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Soccer Roundup Shamrocks rocked; Quigley propels Rovers Reserves

February 15, 2011

By Staff Reporter

The Shamrocks first team lost a heartbreaker against Hungaria in New Jersey last Sunday. Both teams needed a draw to win their division, but with the score tied at 1 with 38 seconds left, top scorer De Salvo pounced on a defensive error and gave McPartland no chance to leave the team shell shocked.

The second place Dinamo, after a 7-1 victory, now face the Rocks at Randalls next Sunday to decide the division. The Rocks go into the game with a slightly better goal average.

In a bruising first half, which saw five yellow cards issued, the Hungarians took the lead after 22 minutes with a stunner from 30 yards to the top right corner. The Rocks attacked immediately and were awarded a penalty, which Paul Wilson converted. Other chances fell to Johan Lannon and Tim Cummins, who both went narrowly over the top.

The second period was all Rocks and solid work by Darren Thunder in midfield created chances for Johan Lannon, Niall Swan and Cummins, but the home goal stayed intact. With seven minutes to go a neat move saw Terry Lawless free in front of goal, but his hard shot was directly at the keeper. That was the last Rocks chance before disaster struck in that final minute.

Also the Rocks’ understrength second team lost their first game of the season to a nippy Hungarian side, who punished the only three defensive errors by the Rocks. The rest of the game was dominated by the Rocks, who created chance after chance looking for the elusive first goal to break the ice. However, it was not to be their day and need to win one of their last two to clinch.

The third team, under Terry Horan, finished their season with a 2-1 victory over local Turkish rivals Sunnyside Sicja.

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Rovers punish Islip

The Irish Rovers Reserves took a major step toward winning their second consecutive Long Island League title with a decisive 4-1 victory over Islip. Player manager Paul McGlynn had a game-time decision to make, youth or experience? He opted for the latter, drafting in the 40 year-old ex-Everton, Shamrock Rovers star David Quigley. It paid dividends with Quigley scoring a cracker from 30 yards. With many scouts in attendance, one feels it’s only a matter of time before Quigley gets offered his third professional contract. Also hitting the net for the Rovers were Mark Traynor, Paul Kehoe and Colm Saunders. The Reserves’ final league game is Thursday right away to Glen Cove and a victory will secure the league title.

Meanwhile, a weakened first team fell, 3-2, to a strong Islip team, with Mark Hopper having to retire with a migraine headache early in the first half. The Rovers faced an uphill battle, going down 1-0. The Rovers battled back through Quigley. Five minutes later, Declan Condron gave the Rovers a 2-1 lead. But soon the effects of a depleted squad began to show as Islip took advantage of some defensive lapses and pulled out a 3-2 victory.

Southbend, Parlor Moms prevail

A truncated Bronx League schedule saw just two women’s matches last weekend. The Southbend garnered their first win of the season with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Gilligan’s. The result belies a tight game where the difference between the teams lay with the Southbend’s ability to capitalize on half chances. The opening salvos were fired by Gilligan’s with a bad bounce depriving Maudy Lynn of a golden opportunity. Good play from Michelle Hornof and Aibhlish Dineen at the heart of The Southbend defense kept further chances to a minimum. Petrona Kemp opened the scoring after 20 minutes when she stole the ball from Gilligan’s rearguard to fire home at the first opportunity. On the half time whistle a potential equalizer from Maudy Lynn was inches wide.

After the break a free was rolled to Petrona Kemp, who buried the ball to leave the score at 2-0. The arrival of Linda Higgins brought the score to 4-0 when she slotted in a cross from Kemp and then touched the ball past Olivia Murphy. The Southbend can take heart from a fine team performance where Maree Moloney turned in a fine display while Mary Nash and Lorraine Manning were best for Gilligans.

The Parlor Moms also pulled off their first win of the season when defeating the Starting Gate Harps, 1-0. With the latter minus some vital starters, the Parlor Moms availed of the opportunity to press forward, where Karen Rice and Valerie Shafer were pivotal. Michelle Davis looked likely to put the Harps ahead early in the second half when she was put through but her shot was just wide of the mark. With about 10 minutes left, Mara Kaplan outpaced the Harps defense to drill a left-footed shot into the top of the net. This proved to be sufficient to break the deadlock, Harps did regroup in search of the equalizer, but the efforts of Maggie Bradley, among others, ensured a win for the Moms.

Next week’s matches see Lansdowne A vs. Fiona’s and Parlor Moms vs. Beal Bocht at 10 a.m. ,while at 11:30 Gilligan’s take on Harps and Lansdowne B face The Southbend.

In the men’s division, it was Lansdowne A 3, Lansdowne B 0; Quays A 0, Quays B 3; Fiona’s A 2, Fiona’s B 0; Heritage 1, Golden Goose 1; Temple Bar 0, Breffni 2; Flynn’s Inn 5, Scruffy’s 1.

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