Match Report: Portmarnock 0-3 Seaford Rock United
LSL Saturday Major 1
Seaford struggled for an hour against a spirited Portmarnock side but eventually made their class tell by a dominant last 30 minutes to secure a third consecutive win.
The first half was low on quality as both sides toiled in blustery conditions, but Portmarnock came close to an early breakthrough, when Darren Daly suddenly found himself clean in on goal, only for MJ Tierney to intervene with an inch-perfect saving tackle.
With the wind at their backs, the hosts had the better of play in the first half, with Seaford’s best chance falling to Lewis Cawley, whose angled drive rebounded from the outside of the post.
At the other end, winger Mark Morris took advantage of Penguins’ uncertainty to nick the ball away from keeper Oisin Geoghegan, but with the goal unguarded, Seaford's makeshift central defensive partnership of Al Kennedy and Sam Browne scrambled to see off the danger.
The best effort of the half was Harry Collier's long range drive which Geoghegan dealt with comfortably.
After the break, Collier again pressed Geoghegan into action after being teed up by Cian McGregor, the big stopper parrying low to his right, but that was as good as it got for Portmarnock as two quick goals put Seaford in a commanding display
The amber defennce had looked sturdy, but suddenly collapsed around the midpoint of the half, as they failed to deal with a Conor Geoghegan throughball, leaving MJ Tierney and Lewis Cawley queuing up to bag, and it was the latter to took the opportunity to find the back of the net.
Moments later, a Tierney cross found Chris Monk in acres of space at the back post, and although he was initially denied by a fine stop by Aaron O'Driscoll, he was able to force the ball home to finally break his duck for the season.
The Penguins were rampant now and breaking through the hosts' rearguard with ease. Fionn Geoghegan was almost in for his first ever Seaford goal in his 75th appearance, but was denied by Tom O'Sullivan's tackle, and then O'Driscoll denied what seemed a certain goal, keeping out Jamie McCaul's low finish after fellow sub Jack Burke had set him up.
Tierney eventually made it 0-3 , firing home at the second attempt after getting the better of Cormac Herlihy and initially being denied by O'Driscoll.
Seaford keeper Geoghegan needed to be alert to keep out a late consolation for Paul Scully, but it was O'Driscoll who produced the best save of the day, who flew across his goal to claw away a curling effort from the man they call Goals McCaul, which was destined for the top corner.
The win ensures the Penguins’ survival in the division as a mathematical certainty, and attention will turn to the top half of the table for the remaining five matches.
Seaford: Oisin Geoghegan, Fionn Geoghegan, Paul Tansey , Al Kennedy, Sam Browne, Conor Geoghegan , Mike O'Neill (Jack Burke, 70), Killian Campion, (Jimmy Hussey, 65), Chris Monk (Richie Mulholland, 76) MJ Tierney , Lewis Cawley (Jamie McCaul, 76)
Portmarnock: Aaron O'Driscoll, Ian Daly Cormac Herlihy, Tom O'Sullivan, Mark Morris, Ronan Finlay (Paul Scully, 78), Josh Boylan, Alex Boylan, Darren Daly, Cian McGregor (Ross Waters, 63), Harry Collier (Dean Whelan, 63)
Paddy's Hill, 12 February 2022
The first half was low on quality as both sides toiled in blustery conditions, but Portmarnock came close to an early breakthrough, when Darren Daly suddenly found himself clean in on goal, only for MJ Tierney to intervene with an inch-perfect saving tackle.
With the wind at their backs, the hosts had the better of play in the first half, with Seaford’s best chance falling to Lewis Cawley, whose angled drive rebounded from the outside of the post.
At the other end, winger Mark Morris took advantage of Penguins’ uncertainty to nick the ball away from keeper Oisin Geoghegan, but with the goal unguarded, Seaford's makeshift central defensive partnership of Al Kennedy and Sam Browne scrambled to see off the danger.
The best effort of the half was Harry Collier's long range drive which Geoghegan dealt with comfortably.
After the break, Collier again pressed Geoghegan into action after being teed up by Cian McGregor, the big stopper parrying low to his right, but that was as good as it got for Portmarnock as two quick goals put Seaford in a commanding display
The amber defennce had looked sturdy, but suddenly collapsed around the midpoint of the half, as they failed to deal with a Conor Geoghegan throughball, leaving MJ Tierney and Lewis Cawley queuing up to bag, and it was the latter to took the opportunity to find the back of the net.
Moments later, a Tierney cross found Chris Monk in acres of space at the back post, and although he was initially denied by a fine stop by Aaron O'Driscoll, he was able to force the ball home to finally break his duck for the season.
The Penguins were rampant now and breaking through the hosts' rearguard with ease. Fionn Geoghegan was almost in for his first ever Seaford goal in his 75th appearance, but was denied by Tom O'Sullivan's tackle, and then O'Driscoll denied what seemed a certain goal, keeping out Jamie McCaul's low finish after fellow sub Jack Burke had set him up.
Tierney eventually made it 0-3 , firing home at the second attempt after getting the better of Cormac Herlihy and initially being denied by O'Driscoll.
Seaford keeper Geoghegan needed to be alert to keep out a late consolation for Paul Scully, but it was O'Driscoll who produced the best save of the day, who flew across his goal to claw away a curling effort from the man they call Goals McCaul, which was destined for the top corner.
The win ensures the Penguins’ survival in the division as a mathematical certainty, and attention will turn to the top half of the table for the remaining five matches.
Seaford: Oisin Geoghegan, Fionn Geoghegan, Paul Tansey , Al Kennedy, Sam Browne, Conor Geoghegan , Mike O'Neill (Jack Burke, 70), Killian Campion, (Jimmy Hussey, 65), Chris Monk (Richie Mulholland, 76) MJ Tierney , Lewis Cawley (Jamie McCaul, 76)
Portmarnock: Aaron O'Driscoll, Ian Daly Cormac Herlihy, Tom O'Sullivan, Mark Morris, Ronan Finlay (Paul Scully, 78), Josh Boylan, Alex Boylan, Darren Daly, Cian McGregor (Ross Waters, 63), Harry Collier (Dean Whelan, 63)
Paddy's Hill, 12 February 2022