Soccer
Dawn of a new era for Templeogue seniors
By Daire Walsh
FOR THE first time in 11 years, Templeogue United men’s first team played a Leinster Senior League tie on a ground they can call their own as they battled out a 1-1 daw with Drumcondra on Friday.
Having relied on the use of outside facilities for ‘home’ games in recent years, the development of a sand-based pitch at Tymon Park on Wellington Lane has enabled Templeogue to re-establish a firm footing in the local commiunity.
Indeed, the draw with Drumcondra in the LSL’s Division 1A Sunday represented the dawn of a new age for the club and team manager Barry McGlynn acknowledged it has been a long time coming.
“We’ve been basically nomads for the last number of years.” he told The Echo. “We’ve rented a pitch in Peamount, we rented a pitch in Crumlin for a few years. We’ve played out of St Mac Dara’s school on their pitch,” McGlynn explained.
“It’s nice to have a home and there was good support there on Friday night, in fairness. Moving forward that’s what we’re looking to achieve. Our games are going to be on a Sunday afternoon, so hopefully we’ll get a bit of local support up,” he added.
As for the game itself, after defeating Arklow Town in their opening game of the new season, McGlynn admitted it felt like two points dropped on home soil. This is despite the hosts having played most of the second half with just 10 men.
“Drumcondra scored with their only shot of the game,” recalled McGlynn. “Albeit a really, really good goal. The fella struck it from about 25 yards out directly into the top-corner. It was a great strike. Not that we couldn’t break them down, but our final ball and our finishing left a lot to be desired.
“We had 95% of the possession and just couldn’t get the goal. We got back into the game with a great goal from our midfielder Eoin Stokes. We pushed for a winner, but it just didn’t come.”
Currently fifth in the 1A table, Templeogue will look to make it two wins from three when they face Dublin Bus at Coldcut in Clondalkin this coming Sunday (kick-off 11am).