IT took extra time to separate Castletown Celtic and Bay Rovers in a nine-goal Beamish Cup first-round classic, with Castletown emerging 5-4 winners after a gripping encounter.
Bay led 1-0 at half-time thanks to a Paddy Cronin strike, but Castletown turned the game on its head by the hour mark. Sean Bourke equalised before Conor O’Sullivan fired Celtic in front. Rovers responded, though, as Callum McElhinney levelled to make it 2-2.
It appeared Castletown had won it when Jack O’Callaghan netted on 85 minutes, but Cronin struck with a dramatic last-gasp equaliser to force extra time at 3-3.
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Castletown started the additional period strongly, with O’Sullivan scoring his second goal on 96 minutes before completing his hat-trick just four minutes later. James Desmond pulled one back for Bay, but Castletown held their nerve to seal a memorable win and book a quarter-final place.
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In the Women’s Cup, Lyre Rovers wrapped up a round-two aggregate win over Drinagh Rangers B. Lyre won the second leg 3-1 following their 5-1 first-leg success to advance 8-2 on aggregate. Drinagh made the brighter start in the return leg as Ciara Galvin gave them an 11th-minute lead, but Lyre hit back quickly through Aimee Barrett. Second-half goals from Meadhbh Coomey sealed the tie and sent Lyre through.
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Turning to league matters, Togher Celtic produced a top-class display in the PremierHiSpecCars.com Premier Division with a dominant 6-0 win over Lyre Rovers.
The result lifts Togher level on points with second-placed Drinagh Rangers and just three points behind leaders Clonakilty Soccer Club, with all three having played the same number of games, underlining Togher’s credentials as genuine title contenders.
Celtic set the tone early and had the game effectively wrapped up by half-time, leading 4-0 thanks to goals from Paudie Crowley, Ciaran Murray, Donnacha Collins and Robbie Lucey. Collins went on to complete his hat-trick in the second half as Togher stayed firmly in the title race.
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In the OBrienWaterServices.com Championship, Bunratty United moved up to second with a convincing 4-1 away win over Skibbereen AFC. Luke O’Brien and Conor Brosnan put Bunratty 2-0 up by the break, before Brosnan added his second and Dan Bucur completed the scoring. Jason Collins converted a penalty for Skibbereen, who remain third from bottom.
Skibbereen Celtic climbed to fourth following a comfortable 3-0 victory over Aultagh Celtic, with goals from Cian O’Brien, Jack O’Brien and Eoin O’Donovan.
