Brendan, the young brother of Bhoys star forward Dessie Beattie, opened his scoring spree with a brace in the reserve fixture, whose other star was Eamonn Duffy.
Lansdowne prevailed, 4-1, with Aidan Corr and Aidan Higgins contributing a goal apiece, but SC Ukrainians’ 5-1 drubbing of FC Japan at McCarran Park dashed the Bhoys’ title hopes.
Ukrainians retained the Reserve championship on goal difference.
Brendan Beattie joined the fray in the senior fixture with Lansdowne leading 3-0 midway through the second half, courtesy of Conor Hunter, big brother Dessie and Marty Doherty.
The sharpshooting reserve proceeded to finish off Roosevelt with three quick goals. Alex Sinclair and Craig Ellis were the Roosevelt scorers.
Right winger Dessie Green, Mark Maguire and Marty Griffin, all stood out for the Bhoys.
Thus Lansdowne accompany Mike Fitzgerald’s Second Division champs Manhattan Kickers to the CSL top flight just one season after earning promotion from Metro Div. 1, the league’s de facto Third Division.
They won 11 games, lost just two and tied three times, while accumulating 36 points. Only Kickers, who were relegated from the First Division last season, had better stats (15-1-1, 46).
Bhoys coach Damien Dunleavy was expectedly delighted with his team’s performance.
“We’ve had an outstanding year and we’re very happy with our promotion,” he said. “We’re looking forward to making some new additions for the First Division.”
ROVERS RULE
Irish Rovers are closing in on a Grand Slam of titles after another successful season in regional amateur soccer.
Cup and league victories by the A team, the Over-30s and an unprecedented ninth championship by the reserves have left the Long Island Soccer League side on the verge of a clean sweep of all the footballing honors in the New York area.
At St. John’s University last Sunday, Rovers’ first squad picked up their third silverware in two weeks after downing Real Caribe 4-2 to clinch the LISL First Division title for the third time in five years.
Allen Pike, Chris Sloan, E. Snodin and Paul Cassano connected for Rovers, who had beaten Real Caribe 3-1 a fortnight earlier to bag the Long Island League Cup.
And a week before their latest league crown, Rovers had defeated Colombian outfit Los Faroelos, 3-1, in the final of the Dr. Manning State Cup, the tri-state area’s leading amateur competition, at the Verazzano Sports Complex.
This, too, was the Irish juggernaut’s third success in four trips to the Manning Cup final since 1999.
John O’Hagan, Mike Riley and Cassano were on target against the South Americans from the North East Super League.
Paul “Scholesy” Stewart and skipper Kevin Daly shared Man of the Match honors for superb performances up front and in defense, respectively.
Rovers veteran Mark Hopper said the win was the club’s sweetest in the Manning Cup because of the tough opposition the team overcame en route to the final.
In imperious form during the cup run, Rovers dismissed Super League champions Zafiro Juniors, 2-0, in first round; knocked off rivals Shamrock, 3-0, in the second; beat 2003 winners Forest Park, 2-0, in the third; edged New York Albanians, 4-3, in the quarterfinals, the match of the tournament, and defeated Real Caribe, 3-2, in the semis.
“Credit must go to manager Paul McGlynn for building another great Rovers team with a mixture of great young talent and veterans,” Hopper said.
Rovers can make it a clean sweep by beating Glen Cove in the Long Island Super League final in two weeks.
TOP SECONDS
The Rovers’ second team captured their ninth Long Island League Reserve title by beating Real Caribe by 2-1 at St. John’s University last week.
The reserves were last year’s Livio D’Arpino Cup winners, courtesy of that 2-1 win over Shamrock.
OLD POWER
Rovers’ Over-30 side lifted the New York State Cup after edging New York Hota, 1-0, in the final on Tony O’Donnell’s 65th minute winner.
Brian Monaghan, Paul McGlyn and Mark Hopper were instrumental in setting up O’Donnell’s clincher, while Bobbi Davies and Liam Flanagan shared Man of the Match honors.
Rovers’ Over-30 B team earned some accolades, too, by reaching the final of the Long Island Over-30 League Cup despite finishing at the bottom of the league standings.
The old-timers put up a fight before succumbing 3-1 to Istria, a side that reached the semifinals of the National Over-30 Cup this year.
Said Hopper: “Rovers currently are without doubt the most successful amateur club in New York with [victories] in 19 major competitions in the last five years.”