|
 |
You are > Home > Portlaw run riot to go top
|
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Portlaw run riot to go top
BY ADRIAN FLANAGAN
PORTLAW UNITED 7 WATERFORD CRYSTAL 0
PORTLAW showed their class to move clear at the top of the Property Partners U-15 league after they destroyed league title challengers Waterford Crystal at a sunny but cold Paddock venue on Saturday afternoon last.
Both sides went into this clash unbeaten but once the home side scored twice inside the opening 15 minutes, there was only going to be one result as the visitors failed to turn up for this tie and they’ll be hoping to put this game behind them quickly.
After starting reasonably well during the first ten minutes, Crystal couldn’t get a grip of the game in the centre of the park and when Ray Martin gave his side the lead on 11 minutes with a superb finish, Portlaw never looked back.
It took less than three minutes for the home side to double their advantage when Shane Power saw his stunning free kick tipped onto the crossbar by Declan Doyle, however defender Sam Butler was on hand to bundle the ball over the line from close range.
With Crystal shellshocked by the fact of conceding two goals in such a short period of time, any chance that they did of getting back into the contest evaporated on 27 minutes when Portlaw defender Alex Hackett scored a speculative free kick from all of 40 yards after Shayne Ryan had fouled the impressive Power.
After Nathan Phelan did his very best to try pull a goal back for the visitors, their cause wasn’t helped by the harsh dismissal of Shayne Ryan for a second yellow card on the stroke of half time and when Robert Allen added a fourth goal on 53 minutes with a superb volley that gave Doyle no chance, the game was over as a contest.
Allen had his second goal of the game less than two minutes later when he raced onto a Shane Power pass before finishing clinically past a helpless Crystal netminder Declan Doyle but to Crystal’s credit, they kept on battling and were awarded a penalty on 64 minutes.
Ciaran Walsh burst into the penalty area before going down under a challenge from Alex Hackett and referee Terry Butler pointed to the spot, however Walsh had his effort saved by Portlaw keeper Darren Foran, who was rarely troubled during the course of the 80 minutes.
When the home side found the net on two further occasions through David Duggan and Jack Walsh late on, it ensured a facile victory for the home side but there is still a lot of games to be played in the race for the league title and certainly Crystal wouldn’t be out of the run just yet, however they’ll need to improve considerably over the coming weeks.
Main News Page |
Previous Page
|
|
|
|
