St Saviours 1; Dungarvan United 0
Dungarvan’s long involvement in the Waterford Premier League came to an end on Wednesday last when they lost to St Saviours in Ballybeg. The fact that Johnville won against Bohemians on the same night meant that the Old Borough club had no chance of going into the last day with any hope of avoiding the drop.
Dungarvan had an overall total of 13 points going into this fixture. Johnville had bagged 16 points from their 16 games so nothing less than a victory, or a Johnville defeat, would have kept Dungarvan hopes alive. Alas it was not to be and now for the first time for over 15 years the West of Waterford will not have a club in the top grade.
Stephen Dalton scored the only goal of the game after 63 minutes. It was his 12th goal of the campaign and it put him in pole position to pick up the Tommy Leahy Memorial Shield and the ‘Golden Boot’ as the league’s leading goalscorer. He pounced when the Dungarvan goalkeeper, Alan Landers parried a hard shot from Billy Barron.
Dungarvan United got off to a terrible start when the league got underway back in August and they never fully recovered and were fire-fighting for the majority of the campaign. They also got bogged down in the Munster Cup (they lost to Fairview Rangers in the quarter-final) and that did not help their cause when it came to league affairs.
Hopefully they will re-group in Kilrush Park and make a swift return to the Premier League. Ferrybank did just that when they clinched promotion on Tuesday last. They were relegated the previous season but bounced back at the first attempt.
The Waterford League needs a club in Dungarvan and all local football lovers will be hoping to see them come back, bigger and stronger than ever.
Johnville safe for another season
Johnville 2 Bohemians 0
Johnville secured their league status last Wednesday, courtesy of a good home win against a Bohemians side who have been blowing hot and cold all season. Leo Jacques put through his own net during the early stages, trying to clear a shot from Gary Kelly. James Starmer wrapped up the game for Johnville with 10 minutes remaining. Both of these clubs will be hoping to have a much better season next time around.
