25 April 2007

Tullamore Rovers Finish 3rd

Rovers Finish Third

Abbeyleix Athletic B 2, Tullamore Rovers 1.

Tullamore Rovers finished off the season with a defeat but they should have come away with all three points after their encounter with now Division 4A Champions Abbeyleix Athletic B. The Rovers players must have been still in bed for the first ten minutes of this encounter as the hosts managed to convert two early goals that should never had been. Despite that set back Rovers came more into the game as the half wore on with Pat Tyrell causing plenty of trouble on the right hand side. It was Pat Tyrell who got the Rovers goal twelve minutes before the break after he was fed through by Derek Dolan. Tyrell skipped by two defending and slotted past the out coming keeper from just inside the box. Rovers continued to press with Phil Evans dominating the middle and Mick Kilmartin pooping up on the left to create a number of good moves for the Tullamore side. It was the final killer pass that was missing form Rovers play that should have turned the possession into goals. The Tullamore lads continued to press through the second half despite the loss of Ronan Heffernan to injury. His replacement Mick Delany put in an excellent shift and caused havoc in the home team box every time the ball managed to reach him. His strike partner Brendan Kenny was also causing problems and was unlucky you to get on the score sheet when his shot, following a defensive mix up, was cleared off the line. Billy Harvey and John Healy joined the attacks as they tried desperately for an equalizer, this allowed Mick Kilmartin to move into more space and his running was a good feature of Rovers play as usual. Rovers had two good calls for a penalty tuned down after both Delaney and Dolan seemed to be pushed over in the box on separate occasions, considering it was the last game of the season the referee was happy to let such incidents go. As Rovers pressed it allowed Abbeyleix to hit them on the break and some good tracking from Jimmy O’Brien in the final 10 minutes denied Abbeyleix that all important third goal. Despite conceding twice Jimmy Keenahan recovered well in goal and he pulled off a great save as he scrambled to his left hand post ten minutes before the end to deny the home team. The Abbeyleix right winger was having a good battle with John Healy and Healy will be de delighted to have kept him quiet for most of the game. It was John Healy last game for Tullamore Rovers and he despite the result he will delighted with his performance as he managed to cut through the Abbeyleix team with two great runs late in the second half that were unlucky not to lead to a goal. At this stage manger Lar Byrne sent defender Ian Harvey up front to make a three man attack in attack in search of the elusive goal. Harvey did well but unfortunately time ran out for Rovers. A third place finish wasn’t a bad outcome for Rovers who had been promoted the previous year. They team will look back on some dropped pints earlier in the season as a couple more points would have gaurenteed promotion.
Tullamore Rovers would like o thank Joe Lees Bar on Church Street, De Bruns on Patrick St., Ted & Keith Garry for the pitch in Killeigh which was excellently maintained throughout the year. The management and team would like to thank John Healy for his contribution to the team over the past two years and wish him well in the future.
Tullamore Rovers: Jimmy Keenehan, Billy Harvey, Jimmy O’Brien, Ian Harvey, John Healy, Ronan Heffernan, Phil Evans, Mick Kilmartin, Derek Dolan, Pat Tyrell, Brendan Kenny, Mick Delaney.