Match Of The Week: King brace helps Ballyer storm the Castle
A FIRST-HALF brace of goals from winger Daron King pushed Ballyfermot United to a 2-1 victory over Kingswood Castle on Saturday and nine-points clear at the top of the Leinster Senior League Major 1D Division.
The Lawns in Ballyfermot played host to the entertaining all-action encounter between the two sides, as middle-table outfit Kingswood tried to get one over the league leaders.
And, striker Nico Byrne came close to opening the account for the travelling outfit after Ballyfermot defender Roy Ennis spilled a cross into his path.
Alex Rafferty rarely put a foot wrong alongside Connor Leigh in the backline in those opening exchanges and Justin Doyle was controlling the tempo for Kingswood early on.
However, United caught Castle on the break when Jay O’Neill flicked the ball past two players onto Daron King, who knocked it around Rafferty before sticking it between ‘keeper Josh Smith’s legs into the net.
King proved to be a real thorn in the side with his penetrating runs in from the right wing and Jonathan Kavanagh did likewise through the middle.
Ballyfermot United went nine points clear at the top of the league
Down the other end, Doyle forced a stop from Ballyfermot netminder David Roe after arriving into the box late and the travelling side would come to level proceedings minutes later.
Leigh gave an in-swinging through ball down the left channel that Ballyfermot’s Shane Flood failed to deal with, leaving Molloy to nip in ahead of him – only to be taken down by Roe for a penalty.
This left Doyle to convert to the bottom left corner from the penalty spot to draw parity – which was short lived because King bagged his second of the game with a spot kick before the break.
Ryan McDonnagh of Ballyfermot United clears the ball with a towering header against Kingswood Castle Photo by Paddy Barrett
Castle did try to find a way back into the game, but the pairing of Flood and Ennis were hard to break down in the heart of the Ballyfermot defence.
United absorbed a lot of pressure and continued to try hit Kingswood on the counter-attack, with some nice interplay between King and Paul Kavanagh being snuffed out by the retreating Hayden Boland on one occasion.
The black shirts did have a number of calls for a penalty in the closing stages to no avail, with Ballyfermot substitute Craig O’Brien having a major impact in defence to hang on for the victory.
Ballyfermot United are top of the division with 31 points from 12 games, and Sandyhill Shangan are nine-points behind them with three games in-hand.
Meanwhile, Tallaght United and Inchicore Athletic sit in third and fourth on 18 points and Kingswood remain mid-table on 16 points.
