Match Report: Seaford Rock United 2-1 Bluebell United
LSL Saturday Major 1
hSeaford clawed their way back from the brink with a gutsy display and a crucial win.
Against one of their direct rivals for the drop, the Penguins made a lively start with Sam Browne meeting MJ Tierney’s cross with a bullet header inside the first sixty seconds, only for Jason Cosgrave to parry it over the top.
Tierney also tested Cosgrave with an audacious 25-yard drive but it was his left-footed set-piece deliveries which caused the most chaos during the opening period, with both Darragh Roche and Darragh Connolly left wondering how the ball had stayed out after meeting them at the far post.
But it was Bluebell who took the lead against the run of play, when Wanda Tomose whipped in a left-wing cross for Zinedine Ndjana to nod home from close range.
Seaford fought back and leveled in style. Sam Browne’s quick thinking started the move down the left, with Connolly fizzing a Howitzer out to Tierney, who dinked the ball to the back stick, where , Jamie McCaul rose highest to bury it.
And the Penguins took a deserved lead shortly after the break as Al Kennedy’s throughball released his brother Dan Kennedy, and he ran through to notch again.
Bluebell emptied the bench and added genuine quality to their lineup,, but the hosts continued to press for a third, with Connolly forcing a good save from 1 after Tierney’s clever reverse.
At the other end, Bell’s sub Tega Dortie posed a constant threat, curling one shot just wide and seeing another couple of dangerous crosses flash just wide.
Two of Seaford’s subs almost combined for a crucial third when Stephen Canavan fed Conor Fennell but again 1 made a good stop, and in the final minute of regular time, the same two combined to set up Browne from point-blank range but again 1 somehow kept it out.
The visitors streamed forward once last time, and again Dortie wriggled free. He prodded it past Oisin Geoghegan and it looked like yet another heartbreaking late concession for Seaford, only for Fennell to produce one of the moments of the season, appearing out of nowhere under the shadow of the crossbar to somehow divert the ball to safety and secure the points.
Seaford:, Oisin Geoghegan, Darragh Roche Paul Tansey, Al Kennedy, Sam Browne, Dan Kennedy, Rob O'Shea, Darragh Connolly (Ben Kelly, 62) , Jamie McCaul (Conor Fennell, 40) MJ Tierney (Stephen Canavan, 80), Ryan Scollard,
Bluebell United: Jason Cosgrave, Mohammed Bouderbala, Bobinel Mazono, Estoban McAvilly, Wanda Tamosa, Mohammed Abounda, Othman Meslah, Harmony Nzenzi,, Zinedine Ndjana, Eze Okripo, Joseph Hackman. Subs: Kais Ali Hassan, Peter Fola, Omar Hassan, Tega Dortie, Ahmed Bader
Rockfield Park, 13 May 2024
Against one of their direct rivals for the drop, the Penguins made a lively start with Sam Browne meeting MJ Tierney’s cross with a bullet header inside the first sixty seconds, only for Jason Cosgrave to parry it over the top.
Tierney also tested Cosgrave with an audacious 25-yard drive but it was his left-footed set-piece deliveries which caused the most chaos during the opening period, with both Darragh Roche and Darragh Connolly left wondering how the ball had stayed out after meeting them at the far post.
But it was Bluebell who took the lead against the run of play, when Wanda Tomose whipped in a left-wing cross for Zinedine Ndjana to nod home from close range.
Seaford fought back and leveled in style. Sam Browne’s quick thinking started the move down the left, with Connolly fizzing a Howitzer out to Tierney, who dinked the ball to the back stick, where , Jamie McCaul rose highest to bury it.
And the Penguins took a deserved lead shortly after the break as Al Kennedy’s throughball released his brother Dan Kennedy, and he ran through to notch again.
Bluebell emptied the bench and added genuine quality to their lineup,, but the hosts continued to press for a third, with Connolly forcing a good save from 1 after Tierney’s clever reverse.
At the other end, Bell’s sub Tega Dortie posed a constant threat, curling one shot just wide and seeing another couple of dangerous crosses flash just wide.
Two of Seaford’s subs almost combined for a crucial third when Stephen Canavan fed Conor Fennell but again 1 made a good stop, and in the final minute of regular time, the same two combined to set up Browne from point-blank range but again 1 somehow kept it out.
The visitors streamed forward once last time, and again Dortie wriggled free. He prodded it past Oisin Geoghegan and it looked like yet another heartbreaking late concession for Seaford, only for Fennell to produce one of the moments of the season, appearing out of nowhere under the shadow of the crossbar to somehow divert the ball to safety and secure the points.
Seaford:, Oisin Geoghegan, Darragh Roche Paul Tansey, Al Kennedy, Sam Browne, Dan Kennedy, Rob O'Shea, Darragh Connolly (Ben Kelly, 62) , Jamie McCaul (Conor Fennell, 40) MJ Tierney (Stephen Canavan, 80), Ryan Scollard,
Bluebell United: Jason Cosgrave, Mohammed Bouderbala, Bobinel Mazono, Estoban McAvilly, Wanda Tamosa, Mohammed Abounda, Othman Meslah, Harmony Nzenzi,, Zinedine Ndjana, Eze Okripo, Joseph Hackman. Subs: Kais Ali Hassan, Peter Fola, Omar Hassan, Tega Dortie, Ahmed Bader
Rockfield Park, 13 May 2024