bradley Reddy did manage to pull one back.

But Seaford saw out the tie comfortably, always looking more likely to add to their lead than see it relinquished. Nally missed another golden opportunity on 77 after being set up by O'Shea, before McCaul had the ball in the net from a Stephen Canavan assist, only to be denied yet again for offside.

Only the second time in the club's 55 year history that Seaford have reached the open draw, but in the meantime the focus will be on fixing their alarming league form.


Seaford: Oisin Geoghegan, Darragh Roche, Brian Murphy,, Sam Browne, Al Kennedy  Rob O'Shea,, ,Thomas Murphy , (Eoin O'Farrell, 62), Jack Keegan (Kuanxiang Kang, 8) (Oisin Mallon, 83) ,  Fionn Nally (Stephen Canavan, 91), Ian Daly, Jamie McCaul (Darragh Connolly, 87)

Booth Road Celtic: 1 Tom Healy. 2 Bradley Reddy 3 Shane Murphy 5 Jason Power 6 Matthew Raymond 7 Callum Lapsley Browne 8 Oisin Maher 9 Aaron Byrne 10 Cian Gallagher 17 Dylan Robinson 18 Cillian Behan. 12 Rhys Forte 13 Darren Kernan 14 Dylan Fagan  15 Ben Healy 16 Ben Finnegan