February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Rovers started the season with a tricky away fixture at Cup holders Oceanside, and went down, 1-0, in a bizarre game that saw three men sent off and the linesman quit because he was being ignored by the referee.
Bobby Davies was outstanding at the back, and Brian Monahan looked dangerous, but for once Tony O’Donnell didn’t take his chances and the Oceanside keeper was inspired. Coach Hopper wasn’t too disheartened, and was looking forward to the clash with Islip this weekend.
Oceanside Reserves 0, Rovers 1
Thomas Heggarty staked a claim for a first team call-up with the only goal as the Reserves started the defense of their title. Collum Sanders and Niall Coogan looked sharp up front and Willie Dempsey kept the defense together. Heggarty scored just before halftime with a cool chip of the keeper, and although they deserved to win by a bigger margin, Rovers will settle for three points.
Rovers Over 30 2, Olympiacos 0
The over 30s have a strong squad this year and they demonstrated this with a convincing victory over an improved Olympiacos team. New striker Russ Francis hammered home the opener after 15 minutes and Nigel Cunniffe followed up a Joe Behan free-kick to make it two after 28 minutes. That ended the scoring but Robbie Kilbane will wonder how he didn’t score from three yards. Marc Hoctor was excellent in defense.
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