McLaughlin Shines For Pitches

McLaughlin Shines for Pitches

Thursday Division 1

James McLaughlin's ultra competitive edge inspired his side to a closely fought victory over the much fancied Soup A Stars. McLaughlin topped a memorable performance with a wonderfully taken volley from 20 yards goal to tie the game at 2-2 ten minutes into the second half. The Pitches then went ahead through an own goal and never gave up the lead afterwards. William O'Brien and James Barber defended superbly blocking many efforts on goal from Soup A Stars. The Pitches keeper Barry Fitzgerald made some key saves to keep his side in the lead, before they struck again on the break through Colin Deavy. Dave Johnson pulled one back for Stars with a powerful header, but the winners struck again on the break when Sean Crowley scored with 6 minutes left on the clock to seal a win which opens up this division.

The Zimmerframes beat the Thirty Somethings 4-3 in another close encounter. This was a tough battle played in an excellent spirit. A valuable 3 points earned here puts the Frames joint top on 6 points with Soup a Stars and The Sons of Pitches. If they can put out a similar team each week they should be there or thereabouts come mid April. Barry Gannon's contribution was immense for the Zimmerframes as he scored 3 times. Alfie Davis and Patrick O'Riordain were also in top form for the winners. Kevin Murphy and Hugh Kelly were best for the Somethings.

Hardly Athletic sent out a strong message to other teams in this division, with a powerful performance with a 9-0 victory over the Wanted FC. The Hungarian lads did not know what hit them, as Willie Bruton (3) Rob Dywer (2) punished some slack defending from Wanted, who had lots of possession of the ball but were caught on the counter attack several times.

Thursday Division 2

After their opening night of the season defeat the Deadly Buzz have secured 6 points with 2 good wins. Last Thursday saw them overcome River Plate 3-1. Dean Dunlea, Peter Carroll and Brian Lyons were top players for the Buzz and were all on the score sheet. Lyons sealed his man of the match performance and the win with a late goal. Gary O'Connell tried hardest for the Carrigaline lads.

The other Carrigaline team in this division, the Cowboys also went down, but they competed very well with only 6 players but tired eventually and lost 7-4 to table toppers NRG Fitness. NRG are doing well this season again, in only their 2^nd season at Footy. Peter Thornton with a hatrick and Owen Cullinane with a brace did most of the damage to the Cowboys rearguard.

The young O'Connell cousins Dean and Ian, newcomers to the Footy leagues, seem a real find for the Boca Seniors, as they both struck hatricks in a 7-2 win over the Crystal Eagles. Their excellent close control and finishing were very evident after some lovely goals between the duo.

The Frauds also had a good victory over South Coast Athletic when they won by the odd goal in 9. This game was end to end for the hour with both sides competing with 100% effort. The Frauds deservedly going into a 4-2 lead, but South Coast's game came to life in the second half, and were rewarded with an equaliser with 5 minutes to go after a superb solo effort by Stephen O'Reilly. Tim O'Connor had earlier scored twice for the Frauds as did Brendan Cashman for South Coast, before the reliable Sean Casey scored a late goal to seal a valuable three points for the Frauds. South Coast threw the kitchen sink at the Frauds but they held on for the win.

Thursday Division 3

Murder on Zidanes Floor went top of the table with a big win over Parken da Bus. The Bus was parked in the wrong spot as Zidanes Floor ran in ten unanswered goals. Shane Youano put in a great performance for the winners and scored 4 times.

The Kia FC v Men Utd and Whitfords v Rapid Vienneta ties both finished in 1-1 draws, two results which keeps this division tight. Jack Russell rolled back the years for the Whitfords and got the nod for man of the match after Steve Browne (Whitfords) and Gary Healy (Vienneta) shared the goals. Finbarr Browne (Kia) and Padraig McGovern (Men Utd) were the goal scorers in their tie, with a draw being a fair result.

Murphy Outstanding For Horseshoe

Wednesday Division 3

Dave Murphy was in scintillating form for FC Horseshoe when they defeated new team Goal Diggers 3-2 in a thrilling encounter. The Diggers got off to a good start and dominated both possession and chances early in the game. They were rewarded when Jeff Abbott scored a fine goal. However FC Horshoe always looked dangerous. When Dave Murphy collected a poor clearance about twenty yards out with his back to the goal he didn’t seem to have many options but then while turning he unleashed a rocket that found the right hand side of the net for the goal of the evening. Soon afterwards John Duggan, who was outstanding for the Diggers, restored their advantage, only for Dave Murphy to peg them back to 2-2 with his second. The game was on a knife edge entering the final stages, but once again it was Dave Murphy who came up with the goods when he scored his third and the winner with another great goal.

The Individuals got off to a great start with an emphatic win against The Kopites. This was a high scoring affair with both forward lines on top. Luckily for The Individuals, almost everything that they threw at The Kopites seemed to find the net. Jurgen was their top scorer with four goals, but Joady Synott and Shane Dwyer weren’t far behind with three apiece.

Rosies started this season in the same mould as they finished their previous – in winning fashion. They defeated a fancied Could have Beens side 8-4. Gavin Kelly was their main man with four goals. However the goal of the match was scored by Lucas in true Brazilian style as he danced through the heart of the Rosies defence and slotted the ball wide of the keeper.

FC Coping look like they will be contenders this season after producing a very strong performance against new team The Best Team. It took The Best Team a while to get going as this was their first time playing together and by half time they were 4-0 down. However they improved hugely in the second half with the final score being 5-2.

Wednesday Division 2

The Uwansome, Crystal Eagle encounter was a thriller. With the score tied at 2 goals a piece Ian Finn scored an outstanding long range goal to seal victory for Uwansome. Eoghan O Sullivan notched a brace for Crystal eagle while Brian McEvoy and Ronan Carroll were also on the score sheet for Uwansome.

Ross kiely put in an all-star performance for Rota Link in their impressive 4-3 win against Boca juniors. The high light of his performance was a delicate dink over the keeper for his second goal. Michael Homan and keith McGrath scored the other Rota Link goals while Joe McAuliffe(2) and Erik Cotter scored for Boca Juniors.

Acton Stanley are the early favourites for this division after their 9-4 win against a strong CUH side. In Wayne Cotter, they have an outstanding player who scored an incredible six goals. Philip Sweetman(2) and Andrew Daunt scored their other goals. Kevin Heelan(2), Kevin O Flynn and Liam Hennessy scored for CUH.

Wednesday Division 1

Pundit Arena were a little too strong for a gallant AC Standard in a hard fought contest which Pundit Arena won 3-1. The pick of their goals was a twenty yard bullet of a free kick scored by Kevin Kidney. Ed Noonan and Richard Barrett scored the other Pundits goals while Paul Kilcoyne scored for AC Standard.

Schuff began life in Division 1 with a great 7-2 win against new team Bull In The Mud. It took Bull a while to settle as this was their first footy match. Brendan Buckley scored three for Schuff while Andrew Cowpar scored four. Sean Noonan and Richard Schoonbaret responded for Bull In The Mud

The Kids started their campaign with an 8-2 win against Olympiakos. Man of the match Kevin Murphy was the dominant player on view while Colin Hammond scored three fine goals for The kids. Michael Whyte scored a brace for Olympiakos.

Column Off To A Flyer

Column Off To A Flyer

Thursday Division 3

The Flying Column had the best possible start to this Footy.ie Spring campaign with a big win over Parken the Bus. The East Cork lads were always up against it when they conceded 2 early goals and the Column never allowed them back into the game. Ciaran McArtan was pulling all the strings in the Column midfield, and was well assisted by Ciaran Barry. A Contender for goal of the season was scored by McArtan, a goal described by referee Denis Cronin as “the best goal he has ever seen at Footy”. It was a first time right foot drive from 25 yards into the top corner. Could this be the spring board for the Column's first ever Footy title having played in these leagues for many years now. They have a solid keeper in Brendan Cotter, Ray O'Regan marshalls their defence well, and they have brought in some younger fresh legs to add to their ageing but experienced line up. It might be early days but I expect the Column to be in the mix come mid April.

The JT Specials also had a good victory over newcomers Murder on Zidanes Floor. Having played the first half with only 6 players, Dan Hegarty and Ronan Geary turned the scoring in the Specials favour in the 2^nd half. The prolific Hegarty with 4 and Geary with a hatrick. Shane and Darren Yoannou were best for Zidanes Floor and were on the scoresheet along with Stephen Aherne and Matt O'Keeffe.

Men Utd also had an explosive start to their season with a big win over another new team Rapid Vienneta, winning 9-1. This United line up have played together for a few seasons now and are starting to gel and look like contenders for Division 3. Mick Ryan manages this team well and they have some strong players in their line up in Padraig McGovern, Joey Herrity, Bernard Parkes and Craig Hayes who were all amongst their goals.

Whitfords overcame Kia Fc in a 5-4 thriller having come from 3-1 down to take 3 valuable points. There were 9 different goal scorers in this game. Man of the match Kevin O'Connell rolled back the years and was most influential in the Whitfords line up in this closely fought contest.

Thursday Division 2

On Paper this league should be really tight with and 8 very even teams in the line up. The experienced Boca Seniors had an excellent 3-2 win over Deadly Buzz. Bocas just about held on to the 1 goal lead having come under intense pressure for the last 5 minutes but they were worth the win. Joe McAulliffe was excellent for the Bocas and scored a brilliant goal, with a lovely finish after some very neat passing. Brian Lyons and Peter Carroll were best for the Buzz.

Newcomers South Coast Ath and The Cowboys played out a very intense thrilling game, that in a fair 4-4 scoreline. Jessie Byrne scored a last minute equaliser for the Cowboys and both he and Brendan Cashman from South Coast both shared 3 goals a piece.

Crystal Eagle showed true grit in coming back from 2-0 down to earn a point against a tough River Plate side. Eoghan O'Sullivan with the equaliser for Crystal Eagle. Darren Deasy was their other goal scorer. Gary O Connell and Gavin O Driscoll were River Plates scorers who started the match the stronger and were 2 up at the break.

NRG Fitness also had a narrow victory over The Frauds, winning by the odd goal in 11. This game was end to end and neither side were allowed to settle on the ball. The Frauds who were division 3 champions last season did well to match the fitness of the NRG lads. Rob Jones was a real threat and scored 3 times for NRG while Daragh Behan scored twice for the Frauds.

Thursday Division 1

The Hungarian lads “The Wanted Fc” had an excellent 6-0 win over the 30 Somethings. Last season's MVP winner for this division Zsolt (George) Laszlo again was to the fore for them. It is a joy to watch these lads passing the ball and can only be criticised for over passing sometimes instead of shooting. The Somethings never got into the game. Monyo and Laszlo did most of the damage for the Hungarians.

Soup a Stars came back from 2-0 down to beat Hardly Ath 6-2. Hardly ran out of steam in the second half when Brian Lyons scored a hatrick for the winners.

The Zimmerframes did really well coming back from 4-2 down to end up with the spoils with a narrow 5-4 win over the Sons of Pitches. Patrick O Riordain scored 3 times for the Frames. The Pitches were a bit unlucky to came away with nothing from this game and scored an own goal to help the Frames get back into the game.

Judging on this weeks fixtures only, it looks like the Soup a Stars and the Wanted should be contenders for this division.

Lots of very close and exciting games this first week at Footy and John and I would like to thank all players who continue to play Footy.ie in a very sporting manner !!