Former celtic man starts for parkvilla

With player-manager Paul Byrne making his first start Parkvilla produced a fantastic Leinster Senior League Div 1B performance last night to edge out hosts Drogheda Town by the odd goal in five despite falling two goals behind in the opening 10 minutes.

Even the most optimistic travelling fan would have feared the worst as Town had recorded a fine win away against Wicklow in their opening game and appeared to be heading for a second win

When Paul Byrne dropped into midfield changes slowly began to take shape. The former Celtic player won an important tackle in midfield and found Jamie Blake, the striker set Nathan Dempsey racing down the right touchline and Blake finished the centre.

It came as no surprise when Byrne levelled with just minutes to go to the interval from a thundering free.

As the game entered its closing minutes Mark Radford won a tackle in midfield and from the break Jamie Blake raced into the penalty area and calmly finished to the net to secure maximum points.

Best for the winners were Chris O’Neilly, Andy Williamson, Nathan Dempsey and Jack Murray.

Parkvilla - Luke O’Malley, Sean Lally-Starrs, Chris O’Neill, Scott Reilly, Andy Williamson, Nathan Dempsey, Jack Murray, Calum Cooney, Mark Radford, Paul Byrne, Jamie Blake. Sub - Cathal Kennedy for Radford.