Leaders Rhine Rovers in control

Manus Celtic A 1   Rhine Rovers 6

 

Leaders Rhine Rovers maintained their place at the top of the table with this comfortable win over Manus Celtic A at the Fairgreen on Sunday.
Following the thrilling conclusion to last year’s Second Division title race between these two sides, it would be fair to say a less conclusive result would have been expected here. Rovers topped the league last year, just ahead of Manus.
This latest setback for the Clarecastle outfit comes hot on the heels of a 9-0 drubbing by Bunratty-Cratloe the previous Sunday. Rovers got off to a flyer when Christy O’Brien, after only 30 seconds, found the net with a neat finish.
Supporters might have expected Rovers to dominate proceedings after such a whirlwind start but in playing their first game since mid-November the Quin men seemed to struggle with the bounce of the ball.
When Rovers did maintain a level of fluidity in midfield, however, they managed to open Manus’ defence with more regularity. 
Davy O’Brien’s effort was going towards the top corner when defender Mikey McDonagh deflected it over the bar and this resulted in a penalty for Rhine, which Johnnie O’Brien converted. To add to the loser’s woes, McDonagh was shown a red card.
Manus, to their credit, never threw in the towel and with ex-Rhine player Jamie Fahy and Kevin Clohessy competing with gusto they got a lifeline just before half-time. Jamie Fahy smashed his finish beyond the helpless Aidan O’Connor in the Rhine goal to leave his side trailing by just the one score at the break.
Rhine’s impressive second-half substitute Martin Reidy put Rovers two up shortly after the resumption.  The nail in the coffin came after Manus were denied a strong claim for a penalty and within minutes Johnny O’Brien had notched his hat-trick with two close range strikes.  Ivor Whyte completed the rout with a smashing 25-yard drive into the top corner in the dying minutes, having been set up by Brendan Quinn.

Manus Celtic A: Emmet Considine; Ryan Deloughery, Conor Donnellan, Andrew Page, Cathal Lynch, Kevin Clohessy, Steve Geraghty, Martin Molloy, Jamie Fahy, Mike McDonagh John Molloy.
Subs: Aaron Greene for De Loughrey; Johnnie Kerins for Lynch (inj); Darren McDonagh for Page (inj).
Rhine Rovers: Aidan O’Connor; Sean Heaney, Cillian Duggan, Paul Johnston, Martin McInerney, Mark Hanrahan, Ivor Whyte, Davy O’Brien, Johnny O’Brien, Derek Ryan, Christy O Brien.
Subs: Martin Reidy for Derek Ryan; Shane O Grady for Sean Heaney; Brendan Quinn for Christy O’Brien.

Bridge Celtic 2   Connolly Celtic 2
Connolly Celtic made the long journey to O’Briensbridge on Sunday and earned a share of the spoils with the home side.
The visitors came from behind, having been a goal down at half-time and two down early in the second half.
Alan Conway scored both for the home side while Connolly’s replies came from Yan Feck from a free kick while Kieran Dillon with a header with five minutes to go got the equalizer.

Bridge Celtic: Paul O’Connell; Diarmuid Ahern, Pat Conway, Stephen Howard, Luke Turner, Wesley Fleming, Trevor Howard, Willie Neary, Dean Sinnott; Paul McEvoy, Alan Conway.
Subs: Liam McGill, Shane Moloney
Connolly Celtic: Niall Quinn; Barry Lynch, Brian Connellan, Kieran Dillon, Alan Markham; John Kelly, Bernard Field, Ken Kennedy, Brendan Dillon, Yan Feck, Pat Hogan.

Bunratty-Cratloe A 1   Turnpike Rovers 1
Burntatty-Cratloe took the lead through Ally McMillan after 10 minutes in this tie played at Woulfe Park but the teams were level 10 minutes later when David McMahon scored.
Turnpike Rovers goalie Dermot Gannon made some good stops on the day while the Ennis side had claims for a second-half penalty ruled out.

Bunratty-Cratloe: Pierce De Loughrey; Philip Counihan, Mike Hayes, Ogie Murphy, Eoin Nash, Sean Hynan, Michael Hawes, Sean McDonald, Paul Butler, Ally McMillan, Diarmuid Nash.
Subs: Gearóid O’Connell, Brian Phelan.
Turnpike Rovers: Dermot Gannon; Donnacda Hassett, Shane Moroney, Sean Dobbins, Eric Hayes, David McMahon, James Keane, Mark Woods, Brendan Dobbins, Jason Hayes, Will O’Keeffe.
Subs: Joe Slattery for O’Keeffe.

Kilrush Rangers 2   Avenue United B 4
Avenue United B made the ­journey to Kilrush for this tie on Sunday and returned with the points after an impressive win. Gary Seery scored a­ hat-trick for the winners while Simon ­McDonagh was the other goalscorer.
Avenue scored twice in quick succession midway through the first half. Stephen Sweeney pulled one back for Kilrush shortly before half-time.
Fifteen minutes into the second half Avenue restored the two-goal advantage and then got a fourth. Kilrush rallied and Trevor Clancy scored their second but it didn’t prevent Avenue taking the points. Both goalkeepers brought off good saves while both sides missed some good chances.

Kilrush Rangers: Johnnie O’Connor; Kevin Clohessy, Martin Danagher, Kevin Larkin, Robert Carey, Sean Downes, Eoin Fitzgerald, Trevor Clancy, Gearóid O’Brien, Stephen Sweeney, Paddy Coleman.
Subs: Sean Shannon.
Avenue United B: Killian Culligan; Shane Browne, Eamonn O’Reilly, David Considine, John Waters; Gary Seery, Neil Slattery, Mick Shields, Dara Kerins, Eoghan O’Loughlin, Emyra Zekiri.
Subs: Simon McDonagh, Neil McCarthy, Josh Lynch.