RDFL ROUND UP 02/04/23

Roscommon and District League Round Up
2nd April 2023
In the Joes Bar sponsored Challenge Cup holders Shiven Rovers bowed out of this seasons competition when they lost on penalties to the Premier Division side Ballinasloe Town at Ballinasloe. In a really close game the Division 1 side Shiven Rovers held their own despite being reduced to ten men with seventy five played following two yellow cards. There were no goals scored in normal or extra time but in the resultant penalty shootout Ballinasloe Town came out on top on a 4 – 2 score line.

Moore United faced a very difficult game away to Ballaghaderreen and while they came out on top it did require extra time before Moore United advanced to the Quarter-Finals. In an eight goal thriller Moore looked comfortable when 2 – 0 up at the break after Jack Nevin and Josh Lennon scored in the first ten minutes .Peter Horan pulled one back for Ballaghaderreen early in second half but Jack Nevin restored the two goal advantage for the Moore side. Danny Browne made it 3 – 2 when he scored for the home and with ten minutes left to play Peter Horan scored again for Ballaghaderreen. Graham Petit and Charles Nevin added two more for Moore United in extra time.

Skyvalley Rovers advanced to the quarter finals following a 4 – 3 extra time win over the Castleplunket side C P Ajax. Both teams gave it their all and the game could have gone either way. Pedro gave the Castleplunket side an early lead but Danny Lynch levelled the game after twenty minutes. Patrick Gonsacves restored the visitors lead but Eoin Keogh had the sides level at half time. Cathal Kelly got a deserved third for the home side but with time running out Evan Flynn levelled the game. With just three minutes remaining in extra time Conal Moore found his brother John with a good cross field pass and he won a corner kick. Conal Moore’s corner kick was headed powerfully to the C P Ajax net by Danny Lynch and they held out for a place in Round 4.

Moylough 79 are also through to the fifth round thanks to a 5 – 0 win at home to Kilkerrin United. Leo Donnellan scored for the winners after twenty five minutes of play and Michael Mulligan and Cathal Donnellan scored two more early in the second half. Michael Mulligan added two more for the Moylough side near the end of the game.

Division 1 side Cloonfad United continued their fine run of form when they beat Premier side St Johns Athletic 2 – 0 at Cloonfad. The home side were the better side throughout but did not seal the win until almost the last kick of the ball. Darragh Flynn broke the dead lock after fifty nine minutes and his brother Conor Flynn sealed the win with ninety two played..

In League Division 1 Ballinagare Manor United picked up the three points with a 4 – 0 win over Rahara Rovers at Rahara. Thomas Ward scored three and Patrick O Connor one for the winners.

Dunmore Town are through to the Challenge Shield Semi- Final following a 3 – 1 win over Rahara Rovers at Rahara. The winners were 3 – 0 up before the home side pulled a goal back through Shane Mc Cormack and while the better side in the second half they could not get the required scores,
Ballinasloe Town B received a walk over St Johns Athletic second side.

In the Women’s League Boyle Celtic were comfortable 6 -1 winners over Ballaghaderreen at Ballaghaderreen. Katie Walsh scored four and Ciara Byrne and Sinead O Donoghue one each for the winners.

In the reserve Division Moore United look set for the title when they beat Ballinagare Manor United 3- 1 at Moore. David Griffin scored a fine goal to give Moore an early lead. Thomas Ward had the sides level at the break. Shane Kenny headed a Michael Mc Manus cross to the visitors net early in the second half and David Griffin added his second following a Shane Kenny header to seal the win.

Congratulations to the Glenamaddy side Glen Celtic who’s under 14 girls side are through to the Connacht final following a brilliant 1 -0 win over the Galway side Salthill Devon at their Galway base.

Preview

Boyle Celtic v Moore United
Next Sunday at the Roscommon and District League grounds at Lecarrow Boyle Celtic will meet to decide who will be this seasons Premier Division Champions.
Boyle Celtic go into this game one point better off than Moore United having twenty nine points from twelve games and only need a draw to retain the Premier Division title. They have only lost one league game all season and area very good side.
Moore United lost just two league games all season and have consistently played well. Charles Nevin the Premier Division leading goal scorer has scored nineteen goals for his side and is a really talented player. Josh Lennon and Jack Nevin are also capable of scoring vital goals for their side and they could cause problems for the Boyle defence. The experienced Michael Corrigan will lead the Boyle Celtic attack and with Callum Andrews and Shane Battles they will be hard to stop.
When the sides played in the Premier Division Cup a couple of weeks ago the game went all the way to a penalty shootout before Boyle advanced to the next round.
While Sunday’s game will be decided in normal time it is very difficult to predict an outcome.
The Kick off time at Lecarrow is 2.00 pm