This article is from page 83 of the 2009-03-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 83 JPG
CONNOLLY Celtic became the lat- est side to fall prey to the goal scor- ing talents of Rock Rovers hitman Stephen Hickey on Sunday.
Hickey scored a hat-trick to secure a win that puts Rock three points clear at the top of division one.
Hickey struck midway through the first half and twice after half time to kill off the challenge of a spirited Connolly side.
Brendan Dillon scored a late con- solation goal for bottom of the table Connolly who dominated for long stretches of the second half.
Indeed Celtic squandered a glori- ous opportunity to tie the game early in the second half.
Rock, who were far from their best, were thankful to Hickey’s predatory instincts close to goal.
The striker had already seen one
towering header rebound of the foot the post before he gave Rock the lead.
Connolly will be disappointed with the manner in which they conceded the goal. The away side were award- ed a free kick from a promising posi- tion on the right.
However the ball was cleared swift- ly to Hickey who broke clear of an under-manned Connolly defence to score.
Connolly caused plenty of prob- lems for the Rock defence early in the second half but were desperately unfortunate not to score.
Rock, with David Considine a steadying prescence in midfield, sur- vived and doubled their advantage in the 65th minute.
Brian Fitzpatrick picked out Hickey with a great pass, and, as before, he buried to the back of the net.
The goal took the wind out of Con-
nolly and minutes later the visitors fell further behind. This time Dean Gardiner did the spadework, digging out a byline cross that Hickey tapped home from close range.
Dillon scored a deserved goal late on when he created a yard on the edge of the area and found the net with a low drive.
The future may not look too grim for Connolly if they can play with the same attitude for the remainder of the season. Rock, meanwhile, will hope Hickey keeps doing what he does best.