Hat-trick hero Guiry sends Shield success Clonmel Town's way

Shield Division 1 Final

Cahir Park 1 Clonmel Town 3

A masterclass in finishing by Clonmel Town’s Dylan Guiry was the difference on Sunday when the Clonmel side ended The Park’s hope of a seasonal double, in front of a large crowd in Cahir.

The game was in its infancy when Guiry showed what a smart and quick player he is, latching onto a long clearance which deceived the home defence, and beating the keeper to poke the ball under him, and into the net in just the fifth minute.

The game settled afterwards with Cahir Park beginning to enjoy more of the possession, but they were undone a second time in the nineteenth minute in the same fashion as the first when a kick out from their keeper carried on the wind and left the home keeper in a chase for the ball with Town’s Sam Dwyer. The forward got to the ball first and the momentum of the net minder caused him to commit a foul, which the referee had no hesitation pointing to the spot for. Guiry stepped up and doubled his own and his side’s tally, leaving Town two goals to the good.

Cahir Park thought they had found a way back into the tie minutes later, but saw their best chance to that point headed off the line. And the nearest they came in the rest of the half was a speculative shot by Willie Dunne that flew high and wide three minutes before the break.

The second half did start better for the league champions and they almost pulled a goal back eleven minutes in, when Tommy Mc Donagh found himself clean through on goal, but he was denied by a brilliant save from Town netminder Ben Cooney.

They finally made their possession and pressure count though seven minute later when Tom Keating crossed from the endline on the left hand side, and saw the ball roll across the area before Conor Murphy tapped home unmarked from less than a yard on.

It was game on at that point and Cahir were doing all the attacking. It looked like they found the leveller 20 minutes from time, when Keating provided another excellent cross from the left to the unmarked Willie Dunne six yards out, but he almost seemed to have too much time and headed wide of the post with the keeper rooted to the spot.

And they rued those missed chances, when in the final minute, with Cahir committing men forward they were caught on the break and the ball fell to Dylan Guiry and he blasted to the net to add an insurance goal to a very good performance all around by the Clonmel side.