By Aron Hegarty
Esker Celtic 1
Valeview Shankill 2
Esker Celtic’s Saturday Leinster Senior League Premier side fell to a narrow defeat in their last league game against Valeview Shankhill in Willsbrook Park at the weekend. Despite late pressure from the hosts, promotion-chasing Valeview held on to record the win and spoil Hugh Feeney’s final match for the Lucan club after 25 years. Feeney came off the bench to make his last appearance for mid-table Esker, whom he joined as an eight-year-old, but was denied a winning send off.
Valeview took control early on and hit the front inside 10 minutes when Brendan Kennedy was on hand to head home from close range after a low shot was parried by Esker keeper Claude Duffy.
The visitors bossed possession and had several chances to add to their lead, but Esker almost levelled from Daniel Arbuthnot’s free-kick which wizzed past the post. Following the rain and restart, the game was evenly poised until Valeview’s Ben McShane swept in a cross to make it 2-0 just before the hour mark. The hosts, however, came back strongly and pulled one back with 20 minutes to go through Mark Young’s deflected angled shot which squirmed past Dean McCormack into the net. Substitute Blaine Bourke twice went close to equalising for Esker directly from a corner kick and again from a long range strike, but Valeview did enough to claim a fourth successive victory.
Esker Celtic: Duffy, Cockburn, Brannigan, Arbuthnot, Murray, Kriukas, Young, Cleary, Jones, Byrne, Attoe.
Valeview Shankhill: McCormack, Stephen Scully, Furlong, Roe, Simon Scully, Mooie, Matthews, Bermingham, Walsh, McShane, Kennedy.
