Scollay strike seals UUJ win over Grove

UUJ 1

A WIN for UUJ away to close neighbours Grove United that was more emphatic than the narrow one goal scoreline might suggest, although the Shore Road side nearly made Fra Miskelly’s men pay for their waywardness, coming close to snatching a late leveller.

It was Grove who made the early running, with visitors’ keeper Eamon Browne making one timely early block.

UUJ, however, soon found their range and Johnny Magennis and Dan McAlea had both gone close before they made the breakthrough on 35 minutes; Padraig Scollay cutting in from the left, to blaze the ball into the corner of the net.

Grove almost cancelled that one out, ballooning the ball over the bar; after a sharp one-two had carved open the UUJ defence.

The second session, however, was mostly UUJ, but a string of presentable opportunities all went begging, notably when Magennis really ought to have pulled the trigger himself, but instead slipped it over to Scollay, whose shot beat the keeper only to rebound off the back of a defender; the loose ball falling for Conal McNally to screw wide from a mere six yards.

Sean Walsh seemed to have done the hard work, in rounding the defender and keeper, only to squeeze the ball wide of the gaping goal, albeit from a diminishing angle.

At the other end, Grove were getting little change out of UUJ’s commanding central defensive partnership of Colm Maxwell and Paul Esler, though they did have a late penalty shout turned down when the ball struck Brendan Mooney’s hand inside the box.

So a win for UUJ at Grove – just what their landlords Nortel will be desperately trying to achieve next week.

Next Saturday, UUJ are back at the Factory Grounds, for their last game of the season, at home to Barn United.

UUJ; Browne – Mooney, Maxwell, Esler, Darby – McKeown, J Magennis (K Kelly), Lyons, Scollay (McCullough) – McNally, McAlea (Walsh)