Blackwater FC (Wexford) 2 Stradbally Town 6
LFA Shield Round 5
Stradbally Town made the trip to the sunny South East on Sunday morning hoping to keep their good run of form going.
The game was essentially won in the first 13 minutes with the men in green getting off to a flying start.
Jody Dillion capitalised on a mix up in the home 6 yard box from Benny Lawlors corner on three minutes to stab home from close range.
He was on hand again on seven minutes when he connected with a fantastic cross from the left from Podge Fitzpatrick to rifle home from 12 yards.
Benny Lawlor was next in on the act on 13 minutes when Dillon slipped him though and he made no mistake with a fine low finish past the home keeper.
Blackwater, to their credit, steadied the ship for the rest of the half forcing Jack Larkin into a couple of good saves as well while Stradbally had more chances to kill the game but it remained 0-3 at the break.
With underfoot conditions becoming tough in the second half was going to be a hard slog for both teams but to their credit both teams continued to play good football and the Wexford men grabbed a lifeline on 61 minutes when the Stradbally men switched off at the back post.
Stradbally were then awarded a penalty on 66 minutes but Jody Dillon seen his effort strike the post and the oncoming Colin Beale blazed over.
It was 4-0 however on 75 minutes when Dillon picked up the ball from a Cillian Maher pass and as he bared down on goal he struck a sweet strike low to the keepers right from all of 22 yards for the goal of the game.
To the home team’s credit, they came back again and grabbed a second on 80 minutes to make the last ten a little interesting but once again the Stradbally bench proved their worth.
Firstly, Fionn McEvoy on 85 minutes and then John Clancy on 88 minutes converting fine individual goals to leave it 2-6 at the end and progression to the last eight in the Leinster Junior Shield.
For the victors, Jody Dillon, Podge Fitzpatrick, Cillian Maher and Justin Lalor excelled in an overall very good team display.
Next up is another cup game when Stradbally are on the road again next Sunday against Longford Rovers in Round 2 of the CCFL Counties Cup.
TEAM: Jack Larkin, Colin Beale, Eamon Delaney, Jack Deegan, Podge Fitzpatrick, Conor Buggie, Justin Lalor, Cillian Maher, James Devoy, Benny Lawlor, Jody Dillon. SUBS: John Clancy for Lalor, Fionn McEvoy for Buggie, Ben Dillon for J Dillon, Charlie O’Brien for Fitzpatrick, Gavin Langton for Beale, Anto Skelly, Cailium Kelly, Noah Delaney.
ELSEWHERE
In the Senior Division, a Bob Downey penalty secured a fine away draw for Clonaslee United.
They took a point off third from the top Willow Park to leave them two points clear of Mullingar Athletic at the bottom.
In Division 1, Abbeyleix lost to Gallen but Rosenallis edged an eighth goal thriller with Kinnegad.
Rosenallis fought back from 3-1 down to take a 5-3 lead with goals from Peter Doyle, a penalty and a stunning free kick from Conor Conroy and two goals from Shane Farrell.
In Division 3, Ballybrittas remain rooted to the foot of the table as they lost to Cloneygowan Celtic while Portlaoise B played out an admirable 2-2 draw with table toppers Killeigh.
While in Division 4A, Portlaoise Ramblers cut the gap to Mountmellick B at the top to five points following victory over Hollywood FC.
The home side raced into a 2-0 lead early, but the Rams showed serious character during the first half.
A corner from Liam Kitchen allowed Dylan Rogers to pull one back before Rogers added his second, rounding the goalkeeper to level the match at 2–2 by half time.
The Ramblers took control after the break. Scott Jestin gave them the lead for the first time with an excellent finish into the top corner.
The result was sealed from another corner, with Oisin Fitzpatrick reacting quickest after an initial header was saved to fire home the fourth.
There were two other all-Laois clashes in that division with St Aengus and Maryborough defeating Spink Celtic and Cappakeel respectively.
CCFL RESULTS
U-17 Premier Division
Portlaoise 1, Monksland Utd 2
U-17 Division 1
Frankford FC 1. St Francis 2
Clara Town 6, Abbeyleix Ath 0
LFA Junior Shield 5th Round
Blackwater FC 2, Stradbally Town 6
LFA Women’s Shield 1st Round
Mullingar Ath Swans 2, Monasterevan 3
Mountmellick Utd 0, St John Bosco 1
Killeigh FC 8, Lusk Utd 1
Senior Division
Willow Park 1, Clonaslee Utd 1
Monksland Utd 1, Clara Town 3
Division 1
Abbeyleix Ath 0, Gallen Utd 2
Highfield Utd 0, Killavilla Utd 2
Kinnegad Juniors 4, Rosenallis AFC 5
Division 3
Ballybrittas Utd 0, Cloneygowan Celtic 2
Portlaoise AFC 2, Killeigh FC 2
Killavilla Utd 2, Longford Shamrocks 3
Division 4A
St Aengus 3, Spink Celtic 0
Gracefield Utd 2, Killeigh FC 1
Maryborough FC 2, Capakeel Utd 1
Hollywood FC 2, Portlaoise Ramblers 4
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