Match Report: Seaford Rock United 5-1 Mid Sutton Sportslink
LSL Sat Division 3
Seaford secured their divisional status in style with a fine performance featuring a couple of special goals, romping to victory against relegation-bound Mid Sutton Sportslink,
The result was a direct reversal of the previous meeting between the sides , when Mid Sutton had dished out a hiding back in August, but the home side dominated this encounter from start to finish, even if it was only in the second half when they pulled clear.
Seaford brought a high tempo to proceedings from the outset, playing the match in the visitors' half and carving out some decent opportunities down the wings. Right midfielder David Mackey had already just failed to connect with a superb Donal Howley ball before he met Conor Geoghegan's whipped cross with a back-post volley, only to be denied by Conor Ennis.
Mid Sutton's striker Lorcan Quinn, who had ran riot in the earlier match, ploughed a lone furrow up front, and Seaford had a let-off when he was pulled down by keeper Dylan O'Reilly forty yards from goal, resulting in a yellow card. But it was a rare foray upfield by the men in blue and black, and it seemed only a matter of time before Seaford opened the scoring.
The best openings were created by Stephen Kelly's brilliant bursts upfield from fullback. First, he beat three opponents before firing across the face of goal, before another brilliant run ended in him chipping the keeper and hitting the far post, with Geoghegan somehow managing to blast the rebound over the bar from inside the six yard box.
The breakthrough remained elusive despite the whites' domination. Mackey was denied the clearest of penalties when a Mid Sutton defender blatantly took his legs from under him when he was about to fire at goal from close range.
But Geoghegan made amends for his earlier blunder with an astonishing goal at the beginning of the second half. Rolled the ball from tip-off, he spotted Ennis off his line and somehow managed to drop the ball over his head and just under the cross-bar from some 60 yards away.
It was 2-0 on 53 minutes when Carl Doyle laid in David Devaney, whose shanked shot fell perfectly for Mackey to net his first ever Seaford goal at the back post.
Quinn earned his side a lifeline shortly after, heading in Alan Fay's free kick, but two quick goals from Seaford substitutes secured the points. The first was a beauty, with Dave Higgins passing into the net from 25 yards after Denis Donnelly had hassled a poor clearance out of Ennis. Seconds later, Donnelly ought to have scored himself after being laid in by Mackey, but Seaford didn't have to wait long for add another, from yet another Kelly attack. He saw his chip rebound off the bar, and Doyle was on hand to bury the rebound from merely inches out.
The poacher extraordinaire Doyle made it five opportunistic goals in two home matches with Seaford's fifth late on, spinning to fire a bobbling shot past Mid Sutton's sub keeper.
It was Seaford's fourth win in five league matches to rescue what had been a perilous situation in Division 3, and they will conclude their campaign as they began it, with a match against Kill Celtic on Saturday.
Seaford: Dylan O'Reilly, Stephen Kelly (Mikey Kane, 73), David Devaney, Darren Grealish, Alan Brennan, Conor Geoghegan, Mark O'Brien, (Dave Higgins, 65), Donal Howley (Chris Sastre, 73), David Mackey, Frank Mulhall (Denis Donnelly, 65) Daire Ralph, (Carl Doyle, 48) Goals: Geoghegan (46), Mackey (53) Higgins (68) Doyle (70, 81)
Mid Sutton Sportslink: Conor Ennis, Conor Phelan (Shane McGarry, 67), Rory Keogh (Alan Parker, 88), Tommy Keenan (Ciaran Smith, 90), Aaron Tohill, Luke O'Brien (Mick Carr, 83), Alan Fay, Lorcan Quinn, Christian Richards, Matthew Duignan
Rockfield Park, 24 April 2017
The result was a direct reversal of the previous meeting between the sides , when Mid Sutton had dished out a hiding back in August, but the home side dominated this encounter from start to finish, even if it was only in the second half when they pulled clear.
Seaford brought a high tempo to proceedings from the outset, playing the match in the visitors' half and carving out some decent opportunities down the wings. Right midfielder David Mackey had already just failed to connect with a superb Donal Howley ball before he met Conor Geoghegan's whipped cross with a back-post volley, only to be denied by Conor Ennis.
Mid Sutton's striker Lorcan Quinn, who had ran riot in the earlier match, ploughed a lone furrow up front, and Seaford had a let-off when he was pulled down by keeper Dylan O'Reilly forty yards from goal, resulting in a yellow card. But it was a rare foray upfield by the men in blue and black, and it seemed only a matter of time before Seaford opened the scoring.
The best openings were created by Stephen Kelly's brilliant bursts upfield from fullback. First, he beat three opponents before firing across the face of goal, before another brilliant run ended in him chipping the keeper and hitting the far post, with Geoghegan somehow managing to blast the rebound over the bar from inside the six yard box.
The breakthrough remained elusive despite the whites' domination. Mackey was denied the clearest of penalties when a Mid Sutton defender blatantly took his legs from under him when he was about to fire at goal from close range.
But Geoghegan made amends for his earlier blunder with an astonishing goal at the beginning of the second half. Rolled the ball from tip-off, he spotted Ennis off his line and somehow managed to drop the ball over his head and just under the cross-bar from some 60 yards away.
It was 2-0 on 53 minutes when Carl Doyle laid in David Devaney, whose shanked shot fell perfectly for Mackey to net his first ever Seaford goal at the back post.
Quinn earned his side a lifeline shortly after, heading in Alan Fay's free kick, but two quick goals from Seaford substitutes secured the points. The first was a beauty, with Dave Higgins passing into the net from 25 yards after Denis Donnelly had hassled a poor clearance out of Ennis. Seconds later, Donnelly ought to have scored himself after being laid in by Mackey, but Seaford didn't have to wait long for add another, from yet another Kelly attack. He saw his chip rebound off the bar, and Doyle was on hand to bury the rebound from merely inches out.
The poacher extraordinaire Doyle made it five opportunistic goals in two home matches with Seaford's fifth late on, spinning to fire a bobbling shot past Mid Sutton's sub keeper.
It was Seaford's fourth win in five league matches to rescue what had been a perilous situation in Division 3, and they will conclude their campaign as they began it, with a match against Kill Celtic on Saturday.
Seaford: Dylan O'Reilly, Stephen Kelly (Mikey Kane, 73), David Devaney, Darren Grealish, Alan Brennan, Conor Geoghegan, Mark O'Brien, (Dave Higgins, 65), Donal Howley (Chris Sastre, 73), David Mackey, Frank Mulhall (Denis Donnelly, 65) Daire Ralph, (Carl Doyle, 48) Goals: Geoghegan (46), Mackey (53) Higgins (68) Doyle (70, 81)
Mid Sutton Sportslink: Conor Ennis, Conor Phelan (Shane McGarry, 67), Rory Keogh (Alan Parker, 88), Tommy Keenan (Ciaran Smith, 90), Aaron Tohill, Luke O'Brien (Mick Carr, 83), Alan Fay, Lorcan Quinn, Christian Richards, Matthew Duignan
Rockfield Park, 24 April 2017