Maryborough hit Mountmellick for six in Laois soccer derby
Seven goals were scored between the two Laois sides
Maryborough put on a masterclass on Sunday afternoon in Division 3A of the CCFL, scoring four amazing goals on their way to a 6-1 win over Mountmellick United's B team.
Just a point separated the teams before today, with both sides coming into the game on the back of high-scoring victories. The pitch in Ballyroan was the only one in the county that survived the heavy rain overnight, and Maryborough took full advantage, leapfrogging Mountmellick thanks to the win.
Maryborough FC 6
Mountmellick Utd 'B' 1
Mountmellick looked strong in the first ten minutes, but the hosts got a foothold in the game early on and began to look like the better team before long. They dominated the first half, scoring three incredibly good goals before the break.
The first came after 19 minutes, when Sean Hofmeister played a lovely through-ball into the box, splitting the Mountmellick defence. David Nolan was there to collect, and finished expertly, placing the ball right into the bottom corner.
Maryborough dictated the pace after that and went 2-0 up in the 35th minute with an absolute wonder goal. An innocuous clearance from Mountmellick came towards Killian Breen, who caught the ball in mid-air with an incredible left-footed volley to send it sailing into the top corner of Ben Carroll's net. It was akin to Alexis Mac Allister's strike against Fulham last week - but even better.
It was 3-0 then shortly before half time, when Seamus Lawless directed a powerful header past Carroll after a beautifully delivered ball in from the right from Gary Hofmeister.
Mountmellick made a triple substitution at the break, bringing on Nick Brennan, Noel Delaney and Brandon Cooper to freshen things up. The visitors were the better team after the restart, but got caught on the counter-attack with an hour played.
Gary Hofmeister with the assist again, playing a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Ciaran Breen who turned the ball home. The fifth goal came moments later when a quick throw in from Sean Hofmeister caught Mountmellick on the hop. Seamus Lawless was there at the near post to get his second screamer of the game with a glorious scissors kick into the top corner.
Mountmellick grabbed a consolation goal ten minutes from time when Jeff Murphy rolled the ball beyond Chris Cash. But Maryborough restored the five-goal lead with practically the last kick of the game when Sean Hofmeister took the ball around Ben Carroll to finish the day on a high.