Sporting Fingal 1 - 0 Dundalk
Credit:
An early second half goal from Shaun Williams was enough to see Sporting Fingal take all three points from Dundalk at Morton Stadium on Friday night.
Dundalk got off to a bright start with the lion’s share of possession but they failed to make the most of their early pressure.
It was the Lilywhites Matthew Tipton who had the first attempt on goal when he tried his luck on ten minutes but his shot was easily saved by Darren Quigley
Sporting Fingal began to find their way into the game and Ronan Finn had their first shot on target when he struck from 25 yards but Peter Cherrie gathered his effort.
Kenny Browne was next to go close when he rose clear of his markers only to head an Ollie Cahill corner over the crossbar.
It took nearly half an hour for either side to work the goalkeepers. Wayne Hatswell stepped up from forty yards out and his free kick forced Quigley to tap the effort over his cross bar.
Dundalk pushed forward late in the half and Matthew Tipton twice found himself in glorious positions behind the Fingal defence.
First he skipped in between the Fingal back four and Quigley but he got caught in two minds and his effort was cleared easily by Browne. His second chance came just before the break when Jim Miller worked space down the right flank and picked put Tipton who put the shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
This was to be the last action of the first half as the sides remained deadlocked at the break.
Fingal looked livelier in the second half and it wasn’t long before their efforts paid off. Just seven minutes in, Ger O’Brien won a free kick just outside the Dundalk penalty area.
Ollie Cahill stepped up for the resulting free kick and set up Shaun Williams who delivered the killer blow to the Lilywhites when he slotted home.
Just three minutes later it looked like Sporting would double their lead when Gary O’Neill found himself free in the box but his attempted through ball to Conan Byrne was off the mark.
Ian Foster’s side were limited to long range attempts and Ciaran McGuigan tried his hand from thirty yards but once more Quigley was in control when he gathered the ball at the second attempt.
Miller and Faz Kuduzovic both picked up yellow cards as the frustration was beginning to show for the Louth men. And with seven minutes left on the clock Miller picked up his second yellow for a foul on Byrne. This was the last real action of the game as Fingal closed out any hopes Dundalk had of picking up a point.
Sporting Fingal – Quigley, O’Brien, Frost, Shaun Maher, Browne, Byrne, Williams, Finn, Kirby, Cahill (James 90 min), O’Neill (Glenn Crowe 78 min)
Subs Not Used: Clarke, Dawson, Gannon
Dundalk – Cherrie, Kelly, Hatswell, Miller, Kuduzovic, Tipton, Madden, Bennett, McGuigan, McDonnell (Burns 73 min), Kearns (Gaynor 85 min)
Subs Not Used: Breen, Mulvenna, Murphy
Referee: Richie Winter
Attendance: 791
Dundalk got off to a bright start with the lion’s share of possession but they failed to make the most of their early pressure.
It was the Lilywhites Matthew Tipton who had the first attempt on goal when he tried his luck on ten minutes but his shot was easily saved by Darren Quigley
Sporting Fingal began to find their way into the game and Ronan Finn had their first shot on target when he struck from 25 yards but Peter Cherrie gathered his effort.
Kenny Browne was next to go close when he rose clear of his markers only to head an Ollie Cahill corner over the crossbar.
It took nearly half an hour for either side to work the goalkeepers. Wayne Hatswell stepped up from forty yards out and his free kick forced Quigley to tap the effort over his cross bar.
Dundalk pushed forward late in the half and Matthew Tipton twice found himself in glorious positions behind the Fingal defence.
First he skipped in between the Fingal back four and Quigley but he got caught in two minds and his effort was cleared easily by Browne. His second chance came just before the break when Jim Miller worked space down the right flank and picked put Tipton who put the shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
This was to be the last action of the first half as the sides remained deadlocked at the break.
Fingal looked livelier in the second half and it wasn’t long before their efforts paid off. Just seven minutes in, Ger O’Brien won a free kick just outside the Dundalk penalty area.
Ollie Cahill stepped up for the resulting free kick and set up Shaun Williams who delivered the killer blow to the Lilywhites when he slotted home.
Just three minutes later it looked like Sporting would double their lead when Gary O’Neill found himself free in the box but his attempted through ball to Conan Byrne was off the mark.
Ian Foster’s side were limited to long range attempts and Ciaran McGuigan tried his hand from thirty yards but once more Quigley was in control when he gathered the ball at the second attempt.
Miller and Faz Kuduzovic both picked up yellow cards as the frustration was beginning to show for the Louth men. And with seven minutes left on the clock Miller picked up his second yellow for a foul on Byrne. This was the last real action of the game as Fingal closed out any hopes Dundalk had of picking up a point.
Sporting Fingal – Quigley, O’Brien, Frost, Shaun Maher, Browne, Byrne, Williams, Finn, Kirby, Cahill (James 90 min), O’Neill (Glenn Crowe 78 min)
Subs Not Used: Clarke, Dawson, Gannon
Dundalk – Cherrie, Kelly, Hatswell, Miller, Kuduzovic, Tipton, Madden, Bennett, McGuigan, McDonnell (Burns 73 min), Kearns (Gaynor 85 min)
Subs Not Used: Breen, Mulvenna, Murphy
Referee: Richie Winter
Attendance: 791
