Rosegreen and St Nicholas's advance in Tipperary Soccer Shield competition

Division 2 Shield

Clerihan 1 - 2 Rosegreen Rangers

Rosegreen Rangers made the short trip to Clerihan on Sunday afternoon and progressed to the semi-finals of the Second Division Shield with a 2-1 win.

The game was a tight one, with neither side dominating for any significant time during a tense first quarter.

The closest either side came in the first half was in the 20th minute, when Clerihan ‘keeper James Maher was called into action, diving to his left and touching a strike onto the post and then reacting quickest to gather the rebound from the feet of an onrushing forward.

The game went to the break scoreless, but the scoring was finally opened five minutes into the second period when Rosegreen broke quickly from defending a corner in their box, and his team mates found Gavin Ryan at the opposite end of the pitch and he finished smartly past the Clerihan goalie.

Five minutes after the hour mark Rosegreen added a second when a long free kick was headed across the box and half-volleyed to the back of the net by Jack Marshall.

Clerihan rallied, and twenty minutes from time they cut the deficit in half when they were awarded a penalty and Aaron Blanche stepped up to slam a shot into the top left corner.

However, despite this, Rosegreen were able to play out the rest of the game in a controlled manner and assured their win by limiting Clerihan to hopeful long shots that were easily dealt with for the rest of the game.

St Michael's and Clonmel Town share spoils in Tipperary Premier League

Cashel Town 0 – 1 St Nicholas
Cashel have already suffered relegation in the league and they were unable to salvage their disappointing league season with a run in the shield, when they went out of the competition at home to St Nicholas on Sunday afternoon.

The game was played in very difficult conditions, with heavy rain and strong winds. It was a very even affair, with neither side really taking the initiative for long periods, and it looked like it would go all the way to extra-time scoreless.

But the supporters were spared another 20 minutes in the poor conditions when St Nicholas were awarded a penalty for handball, and Jason Sutton stepped up to fire home and secure his side a semi-final berth.