Dunmanway Town keep Premier Division title challenge alive

DUNMANWAY Town kept their PremierHiSpecCars.com Premier Division title challenge on track with a resounding 4-0 win over fourth-place Kilgoban Celtic on Sunday.

One week after relinquishing their Beamish Cup crown, Dunmanway ensured their title dreams remained alive thanks to two goals in each half. First-half goals from Darragh Collins and Steven O’Donovan gave the winners a 2-0 lead at the break. Cullan Barry and Cathal Daly hit the back of the net in the second half to complete the win and move Dunmanway back into second place, now seven points behind leaders Drinagh Rangers but they do have two games in hand and also have to play Drinagh, too.

Dunmanway picked up another three valuable points over the weekend as the WCL awarded Riverside Athletic's remaining games following their confirmed relegation; Athletic had two walkovers (November 7th, 2021 v Spartak Mossgrove, March 13th, 2022 v Riverside Athletic) and, per rules, have now been relegated to the Championship for next season. It means one more team will be relegated from the Premier this campaign.

Drinagh’s win against Lyre Rovers on Good Friday means they hold a sizeable lead over both Dunmanway and Clonakilty Soccer Club, the latter’s clash with Mizen AFC didn’t go ahead last Sunday morning. Clon are now 13 points behind Drinagh – but have five games in hand and will also host Drinagh in Clon during the title run in.

Meanwhile, in the OBrienWaterServices.com Championship the battle for the title is also hotting up. Last weekend Skibbereen beat Castlelack 3-0 with goals from Eoin O’Donovan, Mark Collins and JP Reen. Skibb sit in third place, on 34 points after 16 games, and are three points behind the leaders, Castletown Celtic, who have 37 points after 17 games. Sandwiched in between is Bunratty United on 35 points after 14 matches. In a mid-table clash Courtmacsherry defeated Kilbrittain Rovers 3-0, with goals from Aaron Knowles, Matthew O’Donovan and Donal Buckley.

Elsewhere, in a semi-final of the WCL Ladies Cup Inter Kenmare beat Beara United 1-0 thanks to Ciara O’Shea’s 16th-minute effort, while Ardfield defeated Kilgoban Celtic 4-1 in the WCL U19 League. Annraoi Creedan, Cormac Hall, Sean Lawless and Barry Walsh all scored for Ardfield, while Alex Young was on target for Kilgoban.