Ballincolligx B v Grangevalex 06.10.07
AUL 3 TOP OF TABLE
Ballincollig 0 Grangevale 2
Grangevale made it five wins in a row when deadly striker Jason Martin bagged a brace after the opportunities fell his way in the Ballincollig box in Saturday's top of the table game in Murphy's Stout AUL 3.
Not much was seen of the recently acquired Martin or of his equally recent and deadly partner John Carroll in a boring first half, dominated by defences and with precious few goalmouth incidents.
But it was a different story after the interval. Then Neil McSorley's side stepped up a gear. They took the game to the home team and the Ballincollig defence eventually cracked and Martin took full advantage to secure three points for his promotion seeking side.
The Grange pressure paid off handsomely in the 58th minute when Martin scored the first of his brace. Dave Burke's ball, from distance, should have been cleared. Instead it ran loose in the box and the striker reacted quickly and acrobatically to plant it beyond the isolated keeper for the opener.
Grange kept the pressure on and scored the clinching second goal in the 77th minute. Sub Malik did well in his own half and then Carroll took it up and sent Troy racing through the middle. Full back John Paul Rath got in a good tackle at the edge of the box but the ball squirted free to the feet of Martin and his cool finish gave keeper Lordan no chance, Ballincollig no chance of a point.
Martin had a few late chances to complete his hat trick. In the 88th minute, he robbed a defender near the half way line and headed for goal only to be denied by a recovery tackle.
He had an even better chance from the resultant corner, swung in by Dan Cronin, but his shot on the turn was well saved by Mick Lordan. Martin himself then delivered a couple of dangerous corners from the other wing and strike partner Carroll got a head to the second but it flashed wide.
Referee John Harte played close to ten minutes of injury time, mainly due to treatment received by Ballincollig skipper Brian Donovan midway through the second period. He is wished a speedy recovery from a calf injury.
Evenly matched teams with two defences on top means a scarcity of goal-scoring incidents and that about sums up the first half at the Regional Park. Ballincollig probably made the brighter start but you could see even then that the Carroll Martin combination, given a decent supply, would be a threat.
The most dangerous moment for Grange came midway through. Then keeper Twomey had to rush from his line. He met Jaroslav Mni at the edge of the box and lifted a boot high to win the clash. The ball ran loose but the home team were unable to capitalise.
The biggest danger for Ballincollig came in the final minute of the half when keeper Mick Lordan was slow to react to a long free in by Dave Burke. He allowed it hop dangerously in the six-yard box before finally moving to push it behind for a corner.
But Lordan had no such luck in the second half when Martin pounced for his goals.
Ballincollig: Mick Lordan, Brian Donovan captain (Steven Day 65), John Paul Rath, Adrian Brady, Tim O'Mahony, Tom Ross, Terry Coomey, Steve Lynch, Dave Rath, Jaroslav Mni (Shane Woods 81), and Mick Gallahue. Subs: Trevor O'Mahony, James Larkin and Brian Hegarty.
Grangevale: Evan Twomey, Tony Fulignati, Dave O'Sullivan, Dave Burke, Keith Troy, Ian Cronin captain, Dan Cronin (Eric Maher 96), Ciaran O'Sullivan (Gerald McSorley), Johnny Carroll, Jason Martin and Shane Dorgan (Malik Elmusbahi 8). Subs: Owen Jeffers, Adrian Horgan and Barry Twomey.
Referee: John Harte.
AUL 3 TOP OF TABLE
Ballincollig 0 Grangevale 2
Grangevale made it five wins in a row when deadly striker Jason Martin bagged a brace after the opportunities fell his way in the Ballincollig box in Saturday's top of the table game in Murphy's Stout AUL 3.
Not much was seen of the recently acquired Martin or of his equally recent and deadly partner John Carroll in a boring first half, dominated by defences and with precious few goalmouth incidents.
The Grange pressure paid off handsomely in the 58th minute when Martin scored the first of his brace. Dave Burke's ball, from distance, should have been cleared. Instead it ran loose in the box and the striker reacted quickly and acrobatically to plant it beyond the isolated keeper for the opener.
Martin had a few late chances to complete his hat trick. In the 88th minute, he robbed a defender near the half way line and headed for goal only to be denied by a recovery tackle.
Referee John Harte played close to ten minutes of injury time, mainly due to treatment received by Ballincollig skipper Brian Donovan midway through the second period. He is wished a speedy recovery from a calf injury.
The most dangerous moment for Grange came midway through. Then keeper Twomey had to rush from his line. He met Jaroslav Mni at the edge of the box and lifted a boot high to win the clash. The ball ran loose but the home team were unable to capitalise.
But Lordan had no such luck in the second half when Martin pounced for his goals.
Grangevale: Evan Twomey, Tony Fulignati, Dave O'Sullivan, Dave Burke, Keith Troy, Ian Cronin captain, Dan Cronin (Eric Maher 96), Ciaran O'Sullivan (Gerald McSorley), Johnny Carroll, Jason Martin and Shane Dorgan (Malik Elmusbahi 8). Subs: Owen Jeffers, Adrian Horgan and Barry Twomey.
Referee: John Harte.
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