Bush Celtic 0
Naas United 1
Lumsden cup holders Naas United travelled to College Pk Newbridge on Sunday morning to play Bush Celtic. Naas started brightly and should have scored as early as the second minute when Jordan Martella's superb through ball found Samson Omoteso but the Naas striker left himself with a difficult angle and failed to hit the target.
After a stern talking to from the Naas manager Dicky Nolan who rang the changes United came out much more determined in the second half and after five minutes Naas played a nice move involving Sheldon Mbala and Jordan Martela and the latter found Omoteso whose cross was headed just over by Dane Higgins .
Bush Celtic to their credit refused to lie down and had a few breakaways but without really troubling the impressive Keith Higgins in United's goal.
Another three gilt edged chances were squandered by the Naas men Long and Sean Gavin but the Naas goal had to come and it duly did in the seventieth minute.
Sheldan Mbala played a sweet pass down the line to Wayne Long who crossed for Samson Omoteso to volley home leaving the keeper with no chance .
The game finished 1-0 and the Naas men go into the second round knowing they will need to bring their scoring boots the next time.
Best for Naas were Jamie Dunne, Sammy Omoteso, Sean Gavin, Dane Higgins and man of the match Martella.
Huge credit goes to Bush and especially their goalkeeper, Daragh Nolan, who made a string of brilliant saves. The Bush side were outstanding from 1 to 12 and certainly left everything out on the pitch after a magnificent effort throughout.
Kilcullen 5
Newbridge Town 0
The good recent weather has been welcomed by all pitches across Kildare. Despite this, It was a dull evening in Kilcullen as we welcomed Newbridge Town 35s in front of a now regular large crowd for the first round of the KDFL Lumsden League Cup.
The home side started very strong maintaining possession well, Kilcullen maintained their composure against a very experienced Newbridge Town who stuck to their game plan very well with the evergreen former Kilcullen stalwart Robbie Donnelly marshalling his back four well.
Kilcullen struck their first goal in the twenty fifth minute when a ball was crossed by Dean Conroy into Dylan Aulsberry and the captain made no mistake to slot it home to make it 1-0. Kilcullen’s next goal came from a great cross from Darragh Kelly which was met by a bullet header from Dylan Aulsberry again to make it 2-0.
The leaders started the second half well and had a firm grip of the game and added a third when Dean Conroy got to a header and the Newbridge town keeper made an error which led to the third goal.
The home side added to their tally from a lovely run from Niall Flynn on the right hand side who cut in and slotted home with his left to make it 4-0.
The final goal came from a nice run from Jamel Meslouhi who got past two players and a solid strike into the bottom left corner which gave the Newbridge Town goalkeeper no chance and that was game over.
An overall good performance from the home team who advance to the next round of the Lumsden Cup.
Best for Kilcullen were the captain Dylan Aulsberry, Dean Conroy and the excellent Niall Flynn but the man of the match has to go to young Jack Broe.
Best for the visitors was the evergreen Robbie Donnelly.
Clane United 2
N'bridge Hspurs 1 aet
Clane started brightly with plenty of early possession without really causing any much threat to the hotspurs backline marshalled well by center half Sean Higgins .
As the first half continued the away side grew into the game and became the dominant team. On 20 minutes the Hotspurs striker looked set to have put hotspurs in front only to be denied by a top class close range save from Clane Keeper Adam Mazur. Moments later through sloppy play, Clane Captain Jack Kelly was forced into a last ditch superb tackle to deny no 9.
On the half hour mark the away side deservedly took the lead as the hotspurs striker blasted into the roof of the Clane net giving Mazur no chance.
Five minutes from the break Mazur again was called into action brilliantly tipping over a Newbridge effort from the edge of the box.
On the stroke of half time Andrew Hyland went close for Clane. Clane with no doubt few harsh words at half time came out a better side in the second half and five minutes in a double change of Nathan Carr and Rasdi Nsimba gave the home side a much needed energy lift.
Clane on top but were struggling to break down the Hotspurs defence, the closest they came was James Ralph shooting wide from a Hyland cross. With three minutes remaining Clane had one last throw of the dice the last throw at the dice sending Kelly up top and he caused a bit of disarray winning vital flick ons with a more direct approach. On the 89 minutes Clane equalised as Hyland crossed to the big man Kelly who nodded it down to Sean Connolly who with a perfectly weighted pass to Rasdi n Simba found the keepers bottom right corner to force extra time.
Seven minutes into the first period of extra time the home side took the lead and what proved to be the winner as Hyland slipped Ralph in who made no mistake. Newbridge who never gave up put Clane under pressure in the dying moments of the game as Mazur somehow kept out the away side again.
Clane were a bit out of sorts maybe with combination of missing a few experienced players and been in the unique position with six of the squad sitting their leaving cert this week took its toll but never the less showed great character to dig out the win.
The away team will feel like they missed out on a great opportunity to advance and take out one of the favourites of Kildare League Cup competition. Best for Clane were Adam Hinds on his first senior start, Captain Kelly and his partner in crime O’ Dwyer and man of the match keeper Adam Mazur.
Clonmullion 5
Rathangan 2
Rathangan were the visitors to Micheál O Neill Park for this preliminary round of the Lumsden League Cup. It only took the home side ten minutes to register the first goal when Lee Day played a cross field pass to Jack Dooley who picked out Cody Mulhall in the middle and he guided the ball passed keeper Daniel Faul.
Two minutes later visiting midfielder Finn Black attempted to play the ball back to his keeper but Day was alive to it and intercepted the pass before rounding centre half Jamie Kearns and slotting home from the edge of the box.
Day got his second of the game to put his side three up after Dooley chipped a lovely ball over the defence and Day lobbed the advancing keeper. Clonmullion were unlucky not to make it four after great interplay between Keane Cully and Ricky Moriarity set Mulhall free down the middle. He in turn picked out Nathan Robinson who's first time effort was well saved by the Rathangan keeper.
The visitors pulled one back on the stroke of half time when Jack Cannon crossed into the box and Sam Horgan’s header looped over keeper Nathan Germaine. Clonmullion started the second half well and Ross Cardiff and Joe Brennan combined well to set Dooley free down the right but his first time cross evaded everyone.
Keeping the pressure on the home side attacked down the opposite flank where Day found Ger Kenny who squared the ball to Robinson twenty five yards out and he hit an unstoppable shot to make it 4 - 1 with an hour gone. Rathangan made it 4 - 2 when substitute Jason Dempsey rose highest to head home a Finn Black corner. However young Ger Kenny restored his sides three goal cushion after he controlled a long ball from Corey Moore and took the ball around Kearns before slotting home cooly from a tight angle to put his side safely through to the first round proper.
Kilcock Celtic 0
Coill Dubh 3
Coill Dubh secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Kilcock Celtic, advancing to the next round of the prestigious Lumsden Cup. In the first half, Coill Dubh dominated from the start, with Sean MacMahon excelling in the number ten role and Ryan Murran returning to his customary midfield position alongside Dylan Hannon.
The opening goal came in the twentieth minute when Murran found Jason Devine in a central position.
Devine laid the ball off to Dan Smal on the right wing, whose excellent cross forced the keeper into a save.
The rebound fell to Conor Comiskey, who made no mistake with the second attempt.
Moments later, Dylan Hannon's effort smashed against the crossbar. Kilcock had a great chance to level the match before the break, but their striker squandered a golden opportunity. The half-time score was 1-0 to Coill Dubh.
Early in the second half, Cian MacMahon forced a fine save from the Kilcock keeper. In the fifty fifth minute, a Kilcock player found himself one-on-one with Alan Sheridan but failed to find the net.
Two minutes later, Cian MacMahon played a precise pass to Jason Devine, who coolly slotted home Coill Dubh's second goal. Sheridan in the Dubh's net was called into action with a fine save in the 61 minute.
The game was put to bed in the seventy second minute with a well-struck effort from Coill Dubh, ensuring a comfortable win.
