Keane hat-trick fires Ballybrittas past Rosenallis as CCFL soccer returns after the New Year

Local soccer returned to Laois at the weekend with patches of snow and ice still evident from a turbulent couple of weeks around the county. Rath National School was the venue as Ballybrittas United entertained Rosenallis B, with a hat-trick from Dylan Keane helping the hosts to all three points. 

Division 3A has thrown up some high-scoring classics this season, with Ballybrittas and Rosenallis rising to the top. The home side came into this game two points clear of Rosenallis at the summit, with both teams having suffered just one defeat in the league since the opening weekend. 

Ballybrittas Utd 5 

Rosenallis AFC B 1

Ballybrittas have a star-studded side, made up almost entirely of Courtwood senior footballers. That talent was on full display on Sunday as they put their nearest rivals to the sword.

The game got off to a lively start, with crunching tackles from the beginning and plenty of goal chances at either end. It took an absolute screamer on 15 minutes to break the deadlock when Ballybrittas took the lead through Dylan Keane. The forward picked up the ball about 25 yards from goal at the angle of the penalty box where he took a touch, looked up, and whipped the ball into the top corner of Paddy Dunne's net. 

The hosts almost doubled the lead with what would have been an even better goal, when full-back Rory Doyle struck the crossbar with a rocket of a free kick from the halfway line. Doyle then had a glorious chance ten minutes later when he found himself alone at the back post but turned his shot wide of the mark. 

The recent weather made for difficult and slippery conditions underfoot, leading to a series of late challenges from both teams as the game threatened to boil over. The biggest foul of consequence came in the 40th minute when Tommy Shelley brought down Cian Doyle inside the box. Doyle took the resulting penalty himself, firing the ball right inside the post to make it two-nil. 

It was 3-0 just before half-time when a long ball into the box from Rory Doyle went over everyone’s heads; the cross looked to be heading out for a goal-kick, but Dylan Keane never gave up the ghost, chasing the ball to the back post where he turned it in for his second of the game. 

It took less than 30 seconds of the second half for Keane to complete his hat-trick from 20 yards out. The ball bounced up kindly for him and he caught it on the volley ever so sweetly, giving Dunne no chance. 

The Rosenallis keeper should have conceded a fifth moments later but he made an incredible triple save to deny Ballybrittas from point-blank range.

The visitors responded well, with Aaron Long and Mark Fitzgerald playing very well in midfield. Up front, James Jackson and John Molloy were holding the ball up well, but struggling to find a way through the Ballybrittas defence. Their best chance came midway through the half when Darren McEvoy played in Jackson, but the opportunity was cut out by Sean O'Flynn. 

The centre-back is one of several former Kennedy Cup players in the Ballybrittas United ranks, reinforcing the pedigree of this team. O'Flynn got his name on the score sheet 20 minutes from time when he got on the end of a Cian Doyle corner to head the ball home at the near post. 

Ballybrittas lost their clean sheet five minutes from time. Rosenallis made a raft of changes in the second half and the replacements made a big difference. Substitutes Colm Cuddy and Peter Doyle combined with James Jackson for a nice move on the edge of the box before Doyle tucked the ball low and hard beyond Matthew Byron. 

Nevertheless, the manner of the victory means Ballybrittas have strengthened their grip on the top spot in the division as well as solidifying their position as favourites for promotion. 

SCORERS - Ballybrittas Utd: Dylan Keane (three goals), Cian Doyle (pen), Sean O'Flynn (one goal each). Rosenallis B: Peter Doyle (one goal). 

BALLYBRITTAS UTD: Matthew Byron; Rory Doyle, Rob Tyrell, Sean O'Flynn, Andrew Flynn; Paul O'Flynn, Michael Doyle, Nathan Little; Niall Donoher, Cian Doyle, Dylan Keane. Subs: Eoin O'Connell and Will Boland for M. Doyle and P. O'Flynn (both 55), Darragh McEvoy for Donoher (59), Liam Ward for A. Flynn (62), Neil O'Connell for Little (68).

ROSENALLIS B: Paddy Dunne; Dylan Gorman, Darren McEvoy, Joey Shelley, Tommy Shelley; Niall Conroy, Mark Fitzgerald, Aaron Long, Richard O'Hanlon; John Molloy, James Jackson. Subs: James Walsh and Peter Doyle for T. Shelley and O'Hanlon (both 56), Colm Cuddy, Nathan Walsh and Stephen Murphy for Long, Gorman and Conroy (all 65). 

REFEREE: George Donoher