February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The Irish Rovers first team began their defense of the Long Island Division title with a hard-fought 0-0 draw with Islip F.C. Sunday. Both teams played well throughout the game with chances coming few and far between. Kevin Daly, Jack Steponowski and Stuart Duffin all played solid games and behind the leadership of new captain Damien Dunleavey the Rovers will be happy to take a point on a tough away tie.
Meanwhile, the Rovers reserves also came away with a tie as Kevin Kenny equalized with five minutes to go on a blistering right foot volley. New manager Ray Quinlan, although late in his debut due to traffic, was delighted with the result and gave all credit to Dean Gibson and Brian Monaghan for picking the team.
In the Over 30s contest, Coach Joe McGreevey has worked tirelessly over the off season to sign new players to his squad and it paid off. A 2-1 victory was recorded over Islip in what proved to be the game of the day. Falling behind on an early Islip goal, which is already a contender for goal of the year, the "old boys" fought back and equalized on a Mark Traynor header. Constant pressure by the Rovers led to "New Boy" Mark Hopper scoring the winner after some great work by Dave Quigley and Marshal McAdoo.