Match Report: Seaford Rock United 3-1 Blessington
LSL Sat Division 3
A poacher's hat-trick from Carl Doyle engineered a second-half turnaround for Seaford as they banished relegation worries with a third straight league win.
It had been a shocking first half display from the men in white, who fell behind within the first three minutes, when an undercooked pass from keeper Luke Ginnell gifted the ball to Blessington's Patrick Carroll, who slotted into the empty net. Neither side mustered much of an attacking threat during the rest of the first 45, even if Seaford's performance improved marginally towards the end.
And it could easily have gotten worse for the home side shortly after the break, as Carroll burst past several challenges and rounded Ginnell only to see his finish rebound off the inside of the post. Seaford had another let-off when John Power's apparent penalty box trip on Bryan Carroll went unpunished, before the home side finally took control of the match.
Dead ball expert Tommy Crichlow saw his whipped free kick fly inches past the far post, shortly before the equaliser arrived on 55 minutes. The architect was Conor Geoghegan, who evaded two midfield tackles and fired in a left-footed shot from range, which Davide Lionallo could only parry for Doyle to convert.
Doyle almost added a second soon after another Lionello save, this time from Mikey Kane's 20 yard drive, but his back-heeled finish was inches wide, but he made no mistake on 73 minutes, yet again pouncing to bury a rebound, following a ferocious long-range shot by David Devaney.
Lionello had been Blessington's star player in each of the previous matches between the sides earlier in the season, and he had to be at his best to deny substitute Daire Ralph twice in the dying minutes of the game, first producing a breathtaking save low to his left before tipping over Ralph's powerful strike on the counter-attack.
The visitors' goalscorer Carroll was dismissed late on for kicking out at Geoghegan, before Doyle completed his hat-trick with a bullet header from Donal Howley's corner.
Seaford: Luke Ginnell, Matt Tappin (Marc Smith, 33), Robbie Murray (Mikey Kane, 62), John Power, Conor Geoghegan, David Devaney, Tommy Crichlow (Daire Ralph, 65), Shane Lauritsch, (Chris Sastre, 62), Donal Howley, Carl Doyle, Frank Mulhall Goals: Doyle (55, 73, 90 + 3)
Blessington: Davide Lionello, Jordan Nolan, Ciaran Dempsey, Eoin Lyons, Stephen Creighton, Zach Dennison, Matthew Sheehy, Darren Larkin, Bryan Carroll, Kevin Byrne, Patrick Carroll
Rockfield Park, 1 April 2017
It had been a shocking first half display from the men in white, who fell behind within the first three minutes, when an undercooked pass from keeper Luke Ginnell gifted the ball to Blessington's Patrick Carroll, who slotted into the empty net. Neither side mustered much of an attacking threat during the rest of the first 45, even if Seaford's performance improved marginally towards the end.
And it could easily have gotten worse for the home side shortly after the break, as Carroll burst past several challenges and rounded Ginnell only to see his finish rebound off the inside of the post. Seaford had another let-off when John Power's apparent penalty box trip on Bryan Carroll went unpunished, before the home side finally took control of the match.
Dead ball expert Tommy Crichlow saw his whipped free kick fly inches past the far post, shortly before the equaliser arrived on 55 minutes. The architect was Conor Geoghegan, who evaded two midfield tackles and fired in a left-footed shot from range, which Davide Lionallo could only parry for Doyle to convert.
Doyle almost added a second soon after another Lionello save, this time from Mikey Kane's 20 yard drive, but his back-heeled finish was inches wide, but he made no mistake on 73 minutes, yet again pouncing to bury a rebound, following a ferocious long-range shot by David Devaney.
Lionello had been Blessington's star player in each of the previous matches between the sides earlier in the season, and he had to be at his best to deny substitute Daire Ralph twice in the dying minutes of the game, first producing a breathtaking save low to his left before tipping over Ralph's powerful strike on the counter-attack.
The visitors' goalscorer Carroll was dismissed late on for kicking out at Geoghegan, before Doyle completed his hat-trick with a bullet header from Donal Howley's corner.
Seaford: Luke Ginnell, Matt Tappin (Marc Smith, 33), Robbie Murray (Mikey Kane, 62), John Power, Conor Geoghegan, David Devaney, Tommy Crichlow (Daire Ralph, 65), Shane Lauritsch, (Chris Sastre, 62), Donal Howley, Carl Doyle, Frank Mulhall Goals: Doyle (55, 73, 90 + 3)
Blessington: Davide Lionello, Jordan Nolan, Ciaran Dempsey, Eoin Lyons, Stephen Creighton, Zach Dennison, Matthew Sheehy, Darren Larkin, Bryan Carroll, Kevin Byrne, Patrick Carroll
Rockfield Park, 1 April 2017