Healy O’Connor Solicitors Secure Win to Earn a Spot in the Mick Mooney Cup Final
Longboats 1 – 2 Healy O’Connor Solicitors
Healy O’Connor Solicitors captured a well earned 2-1 win in the Mayfield Sports Complex to book themselves a place in the Mick Mooney Cup Final, writes Donncha Noonan
The game got off to a fast start between the two Premier Division sides, with Healy O’Connor Sol coming close two minutes in. Iain Wycherley won the ball in the opposing right corner before pulling it into the right channel for Shane Murphy, who dragged his shot just wide of the left hand post.
Longboats had chances of their own, and hit the post with twenty minutes gone. A free kick from the halfway line found the head of Kevin Dullea who looped his header towards the back post, but the header came crashing off the woodwork and was subsequently cleared.
Longboats continued the pressure and forced a great save four minutes later. Sean Nagle won the ball at the edge of the box and laid it off to Jack Sheehan, who fired a shot towards the top corner, forcing Breifne Kent into a brilliant save to keep the game level.
Healy O’Connor Sol thought that they took the lead two minutes later through a tidy finish inside the box from Kieran O’Driscoll, but it was disallowed for offside.
The half would continue with both sides giving the opposing keeper work to do, but yet the two teams went into the half at a deadlock.
The game came flying open in the second half and it was Healy O’Connor Sol who grabbed the first goal of the game four minutes into the second half. They won the ball on the right hand sideline and dinked a ball over the top, which was latched onto by John McLaughlin who exquisitely chipped the keeper to give his side the lead.
Healy O’Connor Sol kept the pressure on Longboats, and bagged themselves a two goal cushion with ten minutes left to play. Stephen O’Donovan won it by the right hand sideline in the Longboats half and put a low cross into the box, Which was met by Kieran O’Driscoll who ran onto it and tucked it away first time to double his side’s lead.
Longboats got one back late on to keep the game alive. A free kick from Longboats landed at the edge of the box. The play was a bit scrappy but Ray Murphy managed to poke the ball through to Craig McNamara, who guided the ball past Breifne Kent to give his side hope of a late comeback.
Said comeback however, would never transpire, and it is Healy O’Connor Solicitors who will face off in a mouth watering final against Jay Bazz in the Mick Mooney Cup final next month.
Healy O’Connor Solicitors: B. Kent, D. O’Connell, J. Ryan, C. Philpott, N. Murphy, I. Wycherley, C. Lucey, K. O’Driscoll, S. Murphy, J. McLaughlin, S. O’Donovan, M. Sullivan, E. Hayes, M. Sheehan, R. Sherman, J. Machado, C. Ross.
Longboats: E. Walsh, K. Dunlea, D. O’Keefe, C. McNamara, J. McCarthy, C. Madden, L. Cashman, J. Sheehan, R. Murphy, S. Nagle, D. Scott, S. Dwyer, A. O’Donovan, R. O’Driscoll, P. O’Leary
