Tulla snatch injury-time winner

Tulla United A 4   Connolly Celtic A 3

Tulla United A staged a late rally to beat Connolly Celtic at the Cragg in the premier league on Sunday.
Trailing 3-1 well into the final quarter, the visitors looked to be on the way to collecting the points
Connolly took the lead after just two minutes. A free kick from the left caused problems for the home side’s defence and Kieran Dillon pounced for the opening goal.

Tulla levelled in the eighth minute when Trevor Corbett took a free short to Tommy McKeown, who found the net.

Five minutes from half-time the visitors were back in front when Kenneth Kennedy got the final touch and this goal separated the teams at the break.

Eighteen minutes from the end, Connolly looked to have sealed victory when Alan Markham headed to the net following a corner.

There were just eight minutes remaining when a Trevor Corbett cross found Andy McMahon. His effort was parried but Tommy McKeown was following up and he fired to the net.

Three minutes from time, a long-range delivery from Shane Mason was controlled by McKeogh on the penalty spot and he shot to the net to complete a hat-trick and level the tie.

The momentum was now with the home side and, in the first minute of injury time Donnacda McNamara found Paudge Vaughan and he struck for the winning goal.

Tulla United A: Darragh Kelly; Niall Whelan, Mark Healy, Denis Murphy, Padraic O’Malley, Shane Mason, Donnacda McNamara, Killian Bane, Tommy McKeown, Trevor Corbett, Colin Nelson.
Subs: Brian McInerney for Healy, Paudge Vaughan for Bane and Andy McMahon for Nelson.
Connolly Celtic: Niall Quinn; Greg Howard, Killian McNamara, Luke Coote, Ian Hassett, Ronnie Meere, Brendan Dillon, John Kelly, Alan Markham, Ken Kennedy, Kieran Dillon.

Mountshannon Celtic 1   Avenue United A  3

Avenue United raced into a two-goal lead after 15 minutes with goals from Scott Hennessy and Barry Nugent in an entertaining tie played on a heavy surface. These goals separated the sides at the interval and played a big part in the Ennis club ending Mountshannon’s unbeaten start to the season.

The East Clare side pulled a goal back early in the second half through Kelan McNamara and Avenue had to withstand some pressure before David McCarthy sealed the win from close range in the 80th minute following good work by Mikey Mahony.

Mountshannon Celtic: Colm Kavanagh; Kevin Dooley, Martin McNamara, Pádraig Brody, Raymond Cahill, Michael Barrett, Michael Dooley, Paul Dooley, Michael Scanlan, Keelan McNamara, Cathal Moloney.
Subs: John O’Brien, Liam Corry and Niall Deere.
Avenue United A: John Healy; David Herlihy, Eamon O’Reilly, Mattie Nugent, Simon Cuddy, Alan Roche Colin Smyth, David McCarthy, Mikey Mahony, Barry Nugent, Scott Hennessy.
Subs: David Smyth  for Colin Smyth, Mark Roche for Scott Hennessy; Dean D’Auria for Eamon O’Reilly.

Newmarket Celtic A 3   Hermitage A 0

Defending champions Newmarket Celtic had a comfortable win over visitors Hermitage on Sunday. This was the second meeting of the teams this season, as they had met in the Munster Junior Cup earlier in the season, when Newmarket were winners.

Newmarket started the brighter, as they controlled the game for the opening 20 minutes and in that period had a number of chances to put Hermitage to the sword. Eoin Hayes twice hit the side netting from a difficult angle, Ronan McCormack testing the ability of the visiting keeper as well as the woodwork and a couple of chances from corners but when the deadlock was finally broken, it came following a scramble in the box and Eoin O’Brien slotted home to send the reds on their way.

Hermitage hit back and Richie Fitzgerald started to get forward a bit more from his left-back spot. The visitors were creating chances and looked to be about to draw level when the Newmarket keeper was rounded, only for Newmarket left-back Paudie Hayes to get back on the line and save the day.

Newmarket kicked off the second half hoping to put this game away and the game took a twist 10 minutes into the second half when Dathí O’Connell raced onto a through ball, only to be taken down just outside the box. Referee Pádraig Sutton brandished the red card to ’Tage goalie David Phillips. Hermitage, feeling aggrieved by the decision, lost another man in the protests, this time through a second bookable offence when Ger Dullaghan was dismissed.

Down to nine men, the task of coming from 1-0 down against the champions in their home ground became a mountain in the space of 60 seconds. Newmarket pushed on, with goals coming from Dathí O’Connell on 70 minutes and then his replacement Diarmuid Nash got in on the act 10 minutes from time. Newmarket had plenty of chances after this through Ronan McCormack, who hit the woodwork for a second time.

The win sees Newmarket keep up their push for a third successive league title thanks to solid performances from Michael Devitt, Eoin O’Brien and Paudie Hayes.

Newmarket Celtic A: Jan de Silva; David O’Grady, Paudie Hayes, Mark Donlon, Colum Tracey, Alan Kelly, Michael Devitt, Eoin O’Brien, Ronan McCormack, Dathí O’Connell, Eoin Hayes.
Subs: Seamie Lawlor for Michael Devitt, Alan Brigdale for Eoin Hayes and Diarmuid Nash for Dathí O’Connell.
Hermitage A: David Phillips; Gavin O’Reilly, Rhys Phillips, Tola Crowe, Ritchie Fitzgerald, Ger Dullaghan, Paul Dullaghan, Shane Talty, Adrian Power, Ritchie O’Grady, Johnny Ferns.
Subs: Pa Mannion for Ferns, Eoin Ryan for P Dullaghan and Micheal Culligan for Talty.