Hawks eye title after beating leaders
SOMETHING had to give when Under-11 Premier Division leaders Boyne Rovers and previously unbeaten Drogheda Town Hawks met at St Joseph's CBS on Saturday morning.
And in the end, the Hawks would swoop for all the points, with a second-half goal proving decisive.
The clash was tight from the first minute to the last, with both teams enjoying chances, but they were unable to beat their respective keepers for the most part.
Rovers will curse their luck on the day, as they hit the frame of the goal on three separate occasions and at one stage Tadhg Everitt Thompson felt he had the ball in the net before a Town player made a desperate goal-line clearance.
Daire Nally was first to test the Drogheda Town woodwork with a 25-yard free kick after 13 minutes.
With Oisin Mckenna and Cian Byrne doing well, Rovers enjoyed a good spell in the game, but still they were thankful for some fine stops from Hugh Murphy at the other end as the Hawks' pace saw them counterattack with menace.
Nally struck the crossbar again near half-time, while Anthony Burke also had a shot blocked away.
The second half began with Murphy coming off his line to deny TJ Doheny and then bravely diving at the feet of two attackers.
Still, with Daire Nally, Burke, Holland and Askins at the back and Ciaran Finnegan-moonan coming into midfield, Rovers were right in the contest and when the Drogheda Town goal came it was pretty unfortunate for the home side.
They won a corner on the right side and Mckenna's in-swinging delivery came crashing back off the bar. The rebound was hastily cleared and away went Town's Imran Jiwo to elude the defence and beat Murphy with a rasping shot.
With Femi Fanifosi, Conor Brennan and Berna Meite starring, the Hawks began to pass their way to victory and Murphy had to be sharp on two occasions to save.
Rovers boss Andy Byrne threw Robert Murphy up front and he almost got in for the equaliser, keeper Kian Harding blocking well.
Both teams will take a lot from the fixture and will look forward to meeting again in the Under-11 Premier Division before the end of the season.
Crabtree, Wye and Mcmahon also played their part for Rovers on the day, but it jusn't wasn't enough. BOYNE ROVERS: Hugh Murphy, Ryan Holland, Matthew Askins, Daire Nally, Ciaran Finnegan-moonan, Cian Byrne, Anthony Burke, Oisin Mckenna, Kenny Wye, Adam Mcmahon, Tadgh EverittThompson, Robert Murphy, Sean Crabtree.
