Johnson KOs Kids

Thursday Division 1

Dave Johnson starred for EZY FC scoring 3 times and showed some excellent finishing as they beat their old rivals The Kids 7-2 to move above them in the table and into 2^nd place. The Kids had most of the possession and played some excellent football, but missed some good chances at the start of the 2^nd half which proved costly as the more direct and fast breaking EZY were more clinical in front of goal. Steve Dwyer and John Daly were also excellent for Ezy where Michael Doody was tops for The Kids and scored both his sides goals.

Oxford remain top and are now 6 points clear of Ezy and The Kids after another impressive display in beating Joga Bonito 10-4. Colm Coveney was instrumental in their victory pulling all the strings in their midfield, setting several of Oxfords goals. Brian O Sullivan was also impressive and scored a hatrick. Oxford have a very strong side, very well organised and are now strong favourites for to take the title at the half way stage of the season.

Los Pistoleros and Red Shirts played out an exciting 4-4 draw, with Los Pistoleros doing well in the 2^nd half coming back from 3-1 down to take a share of the spoils. Donal Collins impressively scored all sides goals and with Ken O Connor had an excellent game. Mark Kitteringham scored a brace for Red Shirts and should have been out of reach at the 30 minute mark, with the post and crossbar coming to Los Pistoleros rescue just before half time.

Thursday Division 2

Boca Seniors and The Chancers are pulling away from the other teams in this division as they both had good wins over the Dragons and Jt Specials respectively. Boca had too much for The Dragons who are suffering from too many weekly changes in their side.

Dave Peterson scored 5 times for Boca and along with the skilful Paul Tierney were both excellent.

The Chancers looked impressive in taking a 4-1 lead against The Specials, but The Specials who are in division 2 for the first time battled hard with Neil Gordon to the fore and fought back to 4-3 after 2 goals from Ian Cahalane. But the Chancers hit a late goal to settle this tie and remain 2 points ahead of Boca Seniors. Barry O Sullivan worked tirelessy in midfield for the Chancers covering a lot of ground and winning back possesion many times. Gavin O Driscoll and Ross Long both scored twice for the winners.

Unreal Madrid and Mount Oval fought a tough battle that ended 1-1, a fair result for 2 fully commited teams. This game remained goalless for 50 minutes, until Dave Hogan pounced on a loose ball to put Mount Oval in front, only for Ashley Gyves to score a very late equaliser for Madrid.

Thursday Division 3

The Sons of Pitches look determined this season to make up for being so close to winning division 3 a few times now, and put in a very display in their 6-3 win over the Whitfords. This game was nicely poised 3-3 at half time, but the younger Pitches side pulled away in the 2^nd half, with goals from Eoin Barrett. Ken O Connor scored the pick of the goals just before half time after an excellent run out of defence before a powerful low strike into the corner of the Whitfords goal.

The Nobodys put in their best display so far with a good win over Men Utd. Derek O Brien scored a hatrick for the 5-3 winners, who had newcomer Larry Lee in tremendous form. Bernard Parkes and Jason Lake played well for Men Utd but too many substitutions are affecting this sides rythym.

Balaga Tonga stay in 2^nd spot behind the Pitches on goal difference after they beat the Lemmons 5-4 in the pick of last weeks Footy games. The Lemmons battled hard and came back from 4-1 down to 4-4, only for Eoghan Hayes to score a dramatic late winner to seal 3 crucial points for Tongo. Cormac Murphy was best for The Lemmons who were a little unlucky not to get something from the game. Tongos Eoghan Kennedy and Josh King were a constant threat to the Lemmons defence and were amoungst the goals.

Abcde FC Back In The Hunt

Wednesday Division 1

Abcde FC put themselves back into contention for division 1 honours, as they won 2 games last Wednesday. They beat Crossbarry Legends 5-3 and then went on to crush a tired CSKA outfit, who also played twice on the night. CSKA Tonga who had earlier beaten league leaders Trotters Traders in a classic game that finished 7-6. John Duggan coming up with a wonderful last ditch winner for Tonga. But it was Tonga's Joe Dempseys performance in midfield that caught the eye in this exciting clash. Eoin Stephens, Keith McGrath and Shane Scannell were best for the Trotters who have now last 2 in a row after 4 straight wins before that.

Luke Wilson, David O'Rourke and the evergreen Joe O Sullivan were best for Abcde FC over their 2 games and were well worth the 6 points they gained, pushing them into 3^rd spot in the table.

The Sleazy Lemmons went top of the table when they won again thanks to a virtuoso performance from the skilful Alan Greaney who scored 6 times in their 9-3 dismantling of the Thirty Somethings.

Jimmy Griffin was instrumental in the Booze Crews 8-1 win over Racing Club. This game was tighter than the scoreline suggests but the Crews finishing proving the difference, as Griffin with 3 and Martin Carroll with a brace, proved a bit too strong for Racing Club who will need a bit of time to settle after adding 2 new players to their squad this season. If Booze Crew can keep a settled team they can be a match for any team on their day and they should be challenging come mid August.

Wednesday Division 2

Standings in this division stay the same as the top 4 sides all won their games.

Sliabh na mBan were too strong for the Duffers who remain without a point at the bottom. The Duffers competed well for 45 minutes, but na mBan's superior ability to hold on to the ball in the final third of the pitch told the difference in the last 15 minutes. Joe McAulliffe, Paul Tierney and Ronan O Sullivan all with a brace a piece for the winners.

Fritzl Palace remain joint top after a solid performance beating Douglas Mortgage 3-1.

Seamus Daly opened the scoring with a wonderful volley for Palace that finished off a brilliant passing move. Palace had Dave O O’Keeffe chip in with the other 2 goals. Eric Cotter and Ed Quirke battled well for Mortgage but they were 2^nd best on the night.

An excellent performance from James Mullins helped Dynamo Tonduff stay in touch after a 5-3 win over Bayer Neverlosin. Dave Murphy's headed goal being the pick of the goals in this tie.

Marius Hanialak and Jordan O'Leary stood out for Neverlosin who are improving by the week.

The 6-1 scoreline suggests AC Standard beat FC Coping Badly rather comfortably, but it was not the case as both sides seemed more evenly matched with Coping having more of the possession. But Standard kept their defensive shape better that their opponents and played more on the counter attack. Tim O Connor capitalised most of all with this tactic as he scored a hatrick for Standard. Tim Dempsey was also excellent for the winners who remain 4 points behind the league leaders.

Kinsella Leads Oxford To Top of Table

Thursday Division 1

Joe Kinsella inspired Oxford International with a superb performance in their midfield as they beat The Kids 5-1 in last weeks top of the table clash. It was The Kids heaviest defeat in their Footy history, in a game where they got a lesson from Oxford who were excellent in defence and more direct in their approach. Conor Hawes was again a handful at centre forward for the Kids rearguard, and scored a brace as did the very impressive Kinsella.

Joga Bonito overcame the Red Shirts 3-2 in a tight battle, and just about deserved their win. Man of the match Des Mallon pulled all the strings for Joga Bonito. Daniel Freitas, Tony O'Connor and Gary O'Connell were on the mark for the winners while Owen Shaughnessy and Jack O Connor were The Red Shirts scorers.

Ezy Fc ran out easy winners over Los Pistoleros, winning by a very comfortably 7-0 scoreline. John Daly was best for Ezy who also had Dave Johnson and Peter Fitzmaurice in top form. This game looked like it might be tight as the first 10 minutes were very even, but the Los Pistoleros heads dropped after conceding 2 quick goals from which they never recovered.

Thursday Division 2

Gavin O Driscoll scored a hatrick for the Chancers as they beat the inconsistent Dragons 7-3.

Fiachra O Driscoll and Rory Walsh tried hardest for the Dragons, but were always 2^nd best to Joe Harte and O'Driscoll in midfield for the Chancers.

Boca Seniors got back to winning ways and stay 1 point clear of The Chancers at the top of the table, after a hard fought 4-2 win over Unreal Madrid. Richard Hyde with a hatrick was the Seniors star man on the night and showed some excellent skill along with the impressive Paul Tierney in Midfield. Ronan Sherman scored twice for Madrid but they missed some good chances early in the game which cost them dearly in the end.

Mount Oval had a good 2-1 win over a battling JT Specials outfit. Cathal Younun scored twice for Oval, with a goal in each half. Sean O Neill and Dan Hegarty did best for the Specials and were always a threat to the Mount Oval defence, especially as they pushed for the equaliser, but Mount Oval boys held on for a much needed win.

Thursday Division 3

The Sons of Pitches took full advantage of league leaders Balaga Tonga losing and went back to the top of the table with a very convincing win over the Lemmons. Con Kearney with a hatrick and Eoin Barrett were too hot to handle for the Lemmons defense as the Pitches cruised to victory. Substitute Cormac Crowley scored with his first touch for the Pitches who were well in command being 7-0 up at half time. However Justin Banks and Brian Cahill worked hard in the 2^nd half for the Lemmons thus making it a much closer game in the 2^nd period.

The improving Nobodys won their 2^nd game on the bounce after 3 defeats in their first 3 games. Their 4-3 victory was hard fought over Balaga Tonga. Johnny Byrne scoring an impressive 4 times for the Nobodys who jumped a couple of places with these 3 valuable points. Byrne's winning goal was a bit special as he rounded 2 defenders before finishing with a powerful shot. Colin Irwin made some excellent saves for the Nobodys as Balaga pushed for an equaliser in the last 5 minutes. Peter Sinnott and Ryan Palmer defended well for the Nobodys. Eoin Kennedy was best for Tonga who suffered their first defeat of the season after 4 straight wins.

Whitfords and Men Utd played out the game of the week after a highly entertaining 5-5 draw.

John Barry equalising for the Whitfords in the last minute for a deserving share of the spoils.

Jason Lake and Eddie Noonan (2)were best for Men Utd who will look at this fixture as 2 points lost points as they threw away a 2 goal lead in the last few minutes.

Sheehan Inspires Neverlosins First Win

Wednesday Division 2

Bottom of the table newcomers Bayer Neverlosin picked up their first Footy points when they overcame FC Coping Badly in a very exciting clash, winning 3-2. Neverlosin started the game brightly and were playing some decent football and were deserving of their lead when Jordan O'Leary put them ahead with a classy back heeled effort mid may through the first half. However they seemed to be in shock that they were ahead and retreated to defend giving all the impetus to Coping Badly. Thanks to some remarkable saves from Mark Sheehan in goal, they held on their one goal advantage until half time when they reorganised their 2^nd half strategy. Bernard Parkes and Martin Hallahan picked up the pace of the game for Coping in the 2^nd period and it only seemed a matter of time before their dominance would register on the scoreboard. However Neverlosin scored again when Shane Donnelly powered his way up the left wing before playing a quick one two with O'Leary and finished with a wonderful left foot shot to the top corner for a really brilliant goal. Parkes reduced the deficit to one after a well taken effort before Mark Sheehan dropped a heavily spinning ball into his own net after a John O'Brien shot for Coping Badly. It was looking like a winner was inevitable in the late stages for Coping Badly as they were dominating possession, but brilliant defending by Marius Hanliniak and Trevor Murphy and more heroic goalkeeping from Sheehan held them at bay. In the final minute Neverlosin scored the winner with a classic counter attacking goal when Hanliniak broke clear to finish with shot from a tight angle from 10 yards for a memorable win.

Duffers competed well with Douglas Mortgage for the first half before Albert Hobbs and Ed Quirke exposed the weeknesses in the Duffers side and Douglas went onto take the points comfortably.

Unbeaten table toppers Slaibh na mBan came up against a very solid Fritzl Palace team resulting in their first lost points, as they went down 2-0. Dan Gallagher score a brace for the Palace boys and puts his side amoungst the hunt for honours.

AC Standard and Dynamo Tonduff played out a entertaining 3-3 draw. James Mullins and Dave Murphy were best for Tonduff and the reliable goalscorer Tim O Connor scored with a late but deserved equaliser for Standard.

Wednesday Division 1

Crossbarry Legends got their season off to a flyer when they beat the Thirty Somethings 7-5. Crossbarry only played their first game having replaced FC Richmond in the league were 5-0 up at half time, after some poor defending in the first half from the Somethings. However the experienced Thirty Somethings had a very stern halftime team talk and turned their fortunes around in the 2^nd half to make a remarkable comeback and drew level at 5-5 with 10 minutes left. But they ran out of steam and John Paul O'Mahony and Finbarr O'Mahony scored late goals to secure the points for Crossbarry.

League leaders Trotters Traders overcame Racing Club 7-6 in another very tight but high scoring game. The Trotters were 3-0 down thanks to some wonderful finishing from Jurgen Bukowski, but bounced back to lead 4-3 at the break. A yellow card to the unlucky Charlie Quinn in goal for Racing did not help their cause as the Trotters went 7-3 ahead when Quinn was off the pitch. Racing then produced their best period of the game when Quinn returned and Ed Noonan with a brace and Jason Lake led the charge for them only to come up just short for a share of the spoils.

Booze Crew had a tight 2-1 victory over CSKA Tongo for their 2^nd win of the season.

Martin Carroll was best for the Crew and scored along with Kevin Wilmott to put them 2-0 up

at the break. The Cobh lads were unlucky not to be further ahead as man of the match Carroll hit the post 4 times.

John Crean reduced the deficit in the 2^nd half to one goal and Tongo piled on the pressure in the last 10 minutes only also to come up just short.

Sleazy Lemmons won another closely fought game, coming out 4-3 winners over Abcde FC.

Alan Greaney was in superb form for the Lemmons and scored with a wonderful solo effort before setting the winner for Zoltan with only 3 minutes on the clock. Con Murphy scored twice for Abcde FC who lost their defensive shape towards the end and were punished by Greaney.

New Heights For Balaga Tongo Boys

Thursday Division 3

Last Seasons whipping boys Balaga Tongo find themselves joint top of division 3 after 3 weeks of games. They have secured 9 points out of 9 with 3 excellent wins and are only behind the Sons of Pitches on goal difference, who have also made an excellent start and look determined to atone for narrowly missing out on the title for the last 2 seasons.

Balaga had Josh King and Eoghan Kennedy in superb form last week in their 4-2 win over Whitfords. An excellent goal, a volley from 15 yards by Kennedy was the games highlight, but Balaga seemed to have learned from their time spent at the bottom of the table in the last few seasons and have tightened up their defence this Summer.

Sons of Pitches are early season favourites after their excellent start, and have Michael Deasy and Colin Keane in great form. Alan O Sullivan scored a hatrick for them last week in their dismantling of Men Utd. The Lemmons were being out played by the Nobodys in a first half that ended 0-0. But a beautiful taken goal by Brian Cahill mid way through the 2^nd half opened the floodgates for the Lemmons who went on to win easily. Justin Banks also played well for the Lemmons while the Sinnott brothers Peter and Steve tried hardest for the Nobodys.

Thursday Division 2

“The Alan Jordan Memorial Cup”

The Boca Seniors have set the early pace in this division with 2 wins and a draw from 3 games. Closely followed by Unreal Madrid who are a point behind. These 2 sides look like the best 2 teams at the moment, but the Dragons are not far behind and should be there or there abouts come the business end of the season. Omer Mercier dominated the midfield for Unreal Madrid in their 4-0 over the Chancers, with Ronan Sherman showing his prowess in front of goal with 2 superbly taken goals.

John Browne was Bocas Seniors most influential player as they beat Mount Oval 3-1. The Oval side are lacking consistency in their line up which is affecting their rhythm and find themselves at the bottom of the table.

Thursday Division 1

The Kids continue to dominate these leagues, having switched from Wednesdays to Thursdays nights. They find themselves joint top with Oxford International who have also made an impressive to the Summer campaign.

The Kids had a 4-1 win over Red Shirts and had the very skilful Terry O Connell in excellent form.

Oxford Intl had an excellent win over last seasons champions EZY FC, giving the Ezy lads a lesson in finishing, with goals from Jason Byrne 3, Conor Hawes 2, Joe Kinsella 2, and Colin Coveney 2.

This division at the moment seems like it might be between these 2 side for honours.

The Portuguese boys Joga Bonito with a couple of Irish lads thrown in, had a wonderful 7-6 win over Los Pisteroles who are mostly made up of EMC employees. The ever reliable Paulo Santos scoring a a hatrick along with a very impressive display from Des Mallon in their midfield who also scored a hatrick. Barry Collins and Ken O Connor were best for Los Pisteroles who were a bit unlucky not to get something from the game having come from 4-1 down at half time.

Slick Trotters Off To Perfect Start

Footy Report Wednesday 22^nd May

Wed Div 1

Trotters Traders lead the way after 2 games of the Summer Footy Season with 2 wins out of 2. They demolished the Thirty Somethings on week 1 and then ground out an excellent 3-1 win over a strong Booze Crew side on week 2. A late Eoin Stephens goal sealed the points as the Booze Crew pushed forward in search of an equaliser only to be caught on the counter by the Traders. This Slick Traders side push the ball around well and it will take a good side to finish above come mid August.

The Sleazy Lemmons up from Division 2 are more than holding their own with two wins out of two also and are behing the Trotters on goal difference.

ABCDE FC who hail from Cobh drew 4-4 with the Thirty Somethings in a classic footy affair. This game was end to end, with a draw being a fair result. Both keepers were the best players on the pitch but Niall Kerrigan shaded the man of the match with some excellent late saves that secured a point for the Somethings.

CSKA Tongo had too much in the tank for Racing Club with Philip Cotter Joe Dempsey and John Crean in top form and if they can keep a settled side, they should find themselves at the right end of the table come August.

Wed Div 2

Sliabh na mBan and Fritzl Palace both got off to good starts with 2 wins out of 2.

Na mBan had 2 comprehensive victories over Footy newcomers Bayern Neverlosin and Douglas Mortgage and look like early season favourites. They have an experienced team with the industrious John Browne and the very skilful Paul Tierney running their midfield.

Fritzl Palace who have a few changes to their side for the Summer are also looking good and will push them all the way. They had an excellent 6-3 win over the Duffers, with Pat Crotty and Phil Canty in excellent form.

Dynamo Tonduff and FC Coping Badly drew out a really tough game, 1-1 being the half time score, but with with both defences on top in the 2^nd half no scores were added.

Bayer Neverlosin have a few decent players, will take a few weeks to settle before they should pick up a few points. The Duffers have also improved their side this Summer and should test a lot of teams in this division.

Douglas Mortgage and AC Standard drew 6-6 in a brillant game, easily the best game on week one. These sides are experienced Footy Campaigners and should be challenging for honours also.

Special Champions

Thursday Division 3

The JT Specials were crowned division 3 Champions last Thursday night for the first time in their 8 years of playing in the Footy leagues.

They drew 2-2 with their arch rivals this season, the Flying Column in their final game to clinch the title. This game was closely fought as both sides had a chance of honours going into this top of the table clash with the Column being a point behind.

The first half was a tense affair with both sides concentrating more on not conceding, but with a draw being no good to the Flying Column they pushed on in the 2^nd half leading to a more open game. With 15 minutes to go the Specials broke out of defence and Dan Hegarty pounced to steer the ball home from a very tight angle to put them one up. Hegarty who had a fine season for the Specials in attack, struck again 5 minutes later with a similar breakaway goal. But the Column battled on, as they do so well and Ciaran McAtran scored 2 late goals to make it a very tense last few minutes. Rob Carpenter ancaptain Steve Riordain were best for the winners, while MVP winner Alan Mullery and McArtan were best for the losers.

Both Men Utd and the Sons of Pitches finsihed off the season with 5-1 victories over the Whitfords and Balaga Tongo respectively.

The younger United side were faster to the ball all evening over the veteran Whitfords who were short a few of their regular players on the night. Danny O Driscoll and Sean O Connor controlled the midfield for Men Utd and they also had Jason Lake in tremendous form in defence

The Sons of Pitches were too strong and more organised than Balaga Tongo and ran out easy winners. Frank Carley scored a hatrick for the Pitches and Michael Deasy was again the Pitches best player.

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Most Valuable Players Nominees and Winners & Golden Boot Winners

Div 1 Wednesday

Jurgen Bukowski – Racing Club

Kevin Murphy – Thirtysomethings

Michael Doody – The Kids

Stephen McCarthy – The Bailey

Colin Hammond – The Kids (Winner)

Golden Boot Winner – Jurgen Bukowski 27 Goals

Div 2 Wednesday

Patrick Coleman – Sub Standard Liege (Winner)

John O'Brien – FC Coping Badly

Colin Murphy – Rosies

Alan Greaney – The Lemmons

Eamonn Kelleher – AC Standard

Golden Boot winner – Alan Greaney 31 Goals

Thursday Div 1

Peter Perdas - Drink Team FC

Steve Dwyer – EZY FC

Brian Lyons – EZY FC (Winner)

Conor Hawes – Oxford Intl

Dave O Brien – Kitteringham FC

Golden Boot Winner – Sebastian Oziomek – 39 Goals

Thursday Div 2

Joe Harte – The Chancers

Rory Walsh - Dragons

Paul Sexton – Net Busters

Conor McDowell - Net Busters (Winner)

Shaun Jordan – Dragons

Golden Boot Winner – Paul Sexton 34 Goals

Thursday Div 3

Sean O Connor – Men Utd

Alan Mullery – Flying Column (Winner)

Dan Hegarty – JT Specials

Rob Carpenter – JT Specials

Michael Deasy – Sons of Pitches

Golden Boot Winner – Rob Carpenter 22 Goal