Sporting Fingal 1-2 Tralee Dynamos.

Padraig Harnett - Tralee Dynamos Media Officer

Tralee Dynamos avenge opening day defeat and move within three points of top spot:

Dynamos started without the suspended Maurice O’Rahilly, who was serving a one match ban for picking up four yellow cards, and the defence didn’t have a chance to settle into the game before they went 1-0 down. The goal was timed at 65 seconds and came following a run by Daniel Corcoran who got through the Dynamos rearguard too easily and beat Guthrie with a low shot into the corner.

At this stage it looked ominous but who would have thought at that stage that Sporting Fingal would have to wait another 80 minutes before their next shot on target.

Dynamos, even though playing against the wind, began to assert themselves but were unable to find the vital breakthrough in the last third of the field. They suffered another blow in the 13^th minute when Chris Kerins was forced to go off with an ankle injury. Before that Kerins was unlucky not to score when Robbie Gaul got in a latch ditch tackle while Eoin Cassidy was also just off target from a Sugrue cross.

Peter McCarty made his A Championship, replacing Kerins and was soon involved. He was set up by Brian Fitzgerald who following a great tackle on O’Sullivan, played McCarthy in but he pulled his shot across the goal.

Dynamos crafted one of the best pieces of football in the first half in the 27^th minute. Eddie Duggan found Sugrue who passed to McCarthy. His cross just eluded Eoin Cassidy for what would have been a great goal.

Dynamos next chance came from a free kick following a good period of pressure but it was cleared while in the follow up a Peter McCarthy cross was just missed by the in rushing Jamie McIntyre.

The Reds kept up their relentless attack right to the half time whistle when Eddie Duggan was just thwarted by the Fingal keeper Stephen Tremble following a Peter McCarthy cross. 1-0 to the home side but Dynamos had shown enough to give them great confidence for the second period.

When the teams came out for the second half thankfully the rain had stopped and Dynamos were now playing with the wind. In the early minutes of the period Cassidy almost got in following a McIntyre pass and Sugre and Quirke were just wide with efforts.

The much anticipated break through came in the 25^th minute when Peter McCarthy was quickest to react to a long ball from Wayne Guthrie which the defence failed to deal with and he coolly slotted the ball home. Just before this Sporting Fingal had substituted their centre half and centre midfielder to try and stem the tied but that certainly didn’t work.

It got even better for Dynamos three minutes later when Casssidy got on the end of a Crotty cross and as the keeper was advancing he nodded the ball over him and into the net to make it 2-1.

Jamie McIntyre and Eddie Duggan were unlucky in the next two attacks not to make it 3-1. Jason Fitzgerald made two changes in the remaining part of the game bringing on David O’Leary and David Hayes (for his debut) for Duggan and Cassidy who had ran themselves to a standstill and the two new players helped make sure there was going to no Fingal fight back.

They did have one long range effort from a free in the 85^th minute but Guthrie, who was a passenger for most of the game, held well.

The final whistle blew to cheers from everyone associated with Dynamos and these important three points really sets up a wonderfully exciting second half to the season.

The top of the table now reads – Bohs on top with 18 points from 9 played, Bray Wanderers on 17 points from 9, Cork City on 16 from 8 played with DYNAMOS and Shamrock Rovers tied on 15 points from 8 games with both sides meeting each other in Tralee next Sunday with a 3pm kick off.

Teams: Dynamos – Wayne Guthrie, Theo Diggins, Darren Crotty, Brian Fitzgerald, Jonathan Burrows, Adrian Quirke, James Sugrue, Jamie McIntyre, Eoin Cassidy, Chris Kerins, Eddie Duggan.

Subs  used – Peter McCarthy, David Hayes and David O’Leary. Not used Ivan Maher, Eoin Fitzgerald and Peter McCarthy.

Sporting Fingal: Stephen Tremble, Robbie Gaul, Kevin Lynch, Kevin Boyd, Ciaran Freeman, Anto McKay, Eric Foley, Mark Scannell, Daniel Corcoran, Graham O’Sullivan, Fiachrim McArdle.

Subs used – Steve Whelan, Robbie Ryan and Niall Cullen. Not used David Gaul and Stephen Whealan.

Peter McCarthy scores on his debut. Adrian Quirke joins Peter in celebration