3rd placed Burrin Celtic play host to 2nd placed Hanover Harps at The Valley Ballon (Burrin Celtic) at 7:30 pm

Burrin Celtic's last result was a unlucky 4-3 loss away against St Anne's Ballylinan.
Form: L W D W    Home Form: W W

Hanover Harps has yet to be beaten in this competition, having won 3 out of its last 4 games.
Form: W D W W    Away Form: W

Nurney Villa AFC 1 – 8 Burrin Celtic AFC.

Burrin started off by far the better side, creating chances from the first two minutes and they took the lead when Frankie Fitzgerald scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick, from a Jack Kenny corner for 0-1.

Burrin kicked on from there and further goals came from Jimmie Carroll, Ben Nolan, Sam Collier and a great finish from Dylan O’ Reilly to make the half-time score 0-5.

To their credit Nurney never gave up and they got a consolation goal early in the second half when Ross Nolan scored to make the score 1-5.

Burrin ‘turned up the heat on Nurney’ and from a short corner, Frankie Fitzgerald fired the ball into the top corner for 1-6 and then Ben Nolan got his brace in the last fifteen minutes and then Cian Lester scored the final goal and it ended 1-8 to Burrin.

It was a great team performance from Burrin who were just too strong for Nurney on the day, but credit goes to Nurney for making it a very entertaining game and they gave it all they could. Best for Nurney were Triston Searson, Padraig Kearney and Thomas Bermingham.

St Anne's Ballylinan
Form: W L W L L

Burrin Celtic
Form: L W D W

Saint Joseph's came away with all three points in the race for the Division Two title in a massive game at the top of the table in McArdle Cross, Tinryland. Two impressive footballing sides lined out to play what was to be a fantastic football game. After dropping points in their previous two games, Saint Joseph's understood the importance of this game and began to dominate the game's early stages. St. Joseph's opened the scoring on the half-hour mark when a lovely kick out from goalkeeper Daniel Donegan released Jake Snoddy down the right-hand side. Snoddy was the quickest to react to the ball and knocked it over the head of the onrushing Burrin keeper to make it 1-0 before halftime.

St. Joseph's extended their lead ten minutes into the second half from a corner. Tom Mitchell rose highest to meet the ball from the in-swinging corner delivered by Evan McGuire. This goal was Mitchell's 11th goal of the season. Burrin worked extremely hard to equalise, and this came through a cracking goal from well outside the penalty area that flew into the top corner. It was an unstoppable strike to make it 2-1 with not long left to go! Soon after, Burrin were awarded a penalty, but Daniel Donegan kept St. Joseph's 2-1 lead intact when he dove to his left of the goal to make a fine penalty save. Donegan was to be called upon twice more as Burrin increased their attacking threat, and he made an incredible save outstretched to his right and then another with his feet to keep the Burrin attack from equalising. St. Joseph's saw out the rest of the game and came away with all three points. It was a great game of football from two good footballing sides, which saw Joseph's move up to second place, and Burrin down to third place. Best for St. Joseph's FC - Tom Mitchell, Daniel Donegan and Jake Snoddy.

Burrin Celtic 5

Nurney Villa 0

On Saturday evening, 7th place Nurney Villa travelled to The Valley to a face title chasing Burrin Celtic. With Burrin Celtic currently on a winning streak of 4 games, it was no surprise that the home side played some of their finest football of the season, with the entire team playing brilliantly. The home side created many chances with the majority of possession and troubled the Nurney defence. However, they could not put these early chances away. This changed after 35 minutes when Myles Hutton put Burrin 1-0 up, and the score remained the same until the referee's halftime whistle.

In the second half, Nurney looked like a completely different team and looked to have a go at Burrin. Some great chances from set-piece plays throughout the second half threatened the Burrin defence, and they were unlucky not to have a better result. However, after Nurney lost their centre backs due to injury, Burrin soon scored a second goal through Liam McGuill, and the goals kept coming. McGuill scored his ninth goal of the season, Burrin's third of this game, and Michael O Leary came off the bench to score Burrin's fourth. Finally, on the 90th-minute mark, Jake Hickey got Burrin's final goal in a vital 5-0 win for title-challengers Burrin. Best for Burrin Celtic - Liam McGuill, Conor Ruane and Chris O' Connor.

Best for Nurney Villa - Rian Farrell, Ger Bonner, Mick Murphy and Thomas Murphy.

Burrin Celtic 8

Slaney Rovers B 0

Slaney Rovers B travelled to The Valley to take on Burrin Celtic on Saturday evening. Nonetheless, this did not stop Burrin from putting eight goals past Slaney Rovers in this league clash played in challenging conditions. Burrin played some excellent football and found themselves 2-0 up within the first 10 minutes of the game. Sean Tracey scored the first after Liam McGuill was fouled in the box. Tracey stepped up and slotted the penalty home. The second goal was then scored by Cian Byrne, who headed the ball into the net after a great delivery in from a corner. By this point, Burrin dominated the game and controlled all of the possession in both halves of the pitch. Michael O' Leary scored Burrin's third goal after 15 minutes, and then Joshua Fernandez scored with a brilliant finish into the top corner to make it 4-0 at halftime.

To their credit, Slaney B never gave up and pushed to create chances, but Burrin Celtic's defence we're too strong for their attacks. The second half was then all about one man. Burrin's Liam McGuill scored a hat-trick within 25 minutes of the second half. He then scored another goal in the 90th minute to leave the final score as 8-0. This win was vital for Burrin Celtic, but credit to Slaney for trying until referee Chris Coleman's final whistle.

Best for Burrin - Kevin Murphy, Aaron Goodwin, and Liam McGuill.

Burrin Celtic 1

Nurney Villa 1 (3 - 4 after penalties)

Nurney Villa caused an upset when they sent an in form Burrin Celtic packing from the Carlow Cup. Burrin maintained a lot of early possession, but it was Nurney who came the closest to opening the scoring when Joe Byrne struck a shot off the Burrin Celtic crossbar in the 23rd minute. However, Burrin Celtic hit Nurney on the break straight from the resulting clearance, and Burrin's forward struck a great shot to give his team a 1-0 lead. Regardless, the game was end-to-end for the remainder of the contest. There was great play from both teams but with no scoring. That was until the 86th minute when the Mullins brothers combined for the Nurney equaliser. Michael brilliantly cut back a ball and played it to his brother Martin who found the net. The score was 1-1 after 90 minutes, and extra time was required. The extra-time period of play was just as evenly contested but without further scoring. The game was to be decided by a penalty shootout. In the shootout, Nurney edged home a 3-4 win to reward the efforts of Ger Bonner, Martin Mullins and Mick Murphy.

This game kicked off at the Etex sports ground in Athy, with host team Fortbarrington taking on Burrin Celtic. Burrin started the more aggressive of the two teams and pulled off shot after shot. They would have scored only for some brilliant saves from Fortbarrington's goalkeeper Jack Brennan, who came into this game with an injury. However, Burrin, who has been unbeaten since November, did break the deadlock when Sean Tracey put the away side 1-0 up with a lovely chip. As the first half progressed, Fortbarrington tried to get the game going by creating chances but couldn't find the final ball. Then Burrin's Cian Byrne scored to make it 2-0, which was then followed by a Myles Hutton goal to make it 3-0 to Burrin at halftime.

Fortbarrington began to play better football in the second half as it kicked off. Some excellent passing plays and good runs were made, but unfortunately for Fortbarrington, none of these chances were taken.

Then an Injury to Fortbarrington's Number 1 Jack Brennan meant he had to leave the pitch. So, in stepped right-back Dwayne Stynes into the Fortbarrington goal. With some excellent play, Burrin began to take advantage of this substitution. Burrin played some brilliant football and broke down the home team numerous times. Finally, Kevin Murphy scored a free-kick outside, and Myles Hutton put the game to bed as he scored to make the final score 5-0. It was not a good day for Fortbarrington, but they can hold their heads high as they didn't give up until the final whistle and were outplayed by an outstanding Burrin team. Best for Burrin- Adam Deacon, Liam McGuill, and Sean Tracey.

Burrin Celtic got back to winning ways after an absolute ding dong battle took place in McArdle’s park between two very evenly matched teams. St Joseph's took the lead on seven minutes with a long range shot from Charlie Deacy. Both teams battled hard and Burrin equalized after 20 mins when a Dylan O Reilly corner was met at the back post by Ben Nolan and his brilliant shot was deflected in by a defender. St Joseph's took the lead again with a Paddy Hogan cross slotted home at the back post. Just before half time Burrin equalized again from a Dylan O’ Reilly corner as Frankie Fitzgerald knocked home from close range. Half time 2-2. Burrin really dominated the second half with Dylan O’Reilly causing real trouble down the wing as he did in the first half. Burrin took the lead from another Dylan O’ Reilly corner when striker Cian Lester beat his man to the front post to smash a header in. Burrin capitalized on Joseph’s slow start when Dylan O’ Reilly got his fourth assist this time his brilliant free kick was tapped home from inside the six-yard box by Sam Collier for Burrin Fourth. Burrin killed the game with Collier scored a very good individual goal. St Joseph's finally got to grips again and both teams battled hard. Burrin added a sixth in the last minute when Conor Deacon made a great run and broke the offside to coolly slot home

A solid performance from both teams and apart from a ten-minute spell in the second half there was nothing between the sides. A solid performance from a at St Joseph's with James Cranny the best player. Best for Burrin were man of the match Dylan O’Reilly getting a bunch of assists, Dylan McCann, and Glenn O’Rourke along with a great team performance overall

On a lovely Saturday evening in Ballon, Burrin Celtic and Baltinglass Town pushed for 3 points to keep tabs with St. Joseph's at the top of the Division 2 table. Indeed, it was a crucial game for both sides that could have seen six or seven goals. Regardless, after twenty-five minutes, Sean Tracey put Burrin 1-0 up with a lovely low driven shot into the corner of the net. Both teams played some great football, and there were several chances for both sides, with both goalkeepers making some excellent saves. In the second half, Baltinglass started the strongest and began to control the ball in the midfield and create chances. This passage of play saw Burrin mainly relying on hitting Baltinglass on the break.

The game then changed when Baltinglass brought on substitute Gary Carroll who made an immediate impact when he scored with his first touch. A superb cross from Declan Faulkner saw the ball fall to his feet, and he coolly finished the ball into the net to make it 1-1. The game could have been won when Baltinglass' Gary Carroll crossed the ball to his teammate Declan Faulkner. However, his header somehow didn't hit the back of the net due to an incredible save by Craig Doyle in the Burrin Celtic goal. The game ended as a 1-1 draw, which seemed a fair result in the end. Best for Burrin - Josh Fernandez, Kevin Murphy, and Donnacha Murphy. Best for Baltinglass - Tom Parker, Kevin Osbourne, and Mick Dowling.

A slow first half of football consisted of the home side playing on the front foot, with a well-organised Vale containing them well and playing on the counter-attack. However, Burrin managed to break through the superb Vale defence mid-way through the first half, only for Vale keeper Mark Brennan to pull off an excellent point-blank save. Moments later, Vale had a great break away, and Conor Byrne was put through, only for the Burrin keeper Craig Doyle to pull off an excellent save. With 5 minutes left in the first half, a Vale breakaway resulted in the game's first goal when Geoffrey Doran's excellent work allowed him to release Byrne. He squared the ball to Ceilum Darcy, who slotted it past the keeper from close range. Halftime 0-1 in favour of Vale.

Burrin started the second half strongly, and after 5 minutes, they equalised through a fine header by Kevin Murphy. This created a crazy 10-minute spell that saw Burrin grab another goal when John Kinsella scored a brilliant chip over the Vale keeper 2 minutes later to put Burrin 2-1 ahead. Liam McGuill then put Burrin 3-1 ahead, and it seemed Burrin had put the game to bed. But credit to Vale, who didn't let their heads drop, Keelan Brennan, struck from distance to reduce the deficit to one. Then, Darren O Keefe raced down the wing and crossed for Byrne, who rifled the ball past the keeper, leaving the game all square again with not long left to go. A great contest had been played out, and it was end-to-end under the lights in the fantastic all-weather pitch. But Burrin didn't stop and scored the game's final goal from Myles Hutton in the 65th minute. Both teams had chances, but the final score ended 4-3 to Burrin.

Best for Vale on the day were Geoffrey Doran, Kieran Casey, and Conor Byrne.

Best for Burrin were Nick Mullins, Kevin Murphy, and Josh Fernandez.

Nurney Villa 0 - 2 Burrin Celtic

Burrin Celtic kept their good run of form going with a win away from home in awful weather conditions. Burrin dominated and created numerous chances within the first half, with Liam Brennan scoring after 15 minutes directly from a free kick. Burrin created multiple opportunities to score, but Nurney’s defence played excellently and did not let much past them.

In the second half, the wind was against Burrin. However, they controlled the game well. In the 57th minute, Myles Hutton kept his good form going and scored Burrin’s second and made it 2-0. Nurney fought to get back in the game, with Pakie Fleming delivering a fine shot which was well saved by the Burrin keeper. Full-time and the score remained 2-0 to Burrin Celtic.

Best for Nurney were Joe Byrne, Kyle Harenberg, and Pakie Fleming.

Best for Burrin were Adam Deacon, Nick Mullins, and Lorcan Doyle.

This is always a big local derby between school mates and the rivalry was building all week as Parkville were determined to put a dent in local rival’s title charge. However, it wasn’t to be as Burrin took the three points with a goal worthy of winning any game at any level. Burrin started off the brighter of the two teams getting a very early goal when Glenn O’Rourke followed in a Jack Kenny free kick to score a header and put Burrin 1-0 up very early on. Jack Kenny doubled Burrin’s lead when he ran down the left wing to beat the full back and slot the ball in the bottom right to make it 2-0 after just 15 minutes and the writing looked on the wall for Parkville.

Parkville slowly got into the game as Burrin got lazy and sloppy and really struggled on a pitch that hasn’t seen a lawnmower for a long time and made passing very difficult. The home side got a goal back on the stroke of half time when Oisín Lyons cut in from the left to slot the ball past the Burrin keeper 5 minutes before half time. The score was 2-1 in Burrin’s favour at half time.

Burrin came out to get a third in the second half and just could not take their chances in a one sided half where Parkville struggled to get out of their own half for 45 minutes. Jack Kenny had a couple of free kick’s saved midway through the second half. Both teams battled the majority of the half out with Burrin creating the most chances. Burrin finally got their 3rd goal with 10 minutes left of the game and what a goal it was. Defending a corner Jack Kenny took the ball on the edge of his own penalty box and went on to beat the whole Parkville team by running the full length of the pitch and slotting the ball in the bottom right to seal the victory for Burrin with a simple stunning individual goal where he beat at least 8 players by dribbling past them and invading the tackles. Parkville put in a great performance but Burrin we’re just too strong on the day. Best for Burrin were Jack Kenny, Jimmie Carroll and Evan Corr.

Burrin Celtic 4 - 1 Round Tower Rovers

This game was a clash of 2 in-form teams. After a fast start and chances for both teams, Burrin Celtic fired home first when Liam Brennan struck a superb strike from 30 yards on the half-hour mark to leave it 1-0 at half-time.

After the Break, Burrin pushed strong and played some great football. Their efforts were rewarded when a mix up in the Round Tower Rovers defence allowed Burrin's Sean Tracey to pounce to make it 2-0 with an excellent finish. Later Round Tower Rovers managed to score and looked to get back into the game after some good play from their midfield. However, Burrin's Cian Byrne's tireless efforts managed to bag him a second-half brace in a convincing performance from Burrin, which saw the game finish 4-1.

Best for Burrin were Conor Ruane, Liam Brennan, and Cian Byrne