Match Report: Seaford Rock United 5-0 Phoenix
LSL Sat Major 1B
Seaford produced a ruthlessly dominant performance against Phoenix.to hold on to top spot in Major 1B with their eighth win in ten league matches.
The visitors have had the misfortune to oppose Seaford on two of their best performances of the season, and just like the 3-0 away win in December, the victory was founded on a clinical display of first half finishing.
And it could have been even more comfortable.. Twice in the opening ninety seconds, Seaford were inches from finding the net from set=pieces. First, from Darragh Connolly's free kick, Dave Higgins flicked a header off the post, with Stephen Kelly blazing the rebound over the bar with the goal at his mercy. Moments later, Connolly meet Tyrone McNelis's corner with a back-post header, but saw it fly just over the bar.
Seaford rode their luck on 12 minutes, when keeper Dylan O'Reilly produced a terrific save to deny the Phoenix striker, but the home side soon netted twice in three minutes to put themselves in the driving seat. McNelis got the opener, running onto Harry Crowe's throughball before spinning brilliantly on the rebound to his initial shot and finiding th ebottom corner with his left foot.
The second goal was a masterpiece, as Crowe and Mike O'Neill combined brilliantly down the Seaford right to open Phoenix up again. O'Neill was unable to get on the end of Crowe's return pass but the loose ball was met at the corner of the box by Paul Tansey's ferocious shot, which almost ripped the net from its fixtures.
Top scorer Crowe made it 20 for the season when he flicked McNelis's free kick in off the far post on 30 minutes, and McNelis almost made it 4-0 shortly after, his impudent first-time prod rebounding from the post.
With the match all but won, Seaford struggled to reach the same levels after the break, with O'Reilly excelling himself early in the second half with an astonishing reaction save to maintain his clean sheet,. O'Neill ought to have put his name on the scoresheet on the hour mark after Crowe's fine pass, and McNelis was inches from netting a stunning effort with the outside of his boot.
But it fell to Connolly, who had had a rotten day in front of goal in the previous fixture between the sides, to round out the scoring with a brace in the final quarter of an hour, first converting O'Neill's pass before running onto a downfield punt from O'Reilly and coolly lobbing the visiting keeper to make it 5-0.
The win moves Seaford three points clear at the top of the table, albeit in a somewhat false position given the disparity in games played by the leading sides. There's no question but that the team is playing swagger and solidity, and will approach the final third of the season with real confidence.
Seaford: Dylan O'Reilly, Fionn Geoghegan (Theo Cullinane, 55), Paul Tansey, Stephen Kelly, Fionn Lawlor, Dave Higgins, Mike O'Neill, Darragh Connolly, James O'Neill (Piers Shelton, 55), Tyrone McNelis, Harry Crowe (Paidi O'Fatharta, 64). Goals: McNelis (16), Tansey (18), Crowe (30), Connolly (72, 87)
Rockfield Park, 18 February 2017
The visitors have had the misfortune to oppose Seaford on two of their best performances of the season, and just like the 3-0 away win in December, the victory was founded on a clinical display of first half finishing.
And it could have been even more comfortable.. Twice in the opening ninety seconds, Seaford were inches from finding the net from set=pieces. First, from Darragh Connolly's free kick, Dave Higgins flicked a header off the post, with Stephen Kelly blazing the rebound over the bar with the goal at his mercy. Moments later, Connolly meet Tyrone McNelis's corner with a back-post header, but saw it fly just over the bar.
Seaford rode their luck on 12 minutes, when keeper Dylan O'Reilly produced a terrific save to deny the Phoenix striker, but the home side soon netted twice in three minutes to put themselves in the driving seat. McNelis got the opener, running onto Harry Crowe's throughball before spinning brilliantly on the rebound to his initial shot and finiding th ebottom corner with his left foot.
The second goal was a masterpiece, as Crowe and Mike O'Neill combined brilliantly down the Seaford right to open Phoenix up again. O'Neill was unable to get on the end of Crowe's return pass but the loose ball was met at the corner of the box by Paul Tansey's ferocious shot, which almost ripped the net from its fixtures.
Top scorer Crowe made it 20 for the season when he flicked McNelis's free kick in off the far post on 30 minutes, and McNelis almost made it 4-0 shortly after, his impudent first-time prod rebounding from the post.
With the match all but won, Seaford struggled to reach the same levels after the break, with O'Reilly excelling himself early in the second half with an astonishing reaction save to maintain his clean sheet,. O'Neill ought to have put his name on the scoresheet on the hour mark after Crowe's fine pass, and McNelis was inches from netting a stunning effort with the outside of his boot.
But it fell to Connolly, who had had a rotten day in front of goal in the previous fixture between the sides, to round out the scoring with a brace in the final quarter of an hour, first converting O'Neill's pass before running onto a downfield punt from O'Reilly and coolly lobbing the visiting keeper to make it 5-0.
The win moves Seaford three points clear at the top of the table, albeit in a somewhat false position given the disparity in games played by the leading sides. There's no question but that the team is playing swagger and solidity, and will approach the final third of the season with real confidence.
Seaford: Dylan O'Reilly, Fionn Geoghegan (Theo Cullinane, 55), Paul Tansey, Stephen Kelly, Fionn Lawlor, Dave Higgins, Mike O'Neill, Darragh Connolly, James O'Neill (Piers Shelton, 55), Tyrone McNelis, Harry Crowe (Paidi O'Fatharta, 64). Goals: McNelis (16), Tansey (18), Crowe (30), Connolly (72, 87)
Rockfield Park, 18 February 2017