FR Valley Rangers clinch crucial win in bid for Second Division title

FR Valley Rangers 4 – 2 ePower East Cork Athletic

Man of the Match: Ben O’Connor

In what was a huge clash at the top of the Grandon’s Toyota CBL Second Division table between FR Valley Rangers and ePower East Cork Athletic in the Conna Community Centre, it was the home side who secured a 4-2 win to plant themselves in pole position in the race for promotion, writes Donncha Noonan.

It only took four minutes for the first breakthrough in the game to occur, and it went the way of FR Valley Rangers. An inviting corner from Tom Hartnett found the head of Conor Hickey at the front post, who towered over defenders and got there before the keeper to power a header home and give his side an early lead.

That advantage didn’t last very long for FR Valley Rangers though, as the visitors equalised just three minutes later. Good work from East Cork down the left wing allowed Kaelem Hennessy to get the ball on the wing and cut inside, before whipping a sumptuous ball towards the back post. The cross found the foot of Ryan Sexton, who guided the ball back across the goal and into the far corner to get his side level.

The goals kept coming in the first half, as FR Valley Rangers managed to regain their lead in the thirty-first minute. Brilliant skill from Tom Hartnett down the left wing allowed the winger to pull a ball across goal. It found Ben O’Connor, who played a one-two with Ivory before blasting the ball into the back of the net.

They didn’t stop there though. As they doubled their advantage six minutes later. A short corner routine led to a floated cross from the edge of the box from Ivory, one that found the head of John Noonan who guided his header past the keeper to score a crucial goal and extend his side’s lead to two.

That was all for an action-packed first half where the hosts would head into the break two goals to the good.

It was East Cork who had the first chance of the second half, coming agonisingly close five minutes in. Joshua Dempsey got the ball out wide on the left and went direct at the FR Valley Rangers defence. He approached the box before shifting the ball onto his right foot as he tried to curl the ball into the far corner, but his shot whistled past the post.

Their positive start to the half paid off, as they halved the deficit in the sixty-fifth minute. A collision going for a high ball gave the referee a decision to make, one in which he awarded a penalty to the visitors. Ryan Murray stepped up to take it, and he squeezed the ball past the keeper to bring his side back into the game.

They kept the pressure on trying to look for an equaliser, and really could’ve got it in the seventy-sixth minute. A long free kick from Peadar Gilroy was launched towards the box, where the ball was glanced just wide of the far post, much to the relief of the FR Valley Rangers faithful.

The game got wrapped up on the stroke of full time. A lovely trivela cross from Dylan Carroll found Cian Doyle in the box who side footed the ball into the top left corner to secure the three points for FR Valley Rangers.

That was all for this one then, as FR Valley Rangers grabbed a vital win that puts them in a great spot to secure promotion to the CBL First Division

FR Valley Rangers: J. O’Connor, S.Carr, T.Clancy, E.Ryan, I. Ohrin, C.Hickey, S. Coughlan, B. O’Connor, J. Noonan, C. Ivory, T. Hartnett, R. O’Neill, A.Carr, K. Kelleher, O. O’Neill, C. Doyle, M. Quinn, D. Carroll

ePower East Cork Athletic: S. Cahill, R. Birdthistle, P. Gilroy, L. O’Brien, D. Hayes Maher, F. Crowley, J. Dempsey, K. Hennessy, D. Bagnell Harnett, R. Murray, R. Sexton, I. Vitali, L. Fitzpatrick, C. Byrne, A. Hennessy, A. Walsh, C. Carroll