Raharney United 3-0 Balleycane Celtic
Raharney over 35's faced a tough and resilient Ballycane celtic in a quarter final clash in higginstown on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams had met 3 times already this season with Ballycane winning all the encounters so far , albeit the games were close , so Raharney knew they would need to bring their A game to progress to a semi final and they duly delivered on the day.
The game started at break neck pace with ballycane flying out of the blocks. Their intensity and enthusiasm on occasion was borderline excessive but the Raharney men stood up to the challenge and didn't back down.
Despite the heavy pitch both teams looked to get the ball down and play football. Raharney soaked up some early pressure and Gary Sullivan never looked in danger of conceding early on. The back 4 of Ciaran , john , Glenn and Brian were quick and firm in the tackle and snuffed out any threat that the lively ballycane number 9 had.
Midway through the 1st half , Raharney’s number 6 Jason mcgrath , who has himself been on the scoresheet in recent weeks hit the net from a dangerous corner to give the raharney men a deserved 1 nil lead heading into the half time break.
The 2nd half started exactly how the raharney men expected, with ballycane pushing hard for an equaliser. The team defended solidly , soaking up any pressure with determined tackles , blocks and excellent organisation led by Glenn at the back. As the 2nd half went on both teams made some changes and the fresh legs made a telling contribution. Jason McGrath got his 2nd of the game on the 57th minute to give the home team some breathing space, a 20 yard free kick which sailed into the net. With time running out for ballycane they committed lads forward in search of a goal to get themselves back in the game and this nearly happened only for an exceptional piece of defending from Brian thorpe with a goal line clearance, which deflated the Nass men.
As they continued to push forward, space was opening up on the ptich and this led to Raharney’s Rory Dunne capitalising on this. He duly sealed the win with Raharney’s 3rd goal on the 62nd minute , following some nice work from Noel Corroon . This would be the last goal of the game and sealed a comprehensive home victory for the raharney men in a game which they never looked like loosing .
Best for the home team were Jason Mcgrath who's 2 goals earned him man of the Match. Notable mentions go to Gary Sullivan in goal who never put a foot wrong under the high ball and his solid shot stopping frustrated the away team. Glenn in centre of defence was immense and Rory Dunne up top ran the away sides defence ragged. All in all it was a fantastic squad display from everyone which has been evident the past few weeks with some fantastic performances from everyone.
Next up is the cup semi final against the current league champions Newbridge Town on Saturday , with Rathangan awaiting the winners in the final.
Raharney over 35's faced a tough and resilient Ballycane celtic in a quarter final clash in higginstown on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams had met 3 times already this season with Ballycane winning all the encounters so far , albeit the games were close , so Raharney knew they would need to bring their A game to progress to a semi final and they duly delivered on the day.
The game started at break neck pace with ballycane flying out of the blocks. Their intensity and enthusiasm on occasion was borderline excessive but the Raharney men stood up to the challenge and didn't back down.
Despite the heavy pitch both teams looked to get the ball down and play football. Raharney soaked up some early pressure and Gary Sullivan never looked in danger of conceding early on. The back 4 of Ciaran , john , Glenn and Brian were quick and firm in the tackle and snuffed out any threat that the lively ballycane number 9 had.
Midway through the 1st half , Raharney’s number 6 Jason mcgrath , who has himself been on the scoresheet in recent weeks hit the net from a dangerous corner to give the raharney men a deserved 1 nil lead heading into the half time break.
The 2nd half started exactly how the raharney men expected, with ballycane pushing hard for an equaliser. The team defended solidly , soaking up any pressure with determined tackles , blocks and excellent organisation led by Glenn at the back. As the 2nd half went on both teams made some changes and the fresh legs made a telling contribution. Jason McGrath got his 2nd of the game on the 57th minute to give the home team some breathing space, a 20 yard free kick which sailed into the net. With time running out for ballycane they committed lads forward in search of a goal to get themselves back in the game and this nearly happened only for an exceptional piece of defending from Brian thorpe with a goal line clearance, which deflated the Nass men.
As they continued to push forward, space was opening up on the ptich and this led to Raharney’s Rory Dunne capitalising on this. He duly sealed the win with Raharney’s 3rd goal on the 62nd minute , following some nice work from Noel Corroon . This would be the last goal of the game and sealed a comprehensive home victory for the raharney men in a game which they never looked like loosing .
Best for the home team were Jason Mcgrath who's 2 goals earned him man of the Match. Notable mentions go to Gary Sullivan in goal who never put a foot wrong under the high ball and his solid shot stopping frustrated the away team. Glenn in centre of defence was immense and Rory Dunne up top ran the away sides defence ragged. All in all it was a fantastic squad display from everyone which has been evident the past few weeks with some fantastic performances from everyone.
Next up is the cup semi final against the current league champions Newbridge Town on Saturday , with Rathangan awaiting the winners in the final.
