Double disappointment for Cloughjordan in NT&DL

North Tipperary and District League Review

By Gary Culbert

The weather impacted much of last weekend’s games in the NT&DL with all premier division games called off with action resuming in the New Year.

First Division

The only game that survived in the first division saw Borrisokane hit Cloughjordan for six on Sunday.

The game quickly descended into a farce as four players were shown red cards in the opening forty minutes in Cloughjordan.

For the brief period of time that each side had eleven on the pitch, this was an even enough game with Dylan Delaney doing well to marshal the energetic Luke Quigley in midfield.

The first blow for Cloughjordan came in the 25th minute, when Jack Keane was given his marching orders for kicking out at John Doyle. To add insult to injury, Borrisokane scored from the resulting free kick; captain James Hough curling home from 25 yards.

To their credit, Cloughjordan rallied and began to play some nice football to move through the thirds, with Luke Phelan, Roberth Rafael, and Darren Stokes all showing good composure on the ball.

The home side should have drawn level when captain Gary Culbert beat the offside trap and found himself one-on-one with Andy Nevin; the big keeper’s quickly approaching frame causing the skipper to fire over.

That was as good as it got for Clough as they were soon down to nine men; Ivo Martins seeing red for an off-the-ball incident with Borrisokane’s John Doyle also sent off during the altercation.

It was now 9 v 10, but not for long. Dylan Delaney had dropped into the backline to mark the pacy Ryan Donnelly and was doing a fine job. In the 38th minute, however, he was tracking the run of Stephen D’Arcy when both men ended up on the deck. There was widespread shock when the red card was brandished once more to Dylan Delaney.

With a two-man advantage, Borrisokane’s Ryan Donnelly now had more freedom, and it didn’t take long for him to double the visitors’ lead. There was little that goalkeeper Michael Hough could do, as Donnelly nipped in front of and rounded the veteran keeper following a ball over the top that held up in the wind.

Clough had a few half-chances at the start of the second half when the score was 2-0, but once the third goal went in, it was well and truly game over. Borrisokane player-manager Matty Power added two more goals, and substitute Gerald Hutchinson concluded the scoring for 6-0.

To their credit, Cloughjordan saw out every minute of the ninety. They sit bottom of the first division, and one wonders if relegation is the best place for this patchwork side to build in the second division next year.

Second Division

Birdhill edged a five-goal thriller against Cloughjordan ‘B’ on Sunday.

Clough went in front midway through the first half from an Eoin Hogan cross-come-shot. The score remained the same at half-time despite a couple of good chances for Andrew Brennan to double the visitors’ lead.

Birdhill came back into the game through left winger and captain Liam King, who emphatically finished to level.

Birdhill were in the ascendancy as the veteran Clough side began to tire but Eoin Hogan restored Clough's lead against the run of play with a rasping early shot to the near post from a close angle.

Again, the left wing of Birdhill offered reprieve and a route back into the game. Liam King cleverly beat the offside trap to draw level once more. It looked set for a draw, which would probably have been a fair result.

However, there was to be late penalty drama, with Birdhill winning it at the death through Jack Delahunty after Donal Costello went to ground.

Youths

BT Harps stayed top of the league on goal difference thanks to a 6-2 win at home to Knigh United on Saturday.

The visitors were the better team in the first half and deserved to be 2-1 up at the break, thanks to goals from Avi Aharon and Simon Cleary.

With Dean Loughnane’s words still ringing in their ears, Harps came out a completely different team after the break and scored five goals without reply.

Ryan Loughnane netted four on the day, taking his tally to an impressive 23 goals in just eight league games. Jamie Dabie and Abdul Ali were the other scorers for the league leaders.

Borrisokane stayed perfect in the league thanks to a hard-fought 3-2 win away to Rearcross on Saturday.

Best for Borris were Darragh O’Brien at right back, Savva Rashkevich at right midfield, and Ryan Donnelly up front.

Ballymackey picked up their first three points of the season thanks to a 4-1 win at home to Shinrone.

Best for Ballymackey were Oisin Ryan in goals, Cody Quirke and Mark Hoare in midfield, and Evan Ryan up top, who also netted a brace in the victory.

There is one fixture in the youths’ league this week, with Shinrone travelling to Moneygall for a 7.30pm kick-off on Thursday night.