Limerick District League Round-up

Fairview Rangers, Aisling Annacotty and Regional United were the victors of the last big junior fixtures before the Christmas break last weekend. On Saturday night, Fairview were narrow 1-0 winners over Ballynanty Rovers in the Munster Junior Cup at the Fairgreen.

David Dunphy’s Balla outfit showed a lot of hunger in the opening half and restricted the hosts to very little outside of a Shane Duggan shot which was inches wide. Winger James Fitzgerald also came close but the half ended 0-0. The second half was an equally scrappy affair with both sides struggling to create clear cut chances.

The difference came when Jason Purcell introduced striker AJ Moloney in place of Mike O’Gorman. Moloney gave the Ballynanty back four a warning when he raced in behind and was played through by Duggan, but having beaten goalkeeper Stephen McNamara to the ball, Jake Dillon raced back to clear the danger before the ball reached the goal-line.

Moloney was not to be denied on the second occasion as he received possession inside the area and although Dermot Fitzgerald blocked his first effort, the ball rebounded back to the former Charleville man who rifled a shot beyond McNamara. Dunphy introduced John Connery and pushed Jake Dillon further forward in an attempt to grab an equaliser but it did not materialise and Fairview advanced to the fifth round of the competition.

In the Limerick District League Premier Division, Aisling Annacotty overcame the challenge of Prospect Priory winning 3-1. Shane Tracy x2 and Liam Quinn accounted for the Aisling goals while Tyrique Leamy was the Prospect scorer. Prospect now trail Nenagh by 3 points in the race for sixth with both sides playing each other in the last round of games before the league split.

Regional United enjoyed a 1-3 derby win over Mungret on Sunday morning. Jack Arra and Kieran O’Connell gave Regional a 2-0 half-time lead before Mungret pulled a goal back. Ewan O’Brien made sure of the result with a third to ensure Regional’s fifth place position. Mungret’s recent struggles continue although they still remain 5 points away from the relegation zone.

In other news, Limerick District Schoolboy League won the Kennedy Cup plate on Saturday afternoon with victory over Wexford at the University of Limerick. South Belfast won the competition outright with a final victory over Cork District Schoolboy League.