Denny Division 2B 2013/14

Kerry District League
07th March 2014
Tralee Celtic 8-3 Mitchels Avenue

By Tommy Naughton

Local bragging rights went to Tralee Celtic after they inflicted a first defeat of the season on league leaders Mitchels Avenue in an all action league derby.

After the opening 45 minutes it was anybody’s guess who would come out on top, but a 15 minute spell at the start of the second half secured the win for Celtic in a game that had 11 goals and three red cards. Celtic’s derby delight was further increased by the fact three points moves them to third and right back into the promotion mix.

The opening chance of the game fell to the Avenue when Stephen O’Sullivan short back pass was intercepted by Lorcan Seymour but the visiting player was denied by a last ditch tackle by Simon Moore. The Mitchels then piled the pressure on and won three corners in a row one of which Keeper Eoghan O’Leary did well to claw one out from underneath his crossbar . It took fifteen minutes for Celtic to create their first chance . Barry Leahy made great ground up the right wing before pulling the ball back to Fergal Moynihan. Moynihan’s first time shot took a slight deflection and Chris Hegarty had to go full stretch to touch it around the post with his fingertips.

The opening goal came after 22 minutes . James O’Mahony swung a free kick from the right wing which broke to Stephen O’Sullivan outside the box. O’Sullivan fired a low shot with his left leg which bounced in front of keeper Hegarty and he failed to hold, Aidan O’Sullivan reacted quickest, but Hegarty blocked his attempt only for the ball to roll to Jamie Blake who made no mistake to give Celtic the lead.

On the Half hour Eoghan O’Leary again had to be at his best to deny David Hennessey, who came out of defence and had a long range effort that the keeper dealt with at the cost of a corner . From the resulting corner O’Leary again had to save from a Hennessey this time the keeper stopped the defenders header. Mitchels again kept the pressure on and force more corners and had eleven in total come half time. On the 45 minute mark Danny Se had a great opportunity when he found himself at the back post with the keeper to beat , his low shot looked as if it would find the target but Simon Moore threw himself in front of the ball and deflected it for a corner. The resulting corner again saw Hennessey causing trouble in the box and his header was touched by a hand and the referee awarded a penalty.

Sean O’Reilly made no mistake and drilled home the spot kick to level matters a minute into injury time. However, there was still time for another goal when Fergal Moynihan curled the ball into the top corner from outside the box for Celtic to regain the lead within a minute of losing it .

The second half started with a blast and after watching the first half you could not have expected what was to unfold. Six minutes into the half and it was all level again . Lorcan Seymour’s cross edthe ball into the box and as it bounce the defence hesitated and Craig Locke stole in to finish home. Again within a minute Celtic regained the lead when Daire Dunne fired a low shot across the box to find the far corner.

Two minutes later and the home side extended their lead with what could easily be the goal of the season. Jamie Blake received the ball just passed the centre circle , as he turned the ball bounce up and he hit a volley that flew over the helpless keeper for a truly amazing goal to make it 4-2. Four became five three minutes later when Aidan O’Sullivan rose highest in a crowded box to head home from a corner. Celtic celebrated a sixth on the hour mark when Jamie Blake scored from a free kick to secure his hat trick . The Avenue kept on trying and Lorcan Seymour was denied again by another great O’Leary save. From the resulting corner Sean O’Reilly pulled a goal back to make and lessened the deficit to three.

Tralee Celtic were now well on top all over the pitch and it wasn’t long before they were finding the net again. Bernard Condon was taken down in the box and Fergal Moynihan put the keeper the wrong way to score his second. Minutes later and tempers flared and referee took the action of showing three players straight red cards, David Hennessey and Darren Breen for Mitchels Avenue and James O’Mahony for Tralee Celtic . The game flattened out after this but there was still time for Bernard Condon to score with the last kick of the game to give Celtic a resounding win and one they will now try to build on in a push for promotion .

Tralee Celtic: Eoghan O’Leary , Barry Leahy, Greg Powell, Simon Moore, Derek O’Connor, James O’Mahoney, Aidan O’Sullivan, Daire Dunne, Jamie Blake, Fergal Moynihan, Subs Used, Bernard Condon, Michael Prendiville, Jordan Murphy, Not Used Billy Stack , Gary Moriarty .

Mitchels Avenue: Chris Hegarty, Peter Murphy, Liam O’Sullivan, David Hennessey, Aaron o Connor, Danny Se, Craig Locke, Darren Breen, Chris O’Sullivan, Sean O’Reilly, Lorcan Seymour, Subs Used Mark O’Sullivan, Adam O’Mahoney, Shane Carroll .

Referee; Kevin Cunningham .