Koomson brace leads Seagulls to playoff success
Tramore captain Jamie Clancy lifts the Ball Corporation Youth B League trophy after their playoff success.
The curtain came down on the Centenary season of the Waterford Junior League at Ozier Park on Saturday evening as a brace from Emmanuel Koomson saw Tramore AFC win a dramatic Ball Corporation Youth B League playoff against Piltown AFC.
This is the second time that the Graun Park club have managed to land both the Youth A and Youth B League titles in the one season, but the third time that they managed to get the win over Piltown after both sides finished level at the top of the table after a hard-fought campaign.
With Tramore winning the most recent battle at Graun Park by two goals to nil, this was the same scoreline, but the victors will be wondering how they didn’t manage to score a couple more goals after dominating the second period.
It was Piltown that had the first opportunity in a first-half of limited chances on 18 minutes when Calum Smith played the ball into the feet of Zack Tobin on the left-side, and he fired in a right-footed shot that was well saved by keeper Ciaran Shanahan.
Tramore struck for the opening goal on 39 minutes when Kane Hillard sent in a brilliant right-wing corner that picked out the run of Emmanuel Koomson, who got in front of the Piltown defender to head the ball to the far corner past a helpless Shane Foley.
After the Darragh Poyner had a goalbound effort blocked on 53 minutes after a low cross from Spencer Maher, the same player should have doubled the lead on the hour mark when he raced onto a through ball from Callum O’Keeffe, but his shot was superbly kept out by the Piltown keeper Shane Foley.
O’Keeffe had a big chance for his side on 63 minutes when he burst into the area from the left but the attacker couldn’t direct his shot on target before Piltown had a chance to level at the other end five minutes later only for defender Conor Long to head inches wide from a Joseph Long corner-kick.
The second goal was always going to be crucial to the outcome to the result for Tramore and they managed to put some breathing space between themselves and their opponents with a second goal ten minutes from time.
Daragh Poyner, who finished as the Tramore leading goalscorer at the end of the season, played a perfectly waited pass that sent Emmanuel Koomson into the clear, and he held his nerve to blast home that left no room for a Piltown comeback.
After the game a delighted Tramore AFC captain Jamie Clancy picked up the Ball Corporation Youth B League trophy from league chairman Damien Tiernan as his side were left celebrating under a rainbow winning a deserved title on the day.
Ciaran Shanahan, Faolan Wheatley (Dylan Farrell 59), Tom Scully, Jamie Clancy, Michael Wilmott, Kane Hillard, Callum O’Keeffe, Daragh Poyner (Evan O’Brien 85), Emmanuel Koomson (Niall Gaffey 85), Dylan Keating (Spencer Maher 53).
Shane Foley, Joshua Simpson (Cormac Cummins 71), Blake Cummins, George Culleton, Conor Long (Ben Burns 75), Joseph Long, Calum Smith (Leon Grace 75), Jack Carroll, Bobby Norris, Dylan O’Donoghue (Alan Cantwell 60), Zack Tobin (Conor Diffily 75).
Damien Kelly assisted by Craig Dunphy and Adam Walsh.
