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Sunday 14th November 2004
Sarsfield Rovers 1
Clonmel Town B 0
Played on the excellent surface at Bansha Celtic grounds, this Shield Division 4 final was a most exciting and entertaining game for what was a disappointingly small attendance that saw history made as Sarsfield Rovers collected not only the first trophy of the season but also their first since joining the TS & DL.
Those who turned up certainly got value for money as both sides showed superb commitment, and with play swinging rapidly from end to end on the tight pitch, it was difficult to believe that this was in fact 4th Division football.
 Clonmel Town made their intentions known from the kick-off, taking the game to Sarsfield Rovers and dominating proceedings with precise passing which was causing difficulty for an overworked Sarsfield Rovers defence. Denis O’Connor was into the action in the Sarsfield Rovers goal early when getting down to a Keith Fahey shot, and indeed Fahey could consider himself unlucky to see his header from a corner going just wide of the far post all inside the first seven minutes.
However on 15 minutes Sarsfield Rovers’ Niall Pearse showed superb judgement when positioning himself on the goal line to chest away an effort that had goal written all over it after the ball had deceived the ‘keeper. Shortly afterwards Pearse was again in the thick of the action, this time at the other end of the pitch when Sarsfield Rovers won a corner on the right and Pearse timed his run to perfection to connect with the ball midway inside the penalty area, and his superb header gave the Clonmel Town ‘keeper Emerson Kirby no chance to put the underdogs going into the game ahead.
This goal had an immediate settling effect on Sarsfield Rovers and they began to take a firmer hold on proceedings, winning more of the ball in the middle of the park, resulting in more pressure coming on the Town defence. They should in fact have increased their lead prior to the interval following superb work down the left by Eoin Buckley who saw his centre across goal deceive the Town defence but there was no colleague up in support to avail of the opportunity. Shortly afterward it was that man Pearse once more coming from the back who fastened on to a cross from just outside the box, but on this occasion his free header just clipped the cross bar.
After the interval Sarsfield Rovers were first into attack but a weak effort from a good position by Diarmuid Grace was no problem for Emerson Kirby. On 50 minutes there was real drama when referee Billy O’Donoghue showed red cards to both Richie Crowe of Town and Niall Pearse of Sarsfield Rovers for what was to all intents and purposes an innocuous offence but they did rather foolishly raise their hands under the watchful eye of the match official.
One wondered would the loss of the centre back be Sarsfield Rovers’ downfall but they immediately took evasive action by substituting Eoin Buckley and bringing in Sean Hennessy to man the centre of defence, and indeed Hennessy was to have a superb game in that position. The dismissals had the effect of opening up the game and with Town increasingly committed to attack, chances were being created and it was a combination of good goal-keeping and solid defence that kept Sarsfield Rovers slender lead intact. Glen Conway with a fine strike saw his effort just over the cross-bar and Tommy Morrissey had a first time effort saved by the alert Denis O’Connor. Town were to rue missed efforts by Glen Conway who shot straight at the ‘keeper from a favourable position and then by Neil Beckett when his header struck the outside of the rigging with the ‘keeper beaten after 75 minutes.
Beckett was in the thick of the action when shortly afterwards his dangerous cross was gathered safely by ‘keeper O’Connor in what looked like a great opportunity for an equaliser. In the 85th minute O’Connor really showed his expertise when pulling off a superb save at the expense of a corner from a well-struck effort from Keith Fahey. In time added on Town had appeals for a penalty waved away by the referee when an attacker went down in the box in dramatic fashion; perhaps if it had been less dramatic he would have given the spot kick; who knows?
Overall for their dogged resistance Sarsfield Rovers just about deserved their success which was the first in the history of the club. Indeed a memorable occasion on a day that Clonmel Town will want to forget as quickly as possible having departed the F.A.I Junior Cup that morning. League Hon. Treasurer Richard Power presented the Shield to Sarsfield Rovers captain Denis O’Connor, complimenting both sides on serving up a fine game of football, their sportsmanship and commitment.
Sarsfield Rovers: D. O’Connor, R. Creamer, E.O’Connor, A. O’Brien, N. Pearse, P. Buckley, D. Grace, J.McMahon, D. Mulcahy, E. Buckley, D.Byrne. Res: J.O’Connor for Mulcay, S. Hennessy for E. Buckley.
Reserves not used F. Grace, A. Hennessy, R.Byrnes.
Clonmel Town B: E. Kirby, D. Tierney, D. Conway, C. O’Flaherty, M. O’Reilly, S. O’Donnell, N. Beckett, T. Morrissey, R. Crowe, K. Fahey, G. Conway. Res: G. Keane for R. Crowe, V. Hannigan for T. Morrissey, D. Byrnes for G. Keane. Reserves not used J. O’Flaherty, T. Anderson.
Referee: B. O’Donoghue, Assistants: J.McKell, J.O’Dwyer.
Copyright © The Clonmel Nationalist 2004. | 
