IT was a good weekend for the Astoria Gaels as the reserve team won 5-0 over Empire FC. Neil Ritchie continued his hot streak by netting his third in five games to open the rout.

David Browne had the ball in the net minutes later only to have it ruled out by a dubious referee decision. Pat Dempsey followed soon after as a result of good work from Browne in the corner. 

Brendan Reilly added another from an excellent Pat Dempsey corner. Gerry O’Brien predictably got on the scoresheet again continuing his prolific form, also captain John Beirne finished it off with a superb poachers goal minutes from the end. 

Timmy Lynch made several saves, and coupled with excellent performances by Phil Troope and Steve Johnson in defense broke the spirit of Empire whenever they threatened. Brendan Reilly set the tone in midfield, returning to his imperious form. 

Two wins in a row bodes well for this team that is just beginning to gel as they head into the all-important stretch before the winter break.

The first team were not to be outdone as they completed the mauling of Empire FC by winning their game 4-1. They are also aware of the importance of the schedule leading into the winter break and showed it by beating the early season table toppers. 

Nestor Allen opened the account with a superb piece of opportunism by pouncing on a stray back pass to blast in off the keeper. Captain Evan Byrne scored the first of his two on a tap-in from a Derek McKenna assist. 

He added a superbly worked second from a Georgie Doyle corner to add to his impressive season tally so far. Derek McKenna completed the rout minutes from the end beating the final defender and keeper before calmly slotting into the open net, with Ger O’Brien cleverly luring the defense into overplaying the offside. 

Sean O’Sullivan and Dan Scott superbly marshaled the Astoria defense throughout the game.