Larkin to the fore as Bay record crucial NEFL win over title-rivals Skryne/Tara

NEFL Division Three

Bay FC 3 Skryne/Tara 1

Bay FC continued their relentless quest towards Division Two with a crucial home victory over fellow promotion chasers Skryna/Tara on Friday night.

With victory , the Meath men would have leap-frogged Bay into top-spot and having inflicted the Dundalk side's only league defeat this season, they quickly set about their business, going in front inside five-minutes .

However, after custodian Kevin Mullen batted another visiting effort away, Bay settled into affairs and equalised before half-time when Marcel Ekwueme held off two defenders to control and finish Mark Larkin's defence-splitting pass.

The hosts started the second-half on the front foot, clearly buoyed by drawing level, with Gavin Toner testing the visiting 'keeper and Ekwueme going close to his second. But Bay eventually went in front with 25-minutes to play when Larkin bent a wonderfully-struck free-kick around the wall and to the bottom corner of the net from 20-yards.

This seemed to jolt the visitors to life as the upped the ante in attack . However, they found Mullen in uncompromising form, and how pivotal the net-minder's heroics proved as Bay went on to register a third when substitute Mikey Burke headed home Larkin's pinpoint cross.

Bay FC: Kevin Mullen; Robbie Rafferty, Gavin Toner, Mario Kolak, Johnny Winters, Kevin Scollon, Alfonso Crespo, Jimmy Byrne, Paddy Connor, Mark Larkin, Marcel Ekwueme

Subs: Mikey Burke, Ryan Dillon, Brendan Nash, David McCartney, Angelo Stanley