OLV 3(A.MAHER,R.CONNOLLY,J.McCABE) Irishtown 1

OLV squad ;                                             MARK McCABE ,

                      ANTO KELLY ,GARRETH DONOVAN ,DAVE KELLY ,ANTO CONNOLLY ,

                                        JAMES McCABE ,JAMES COATES(c) ,ANTO MAHER ,

                                       IAN CLIFFORD ,JONNY DUTTON ,MARK MATTHEWS ,

   PAT HEARY ,RORY CONNOLLY ,WILLIE MURPHY ,PHIL LOWNDES ,PADDY McEVOY .


Manager ; JOHN LOWNDES .



BOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Finally everything clicked properly on the day and  OLV got the win they have deserved against a very good Irishtown team down the Marko on Sunday morning ,the home side started very well and with Irishtown starting slowly every player was looking to get involved  and try to get an early goal which they could have done numerous times with Matthews,Coates,Clifford,Dutton and McCabe all having chances before they eventually took the lead on 25mins ,the goal came after the impressive home defense broke down an Irishtown attack and played the ball down the right wing with some neat passes before it was whipped into the box where Dutton rose above the defenders and flicked it into the path of  the onrushing Anto Maher who controlled the ball perfectly and finished well with a cracking side-foot shot low down on the keepers right .Irishtown immediately tried to reply with a goal of their own but once again  the 2 Kellys ,Donovan and Connolly all made important blocks and tackles where necessary and keeper McCabe making fine saves when called upon.The pitch was cutting up badly and with a couple of players getting a bit leggy manager Lowndes brought on Heary and then R.Connolly to keep the team fresh and the pressure on Irishtown to ensure holding on to the lead going into the brake.


HALFTIME 1-0.


The second half began with the manager making a couple more changes as Murphy and P. Lowndes came in to take their place in a reshuffled formation as the home team looked to extend the lead and that is exactly what happened two minutes after the re-start when Heary played a good ball out to the right wing where Matthews swung in a perfect cross for Rory Connolly who nipped in between the keeper and defenders and scored with a cracking header.Paddy McEvoy joined the game and OLV were flying now and although Irishtown had some decent possession and efforts they never looked likely to outscore the ballyer lads who were all playing really well ,they added a third goal when James McCabe's determination saw him score with a brave finish against the advancing giant in the Irishtown goal ,this was the first time in a league game this season that OLV had a three goal advantage and a clean sheet but with only a few minutes left the referree somehow allowed a clearly off-side Irishtown goal to stand to take a liitle gloss off the score line.

FULLTIME 3-1.


A GREAT PERFORMANCE FROM THE ENTIRE SQUAD AND A WELL DESERVED  THREE POINTS GOING INTO THE LEAGUE SPLIT ,NOW ITS JUST AN IMPORTANT GRIMES CUP GAME AGAINST THE SAME OPPOSITION NEXT SUNDAY WHEN HOPEFULLY WE CAN REPEAT SUNDAYS OUTCOME.....................