Match Report: Seaford Rock United 3-2 Kill Celtic
LSL Sat Division 3
Seaford's seconds finished their season with a superb win to deny their visitors the title at Rockfield Park.
With a heavily depleted team, the odds were stacked against Seaford, who had secured their safety with a comfortable victory over Mid-Sutton Sportslink, but were still very much outsiders against Kill Celtic, the Kildare men seeking a double-victory, having won the same division two years previously, as well as the Leinster Junior Shield.
It took just five minutes for the visitors to take the lead, with Ian Richardson smartly converting at the back post from captain Dean Conroy's corner. And it almost got worse seconds after the restart, when Joe Cusack was first denied by Luke Ginnell, before an incredible saving tackle by Barry Kirwan prevented him from converting the rebound..
Seaford showed their prowess on 10 minutes when MJ Tierney,dribbled from the halfway line before unleashing a ferocious left foot drive which Frank Kilkenny did well to tip over, and they were unlucky not to equalise from a Tierney corner when, after Kirwan's knock-down, Mark Cullen hooked the ball onto the cross-bar.
But having been well on top for much of the first half, Seaford deserved their equaliser on 47 minutes when, from Tierney's whipped cross, David Devaney flicked the ball into the path of Carl Doyle to convert from two yards.
The visitors dominated the early part of the second half, only to be denied by Luke Ginnell's incredible goalkeeping performance,. He first displayed supernatural reflexes to deny Sean O'Connor with his feet, before making an even better save to keep out Cusack from point-blank range.
But he could do nothing to stop Ray Davies's whipped free kick on 73 minutes, at which point Kill Celtic seemed likely to stay on track to claim the Division 3 title.
Seaford, however, had other ideas, and equalised on 82 minutes following a superb move. Man-of-the-match Wouter Hoek won the ball in midfield, feeding substitute Chris Monk, who in turn found Tierney, and Tierney's slide-rule pass put Doyle in on goal to net his seventh goal in just two-and-a-half home matches.
The scene was set for the most unlikely of victories, with substitute Donal Howley teeing up winger David Mackey for a winner, but he was unable to find the net. It seemed as though Seaford's race was run when Mark Cullen, making his first appearance of the season, was dismissed in the 92nd minute for a second yellow card.
Incredibly however, Monk drew a foul from Kill centre-back, setting the scene for Tierney, a set-piece genius, to whip a 95th minute free-kick into the top corner of the net, securing Seaford's fifth win from six league games, and handing the league title to AIB.
Seaford: Luke Ginnell, Shane Lauritsch, (Donal Howley, 89) Chris Sastre, Darren Grealish (Matt Tappin, 81), Barry Kirwan, David Devaney, Wouter Hoek,( (, 73), Mark Cullen, David Mackey,Frank Mulhall, 90 + 1) MJ Tierney, Carl Doyle, Goals: Doyle (47, 82), Tierney (90+4)
Kill Celtic: Frank Kilkenny, Sean O'Connor, Peter Fagan, Steve Brady-Mullins, Ian Richardson, Niall Devaney (Niall O'Connor, 59), Steve Carroll (Ray Davies, 59), Liam O'Connor, Carl Maguire Dean Conroy, Joe Cusack
Rockfield Park, 29 April 2017
With a heavily depleted team, the odds were stacked against Seaford, who had secured their safety with a comfortable victory over Mid-Sutton Sportslink, but were still very much outsiders against Kill Celtic, the Kildare men seeking a double-victory, having won the same division two years previously, as well as the Leinster Junior Shield.
It took just five minutes for the visitors to take the lead, with Ian Richardson smartly converting at the back post from captain Dean Conroy's corner. And it almost got worse seconds after the restart, when Joe Cusack was first denied by Luke Ginnell, before an incredible saving tackle by Barry Kirwan prevented him from converting the rebound..
Seaford showed their prowess on 10 minutes when MJ Tierney,dribbled from the halfway line before unleashing a ferocious left foot drive which Frank Kilkenny did well to tip over, and they were unlucky not to equalise from a Tierney corner when, after Kirwan's knock-down, Mark Cullen hooked the ball onto the cross-bar.
But having been well on top for much of the first half, Seaford deserved their equaliser on 47 minutes when, from Tierney's whipped cross, David Devaney flicked the ball into the path of Carl Doyle to convert from two yards.
The visitors dominated the early part of the second half, only to be denied by Luke Ginnell's incredible goalkeeping performance,. He first displayed supernatural reflexes to deny Sean O'Connor with his feet, before making an even better save to keep out Cusack from point-blank range.
But he could do nothing to stop Ray Davies's whipped free kick on 73 minutes, at which point Kill Celtic seemed likely to stay on track to claim the Division 3 title.
Seaford, however, had other ideas, and equalised on 82 minutes following a superb move. Man-of-the-match Wouter Hoek won the ball in midfield, feeding substitute Chris Monk, who in turn found Tierney, and Tierney's slide-rule pass put Doyle in on goal to net his seventh goal in just two-and-a-half home matches.
The scene was set for the most unlikely of victories, with substitute Donal Howley teeing up winger David Mackey for a winner, but he was unable to find the net. It seemed as though Seaford's race was run when Mark Cullen, making his first appearance of the season, was dismissed in the 92nd minute for a second yellow card.
Incredibly however, Monk drew a foul from Kill centre-back, setting the scene for Tierney, a set-piece genius, to whip a 95th minute free-kick into the top corner of the net, securing Seaford's fifth win from six league games, and handing the league title to AIB.
Seaford: Luke Ginnell, Shane Lauritsch, (Donal Howley, 89) Chris Sastre, Darren Grealish (Matt Tappin, 81), Barry Kirwan, David Devaney, Wouter Hoek,( (, 73), Mark Cullen, David Mackey,Frank Mulhall, 90 + 1) MJ Tierney, Carl Doyle, Goals: Doyle (47, 82), Tierney (90+4)
Kill Celtic: Frank Kilkenny, Sean O'Connor, Peter Fagan, Steve Brady-Mullins, Ian Richardson, Niall Devaney (Niall O'Connor, 59), Steve Carroll (Ray Davies, 59), Liam O'Connor, Carl Maguire Dean Conroy, Joe Cusack
Rockfield Park, 29 April 2017