Match Report: Seaford Rock United 5-1 Swords Celtic
LSL Saturday Major 1
Seaford got their faltering Major 1 campaign up and running by routing Swords Celtic at Rockfield Park.
The Penguins had much the better of the chances throughout but it was only in the second half when they made their superiority count, with Ryan Scollard rattling in a 12-minute hat-trick to put the hosts out of sight.
Seaford started on the front foot and almost opened the scoring inside a minute when man-of-the-match Ben Kelly burst down the right wing and crossed for Jamie McCaul to head just wide at the near post.
And McCaul made no mistake a few minutes later when a Scollard flick on from Ian Nolan's ball put him clean through. McCaul coolly slotted the ball into the corner of the net.
Swords levelled straight away, as Shane Verdon volleyed home from a yard out following a Darren Fanning header, but the Penguins reasserted their dominance and the Swords goal led a charmed life throughout the rest of the half.
First, Darragh Connolly won a crunching tackle in midfield, allowing Kelly to put Scollard through, but the speedy frontman's clever chip dropped just the wrong side of the post.
Then Connolly's footwork worked another opening down the right, as he cut back for skipper Al Kennedy, whose goalbound shot was brilliantly denied by Eoin Burke's desperate block.
Towards the end of the half, Kennedy fed McCaul again, but his low shot was again inches off-target, so the sides were deadlocked at half-time.
Both keepers were pressed into action shortly after the restart, with Swords's Aaron McCormack producing a stunning stop to deny Adam O'Shea, who was certain he'd scored with a close-range volley, and then at the other end Oisin Geoghegan was alert to deny Sean Hallahan, who had sauntered past two navy defenders.
But Swords's high line was highly vulnerable to the hosts' pacey forward line and moments later McCaul was through yet again, but once more McCormack produced a fine save to flick the ball past the post.
The breakthrough finally came from the resulting corner. Kennedy's whipped delivery possibly made its away across the line, but if there were any doubt it was dispelled when Kelly put his backside in the way of Verdon's attempted clerance and diverted the ball into the net.
It was the first of three Seaford goals in the space of six minutes, both bagged by Scollard, who first raced onto Geoghegan's punt forward to finish before nodding home Connolly's chipped cross, and he completed the hat-trick on 69 minutes as the visitor's porous defensive line was exposed yet again.
Seaford rang the changes, as Alan Burns handed out a couple of debuts in order to see out the match. One of them, Ran Tao, almost finished off a brilliant move started by some sublime showboating from Paul Tansey, but fired just too high from the edge of the box.
But the points were never in doubt and they're enough to see the Penguins clamber off the foot of the Major 1 table.
Seaford:, Oisin Geoghegan, Darragh Roche, Brian Murphy, Ian Nolan, Sam Browne (Oliver Wright, 70) Al Kennedy, Ben Kelly, Adam O'Shea (Paul Tansey, 73) Darragh Connolly (James Kearney, 73) Ryan Scollard (Ran Tao, 73), Jamie McCaul,
Swords Celtic: Aaron McCormack, Simon Honan (Andrew Barker, 59), Conor McLoughlin (Adam O'Neill, 59), Eoin Burke, Shane Verdon, Darren McCormack, Darren Fanning, Darragh Gill, Sean Hallahan, Barry Davis (Dean Caul, 63), Mikey Caul (Sean Herbert, 60)
Rockfield Park, 14 October 2023
The Penguins had much the better of the chances throughout but it was only in the second half when they made their superiority count, with Ryan Scollard rattling in a 12-minute hat-trick to put the hosts out of sight.
Seaford started on the front foot and almost opened the scoring inside a minute when man-of-the-match Ben Kelly burst down the right wing and crossed for Jamie McCaul to head just wide at the near post.
And McCaul made no mistake a few minutes later when a Scollard flick on from Ian Nolan's ball put him clean through. McCaul coolly slotted the ball into the corner of the net.
Swords levelled straight away, as Shane Verdon volleyed home from a yard out following a Darren Fanning header, but the Penguins reasserted their dominance and the Swords goal led a charmed life throughout the rest of the half.
First, Darragh Connolly won a crunching tackle in midfield, allowing Kelly to put Scollard through, but the speedy frontman's clever chip dropped just the wrong side of the post.
Then Connolly's footwork worked another opening down the right, as he cut back for skipper Al Kennedy, whose goalbound shot was brilliantly denied by Eoin Burke's desperate block.
Towards the end of the half, Kennedy fed McCaul again, but his low shot was again inches off-target, so the sides were deadlocked at half-time.
Both keepers were pressed into action shortly after the restart, with Swords's Aaron McCormack producing a stunning stop to deny Adam O'Shea, who was certain he'd scored with a close-range volley, and then at the other end Oisin Geoghegan was alert to deny Sean Hallahan, who had sauntered past two navy defenders.
But Swords's high line was highly vulnerable to the hosts' pacey forward line and moments later McCaul was through yet again, but once more McCormack produced a fine save to flick the ball past the post.
The breakthrough finally came from the resulting corner. Kennedy's whipped delivery possibly made its away across the line, but if there were any doubt it was dispelled when Kelly put his backside in the way of Verdon's attempted clerance and diverted the ball into the net.
It was the first of three Seaford goals in the space of six minutes, both bagged by Scollard, who first raced onto Geoghegan's punt forward to finish before nodding home Connolly's chipped cross, and he completed the hat-trick on 69 minutes as the visitor's porous defensive line was exposed yet again.
Seaford rang the changes, as Alan Burns handed out a couple of debuts in order to see out the match. One of them, Ran Tao, almost finished off a brilliant move started by some sublime showboating from Paul Tansey, but fired just too high from the edge of the box.
But the points were never in doubt and they're enough to see the Penguins clamber off the foot of the Major 1 table.
Seaford:, Oisin Geoghegan, Darragh Roche, Brian Murphy, Ian Nolan, Sam Browne (Oliver Wright, 70) Al Kennedy, Ben Kelly, Adam O'Shea (Paul Tansey, 73) Darragh Connolly (James Kearney, 73) Ryan Scollard (Ran Tao, 73), Jamie McCaul,
Swords Celtic: Aaron McCormack, Simon Honan (Andrew Barker, 59), Conor McLoughlin (Adam O'Neill, 59), Eoin Burke, Shane Verdon, Darren McCormack, Darren Fanning, Darragh Gill, Sean Hallahan, Barry Davis (Dean Caul, 63), Mikey Caul (Sean Herbert, 60)
Rockfield Park, 14 October 2023
