Celtic crush Dundrum to make shield semis

Celtic crush Dundrum to make shield semis

9 April 2025

CELTIC Bhoys Academy survived an early scare when they overcame Dundrum United and sealed top spot in Kitroom Shield Group A.

There was nothing between the two sides at the half-way point, after Dundrum’s Chris Hogg failed to convert from the spot.

Sean McMahon proved to be the difference-maker in the second half, netting a hat trick to launch Celtic Bhoys to a fourth win from four games in the competition.

The early stages pointed towards Dundrum dominating proceedings, as the hosts put the Bhoys under immense pressure from the first whistle.

They called goalkeeper Caolin Fitzpatrick into early action, with Kyle Glavin’s strike forcing him to scramble across his line and make a diving save to prevent the ball from nestling in the bottom corner in the second minute.

Home ‘keeper Darragh Valentine was equally busy at the other end, producing a fantastic, point-blank save to deny McMahon’s acrobatic effort.

Dundrum were gifted an opportunity to open the scoring when Glavin intercepted an under-hit goal kick and was brought down in the box.

However, Hogg’s spot kick left a lot to be desired and provided Fitzpatrick with a comfortable save.

The Hoops were filled with confidence after their reprieve and would have been disappointed to not break the deadlock themselves.

Zach McNerlin’s scuffed clearance bounced towards McMahon and while it looked a certain goal, he attempted an overhead kick and sent the ball high and wide.

He came to within margins of scoring once again, in the 32nd minute, and was rather unlucky to see his powerful, long-range free kick cannon off the crossbar.

The action tailed off before half-time, with a lack of chances for both sides, leaving it all to play for in the second half.

Celtic started strongly when play resumed, but it continued as though goals were going to evade them.

Aidan Connolly got in behind the home defence and although he showed great composure to round the ‘keeper, the same could not be said for his wayward shot.

Nonetheless, the visitors only had to wait five minutes to get off the mark in the second period, with Conor Carberry slipping the ball through to McMahon, who gave the goalkeeper no chance from close range.

The Academy side were fast strengthening their grip on the match and would have doubled their advantage, was it not for a wondrous save.

McMahon found himself in acres of space when the ball was played over the top of the defence, but Valentine defied the odds to stop his outside-of-the-boot half-volley.

Substitute Patrick Ferris was next to try his hand at widening the margin, but Valentine stood tall to dispel his chipped effort.

Ferris was determined to play a part however, and the second goal came from one of his eye-catching long balls.

His arrow-like pass caught the Dundrum defenders unawares and enabled McMahon to find the bottom corner on the half-volley.

Dundrum were adamant they were not going to take a beating lying down and while they did take the game to Celtic Bhoys, their attacking drives were crippled by a serious of offsides.

With their clean sheer intact, the Bhoys went in search of the killer third goal, aiming to put the game to bed.

McMahon was a constant thorn in Dundrum’s side, threatening the home goal throughout, and his hat trick came as no surprise.

He made his way into the box, with the United defence seemingly sleeping, and dinked the ball over ‘keeper to make it 3-0 in the 73rd minute.

The Hoops could easily have sat back and admired their efforts, but they were not quite finished and went in search of a fourth.

Connolly broke down the right wing and delivered a dangerous, low cross to Cameron O’Donnell, who hit it first time and called Valentine into action for a final time.

To their credit, Dundrum fought to the end and were perhaps unlucky to not find a consolation goal.

Patrick Cunningham’s cross found Glavin free at the back post and the striker got their on the stretch, but his shot went narrowly wide.

If the hosts were going to find the target, Glavin was the most likely to provide it.

He should have scored with the final chance of the match, strolling through unopposed and dragging his shot wide.

Both sides have now progressed to the semi-finals of the Kitroom Shield and will wait to discover their opponents from Group B.

Dundrum: D Valentine, B O’Connor, Z McNerlin, N McClements, D Russell (captain), A McKibben, R Connor, C Hogg, K Glavin, P Cunningham, A O’Hare.

Subs: P Martin, G McNerlin, C Gordon, T Byrne.

Celtic Bhoys: C Fitzpatrick, Ryan Doran, C McCarthy, K McKeever, Riain Doran, C Groves, J Pierce, C Carberry, S McMahon, S Cahill (captain), A Connolly.

Subs: P Ferris, A Rukabi, J McCreesh, C O’Donnell.