Roche nets late winner against Adamstown to keep Bree United on track for Division 3 crown
Dylan Dalton broke the deadlock to put the hosts ahead in the 57th minute, but Adamstown replied through Tarek Huawei just six minutes later.
However, ace marksman Noel Roche popped with his 15th league goal of the season in the 86th minute to keep his side on track for the title, with just one game, against fellow high-flyers Shamrock Rovers, remaining.
Neither Oylegate United nor Shamrock Rovers will be particularly happy after playing out a scoreless stalemate on Wednesday evening as they handed the initiative to fellow title-challengers Bree.
Shamrock Rovers had no problem hitting the net on Sunday as they ran out emphatic 8-0 winners against Duncannon in Ryan's Park.
Kyle Foley, Stephen Wallace, Miley Fortune, Anthony Murphy (two), Dillon Shannon, John Murphy and Floyd Murphy got the goals for the Enniscorthy outfit.
New Ross Town finished their campaign with a 3-0 win over Wexford Celtic at St. Mary's Secondary School on Wednesday evening. Conor Rossiter, John Browne and Ryan Dempsey got their goals.
Gorey Celtic won by the same scoreline away to Killenagh Wanderers, with Lee Byrne (two) and James McGraynor hitting the back of the net.
Celtic picked up another win on the road on Sunday, coming out on top 4-1 against Bunclody at Church Road.
Luke Kavanagh and Luke Darley both scored twice for the visitors, while Jerry Connors netted a late consolation goal.
Division 3A
Rosslare Strand moved to the top of the Division 3A table with a 7-1 win over Taghmon United in Horetown on Thursday evening.
Danny O'Reilly was the star man, scoring five times for the visitors, while Pierce Dooley and Tyrone O'Reilly added to their tally.
Darren Hayden netted for Taghmon.
Gorey Rangers are level with Ferns United in third spot, following a 1-0 win over Glynn Barntown.
An early Conor McDermott goal proved to be the difference between the sides.
Connor Larkin-Cooney, Aaron Larkin, Reis Gasson (two) and Darryl O'Rourke got the goals for Enniscorthy United as they comfortably saw off bottom side Fethard Rangers 5-0 in Neil O'Sullivan Park.
Division 4
St. Cormac's hold a two-point advantage ahead of Forth Celtic at the summit of Division 4 following a 4-2 win over The Ballagh United at Mount Daniel on Sunday.
The visitors had a three-goal lead at the break, thanks to a Jamie Dempsey-Doyle double and a Cormac Finn strike.
Stephen Lacey made it 4-0 with 20 minutes remaining and, although Daniel O'Regan and Tommy Storey pulled back late goals for The Ballagh, the result wasn't in doubt.
Forth Celtic kept themselves in the race with a hard-fought 4-3 win over third-placed Courtown Hibs in Matt Ennis Park.
Roy Nunn put the Murrintown men ahead in the 13th minute, but Shane Grannell and Leon Tyndall-Stafford replied to give Hibs a 2-1 advantage at the break.
The hosts took control after the interval and goals from Keith Murphy, Conor Mullan and Anthony Hayes gave them a 4-2 advantage.
Anthony Cronin-Shaughnessy pulled one back for the visitors in the 89th minute.
A thrilling finale is in store as Forth Celtic welcome St. Cormac's to Matt Ennis Park for their final game of the season.
New Ross Celtic proved too strong for Carne FC in Butlersland, winning 6-1 to end the visitors' brave fight to avoid the drop.
Aaron Kinsella netted a first-half hat-trick for the hosts, while Seán Lennon contributed a double and Anthony Feeney chipped in with a goal. Conor Gilbert replied for Carne.
Kiltealy Celtic finished the campaign on a high with a 5-1 success against Cushinstown.
Kevin Roberts put Cushinstown ahead in the twelfth minute, but that was as good as it got for the visitors, with Fran Buckley, Ben Nugent, Fergal Buckley (two) and Eddie Buckley scoring for Kiltealy.
Dylan Lennon bagged both goals for Shelburne United as they beat Cushinstown 2-1 at Terrerath Community Centre on Thursday. Shane Brazil scored for the hosts.
Division 4A
Division 4A runners-up Wexford Bohemians finished their league campaign with a 4-1 win over Rosbercon United in 'The Brute' Walsh Park on Thursday evening.
Lar Feeney gave the visitors an early lead, but it proved to be a false dawn as Adam Roche, Jamie McMahon (two) and Sam O'Neill replied for Bohs.
Bridge Rovers and Caim United shared the spoils after a 1-1 draw in the Bogside.
Mikie Lacey put the hosts ahead in the tenth minute, but Jamie Blackburn equalised 15 minutes later.
Dillon Nolan bagged a hat-trick for Caim as they chalked up a 5-2 away win over Rosbercon United on Sunday.
David Franklin added a brace for the winners, while Jamie St. Ledger and Dan Connors scored for the home side.
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Irish Independent
11 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Wexford FC's brave effort falls short as Shamrock Rovers show strength in depth
A 4-0 loss may suggest one-way traffic, but it was far from it as the visitors belied their SSE Airtricity First Division status with a battling performance that asked questions of the powerful hosts and, after expending such energy, they were always likely to run out of steam against an opponent filled with quality. When exciting teenager Victor Ozhianvuna fired the Hoops in front inside eight minutes it looked like it could be a long night for the Slaneysiders, but they regrouped well to ensure that hot favourites Rovers had to work hard to progress. The gulf in class between the top team in the country and one chasing a play-off place in the second tier was illustrated when Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley made five changes simultaneously shortly after the hour mark. The embarrassment of riches at his disposal was clear for all to see as Dylan Watts, Graham Burke, Danny Mandroiu, Matthew Healy and Rory Gaffney entered the fray, with three of the substitutes, Burke, Gaffney and Mandroiu, getting their names on the scoresheet in the final 15 minutes as the floodgates finally opened. The role of plucky underdog is never an easy one and nobody wants sympathetic pats on the back or participation medals, but Wexford, who took advantage of a kind draw to make it all the way to the final four last year, can certainly be proud of their efforts and use the experience to push on and get back on track in their bid for a play-off place. There was a sense of unease among the home support with the scoreboard reading 1-0 as the contest entered the home straight and it's only after Irish international Graham Burke grabbed their second in the 76th minute that the shackles came off. Stephen Elliott made one change from the team that drew 0-0 with Athlone Town the previous week, with loan signing from Waterford Ben McCormack coming straight into the starting eleven in place of Darragh Levingston. However, Wexford got off to a damaging start which saw them quickly playing catch-up as, after Jack Byrne had curled an effort narrowly wide of the right post, they struck the front seconds later through Victor Ozhianvuna. It was a beautifully constructed goal as Darragh Nugent whipped in a superb cross from the right which was met by Ozhianvuna and the 16-year-old fired a sweet volley past Paul Martin to briefly silence the vociferous band of visiting fans situated in the corner of the East Stand, who had the clearest view in the ground of the well-executed strike. Wexford playmaker Kaylem Harnett performed in his usual committed and composed fashion and his 17th minute cross had to be cut out by Roberto Lopez, while former Shamrock Rovers man Ajibola Oluwabiyi, who had an impressive debut against Athlone, again looked lively, linking up well with James Crawford down the left midway through the half to win a free-kick. Dean Larkin, who put in a good shift throughout, headed Ben McCormack's delivery into the side-netting, while, moments later, Oluwabiyi picked up the ball from Harnett and ran at the defence but saw his shot blocked. The hosts threatened to double their advantage in the 26th minute when Ozhianvuna's cross was headed narrowly wide by John McGovern, while Michael Noonan than ran through the heart of the defence but shot straight at Martin. McCormack warmed the gloves of Rovers goalkeeper Ed McGinity after Mikie Rowe and Harnett worked a short corner, while his opposite number Paul Martin kept Wexford in the game as he made a fine save to deny Jack Byrne. Harnett curled a shot into the arms of McGinity shortly before the break, but Wexford would have taken great heart from the fact that they were still in the contest going into the second-half. Paul Martin again proved up to the task two minutes after the change of ends as Michael Noonan was put through by McGovern and the netminder stood up well to thwart the youngster. The visitors came agonisingly close to drawing level in the 54th minute when Oluwabiyi raced down the left wing, shifted the ball to his right and sent a curling effort from outside the area narrowly wide of the far post. After Stephen Bradley had made a raft of changes, one of the substitutes, Rory Gaffney, forced an unbelievable save out of Martin in the 69th minute. Darragh Nugent's cross was met with a powerful header from Gaffney and looked destined for the left corner of the net, but the Wexford goalkeeper somehow got down to his right to make the stop, colliding with the post in the process. Mikie Rowe had a sight of goal at the other end after being found by substitute Muhammad Haris, but the Campile man's effort from a tight angle was comfortably gathered by McGinty. However, the game was finally put to bed when Rovers got the insurance goal in the 76th minute as Nugent pulled the ball to Graham Burke for a calm left-footed finish. It soon became 3-0 as former Wexford player Lee Grace headed down a Dylan Watts corner and the ball was steered home from close range by Rory Gaffney. Further salt was rubbed into the Wexford wounds in the 90th minute when Gaffney turned provider, teeing up Danny Mandroiu, who fired a composed strike to corner of the net. It's back to the bread and butter of the league next Friday as Wexford FC travel to Oriel Park to face leaders Dundalk. The visitors will be hoping to end a run of three games without scoring a goal, after drawing blanks against Bray Wanderers, Athlone Town and Shamrock Rovers, while the Lilywhites will be trying to return to winning ways, having lost to 2-0 to Bray and Sligo Rovers in their last two outings. Shamrock Rovers: Ed McGinty; Lee Grace, Roberto Lopez (capt.), Cory O'Sullivan; Joshua Honohan, Darragh Nugent, Gary O'Neill, Victor Ozhianvuna; Jack Byrne, John McGovern, Michael Noonan. Subs. – Dylan Watts for Honohan (63), Danny Mandroiu for O'Neill (63), Graham Burke for Noonan (64), Matthew Healy for Byrne (64), Rory Gaffney for McGovern (64), also, Lee Steacy, Aaron McEneff, Seán Kavanagh, Cian Barrett. Wexford FC: Paul Martin; Michael McCarthy, Dean Larkin, Robbie McCourt, James Crawford; Matthew O'Brien, Kaylem Harnett, Ben McCormack; Mikie Rowe, Aaron Dobbs (capt.), Ajibola Oluwabiyi. Subs. – Muhammad Haris for Harnett (64), Calum Flynn for Oluwabiyi (77), Filip Wasilewski for Dobbs (77), Darragh Levingston for O'Brien (86), Cian Browne for Crawford (86), also, Zayd Abada, Ryan Butler, Patrick Manning.
Irish Independent
21 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘We value Victor where we value him' – Stephen Bradley says Rovers ‘down the line' with record deal for in-demand teen Ozhianvuna
He's the teenage prospect who drew even more attention to himself with a stunning finish for his first goal in senior football to help Shamrock Rovers into the last 16 of the FAI Cup. And the future of Hoops star Victor Ozhianvuna is close to being agreed as manager Stephen Bradley says the club are 'down the line' in terms of an agreement with a foreign club – believed to be Arsenal – in a deal which would shatter the League of Ireland record fee of €1.9m set by Mason Melia's sale to Tottenham.
The 42
a day ago
- The 42
How one of Irish sport's most influential figures goes under the radar
CIARÁN MEDLAR IS often described as one of the most influential figures in Irish sport, but he prefers to keep a low profile. Despite working closely with some of the most famous people in the country and in some cases, the world, Medlar does not himself seek headlines or fame. In addition to being chairman of Shamrock Rovers, he also sits on the Board of Rugby Players Ireland and, for over 30 years, has been advising some of the country's most high-profile athletes. In 2021, he represented Ireland's women's football internationals in the historic equal pay deal, with both male and female players now receiving €2,000 per match. When the role of the Football Association of Ireland's chief executive became available last year, Medlar was one of the names mentioned as a possible successor to Jonathan Hill. Medlar's involvement in sport began in the mid-1990s, when he started advising the Republic of Ireland soccer team. In the late 1990s, a chartered accountancy firm, BDO Ireland, established a sports advisory unit, which Medlar became the head of. It has since grown to the point where BDO now have over 100 sports clients advising on all aspects of the athlete's business affairs. The individuals range from young players to former stars who are now retired. The 42 recently caught up with Medlar to chat about his career and advice for young footballers. Medlar helped broker the historic equal pay agreement between the Irish men's and women's international teams. How did your involvement in sport get started? 'I got involved advising the Republic of Ireland soccer team in the mid-1990s through advising on financial affairs and exploitation of the commercial opportunities for them as a group around the events that they would have been qualifying for around that time. That's where I got introduced to people who would come to the end of their careers from the previous generation, and then people are starting out in the next stages of careers as well. And from that it grew into a variety of sports. So we established a sports unit in BDO back in the late 1990s, and it's flourished. We've over 100 sports clients within that, so revising all aspects of their business affairs, not just tax and financial, but also around post-career planning, what comes after sport, and that's across a variety of sports, in football, rugby, racing, golf, and horse racing. It's gone across a variety of different sports, because a lot of the issues facing one sport are exactly the same facing another. And so it's just grown out of that. But within that, we advise a lot of younger players, Irish players typically go to play football in the UK. Now it has broadened to Europe, because we advise them at an early stage of their career, how to plan financial affairs within that time frame, but also when they finish playing professionally, what comes next.' How would you describe yourself in terms of your role in sports? Would a financial advisor be the best way of putting it? 'Probably not. A financial advisor suggests something different. It's more like a business advisor, because it's broader than that. It's not just financially, it's other aspects as well. But we've grown our team in BDO there in the last number of years. Cian O'Sullivan, the ex-Dublin footballer, has joined us over the last four years. So it's expanding all the time. Opportunities for us in the sports business environment are significant, and we've built that over a period and grown into quite an established practice, which is probably unique amongst professional services firms in Ireland.' The former RTÉ journalist and businessman Fintan Drury was a pretty key figure in helping you get set up, right? 'I did a podcast [with The Currency] recently. I did mention Fintan would have been the one who gave me the opportunity in sports back at that time, because he had established Ireland's first sports agency at the time, and we would have worked quite closely with him at that period. But he was very generous to give us that opportunity, and the group grew out of that. I had a lot of support from Fintan in the early days.' What are some of the things you would advise a young footballer to do? 'I think one of the key things for young footballers, there's normally a tight group around them, and it's important that that's relatively small initially. But it would involve the family structure. Typically, parents or guardians. They would also have their actual agent to help with the negotiation, in tandem with a financial person or business person like ourselves, and probably some legal advice, but people are trying to plan and give the individual player the best chance to progress. So in the early stage, I suppose it's quite unusual in a business sense, as everyone knows that the income comes very early in their career, as opposed to the other way around for most people. But there are some oddities in the system — it is an unusual career. It can be short, or it can be long. It can come to an abrupt end through injury, loss of form, from a change of coach at a footballing level. Advertisement So, from day one, what we would advise is quite conservative. But it's also planning for the post career piece, where that comes to two, four or 15 years, it's also trying to protect the individual that they have a chance to either go again, if they need to, outside of football, and when they do finish playing, they're financially well set up for next piece of life. So that any challenge they have, financial will not be one of them. What often happens in football is that, and I'm talking about the traditional model, where they go to the UK. I'll come back to that later, because that's obviously changed in recent times. People go in and they earn a lot of money, or certainly some of the top end would earn a lot of money early on. And they get thrown some wacky investment opportunities that are going around the place, and everyone's trying to chase this massive return on it. Oftentimes these are just poor investments, and they end up coming back to cripple the players financially, whereas the more steady approach, and if you wish, the boring approach, is the way we would recommend where people are trying to chase relatively modest return on their investments, so that the money's growing for them in the background, but not being put at risk either. So that's a much safer approach. And certainly, when we would encourage everything from safer investment devices, pension planning, player insurance, life insurance, etc, that would all be put in place so that the players are planning for their post-career at a very early stage. I'd also encourage them, though, that they are young players who are doing well. They need to enjoy some of the money. So we'd always carve out a piece that they have for them to enjoy their life as well, and to enjoy the journey that they have, and to help families if that's appropriate as well. So it's trying to get that balance right between the actual protection piece for themselves and enjoying the journey. And then for the higher profile people who have longer careers, you're trying to invest that money so that they're financially independent, well in advance of when they come to finish playing football, and they have to find out what they want to do after football. Because it's a different sort of challenge than they would have. The horror stories you would hear about some of the players in the UK, particularly, who would have finished playing and have these massive investments that have gone south, or tax issues that may have arisen because of an investment they made, or so on. So, you're trying to protect people from that. The football journey has changed. People traditionally would have gone over to the UK. Post-Brexit, the actual opportunity to do so has changed. So that could flip back, I believe, in the relatively short term, or there could be some licence arrangement where players could go to the UK at an earlier stage than 18. But for now, that's the rules. Hence, you have two options. Typically, the players will actually go further afield to Europe, which brings different challenges, settling into a different environment, oftentimes into a different language and culture, or what's happening more and more, some players are staying in the League of Ireland and playing professional football here for a longer period, because the product here, the quality has increased a lot. The attendance and profile have increased, and the opportunity to shine on a European stage has become more real for the players. So it's becoming a real alternative to going elsewhere at an early stage, and it allows the clubs here to grow the players and sell them at a later stage for a higher transfer fee than they otherwise would have got. I think a lot of the coaches in the League of Ireland, as well, are much more focused on developing the players' careers, as opposed to just trying to flip them and sell them on as an asset. But there is a much more genuine interest in many of the coaches here, in the players and the individuals themselves. So that suits a lot of players to go a bit later. So there is probably a bit more money made here in Ireland, and the players are a bit more mature by the time you get to the UK, and a bit more self-sufficient.' Medlar has been chairman of Shamrock Rovers since 2020. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO Has your role significantly changed in the last 30 years? As more money has gone into the game, what do you think has been the biggest change? 'Some of the numbers are certainly bigger because there is more money in the game than there was, and they are going to different destinations that we didn't have before. But I think the actual advice is more or less the same, albeit with different figures than you would have in the past. You need the various pieces I mentioned earlier, the various supports you have around the player. But how it's changed, the game from our side, it's more complicated. Now, it's more people involved, nutritionists, psychologists, and other professionals involved than the players would have had 20 years ago. And that's all for the good, it allows people to be a bit more secure in what they're trying to achieve, on and off the pitch. But from our point of view, the actual services we provide are probably the same as they were.' As you alluded to earlier, I think people don't realise how common it is for footballers post-retirement to end up bankrupt, and are seriously struggling financially. Do you guys continue to regularly advise athletes after they retire? 'Of the clients we have, many of them are retired. So our real value tends to come after they finish playing professionally, and helping with that sort of financial piece afterwards. I think people are certainly more aware of that, the financial pitfalls, which is good, but there are some cases where people have made bad investments. And post-career, the income has dropped significantly. There's no chance to replace that income in a quick way. So you're trying to survive in that world and also deal with that transitional piece, because never mind the financial piece, the transition out of professional sports is very hard for most people to try to find where they fit into life after that, and what role do they have. Some people get involved in business. Some people get involved in media, TV, and coaching, but those options in the latter industries are quite limited. So it's important that that base is there, and finance is not one of the challenges they have, so they can decide what they want to do next in their lives. Coming out of football, if you're lucky, at 35-36 years of age, you have to find something to do with yourself. So that's why having the cash to retrain, to invest in some business you want to, to get involved in some business, is very important.' You've worked with many high-profile athletes and observed them in close quarters. Do you think there is any characteristic they share? 'There are common traits — that drive people have to be really elite in sport. It also applies to their private lives. So they will want to be successful, and they are quite focused on getting the best advice around. So at the elite level of it, they have different challenges as well when they finish playing, which are not financial. But I think the trends we would see are that people are much more focused now than they would have been even 20 years ago, about planning their business affairs in a different way than they would have done before. I do think, and this is a generalism, that a lot of the Irish players are tightly managed through their family, agents and close advisors. And there is a general protection around them from a business point of view. And most of the Irish players, if they go abroad, will tend to ultimately come back to live here in Ireland. So when they're buying property or buying assets as well, that's part of the planning they would do. So there would tend to be an Irish angle to it as well. But that's what we see. We would have acted for international players as well, but I think the Irish focus is slightly different.' And as we touched on earlier, as time has developed, increasing amounts of money have been put into sport, which creates big egos. Is it ever a challenge to persuade them to go with your advice, with so many people around them and whatnot? 'I suppose, because you're involved in so many aspects of their day-to-day lives, the trust tends to build up quite quickly, so they would listen to you. And if that trust is not there, the relationship won't last anyway. But if you're with people, with players, you tend to be with them for quite a long period. So I think that there is trust that what you're giving them is solid advice, and they will listen, in the main, irrespective of profiles of the individual, that is to say, what level you're at in the sport at a point in time.' You've got a lot going on with various commitments. Is it a challenge to balance everything? 'I'm very lucky to work in a space where I actually love sport. I love working in sport, so I'm blessed to get the opportunity to work with such high-performing individuals. It's fantastic. So it's not a chore at all. It's very enjoyable.' I've seen you described as the most influential person in Irish sport, but you wouldn't be a household name among sports fans. Are you happy with it that way? 'For sure. That's a headline. That's not true, right? But low-key is much better for us. And we should be low-key financial advisors and business advisors to people. So, yeah, that's a much better way for us.' You were involved in the historic equal pay deal for the Irish men's and women's teams. How difficult was that to get over the line? And did it take you a long time to negotiate? 'There was a huge amount of goodwill around the table at the time between the FAI, the men's team, and the women's team. So it wasn't difficult to get across the line, to try and get the maths right, but it was a very positive discussion and very positive outcome. It was great to be involved in that. But it wasn't a difficult conversation.' As you mentioned before, the League of Ireland has evolved into a more professional beast. There have been financial difficulties with various clubs in the past. But are you confident that the league as a whole will continue on this upward trajectory and there won't be a return to the bad old days? 'I hope so. I think the limitations we have are primarily around the infrastructure investment. If we can get that right, I mean, collectively get that right, I think the opportunity is huge. There's certainly a lot more professionalism in how the clubs are run around the league, and because of the interest from fans and sponsors and media, it has grown into something. I think there's future growth definitely in there, both domestically and in Europe. We are making an impact collectively in Europe as well. So I would be very hopeful that it will go the right way. The academy investment is also quite important to make sure that the next generation is coming through. Lots of clubs have been doing a lot of really positive work around the academies, and hopefully, the support will come and the income will come from a combination of grants and commercial interests to allow it to flourish. But there are real positive structures in place there, so hopefully they can invest to bring through the next generation of players. The signs are pretty promising at the moment.' And finally, what advice would you give to a young footballer reading this? 'I suppose it's important to listen to those close to you. Keep the advisory group quite small. But first of all, go and focus on developing your football career. Let the other piece be managed by others, to allow you to focus on what you want to focus on and not chase crazy returns, crazy investment opportunities. Just be measured in your approach and enjoy your career for as long as it lasts.' This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
