Rearcross
'A' 1 - Blackcastle 'A' 1
(Blackcastle
won 5-3 on penalties)
Rearcross 'A' suffered agonising defeat in a penalty shootout
against Blackcastle 'A' in a Shield semi-final played in Rearcross last Sunday
morning, Rearcross made a promising start and threatening early on when a
Matthew Ryan Luke shot the veered over the bar, Derek O'Toole made a break
on the left on 18 minutes and seemed to have been obstructed en route to goal,
however play was waved on. The visitors grabbed an opportunist lead against
the run of play on the half hour mark when Mel McBride latched on to a through
ball and knocked to the net from just inside the eighteen yard box, Mel Bride
got in to another scoring position five minutes later, however the resulting
effort was blocked to safety. Exchanges were evenly shared at the start of
the second half, a defensive mix up let Mel McBride in on goal in the 56th
minute, however the angle was closed and the ball was put over the end line.
Rearcross counter attacked and won a corner on the left, Paul Murphy rose
highest and headed the ball against the cross bar before driving to the roof
of the net on the second attempt, Rearcross were well on top after this and
PJ McLoughlin had the ball in the Blackcastle net midway through the half,
however play was called back for an off side infringement, Rearcross were
on top for the remainder of the game but failed to make this dominance count
as the sides finished on one goal a piece. Blackcastle booked their place
in the final on a 5-3 score line after the penalty shoot out, the Templemore
custodian guessed right for the first penalty and saved well from Derek O'Toole's
powerfully struck penalty, Blackcastle took up the initiative and banged home
five on the trot, the marksmen for Blackcastle were Damien McBride, Ian Kilroy,
David Fennell, Ricky O'Brien and Damien Byrne, while Declan O'Toole, Sean
Ryan & Paul Murphy converted for Rearcross.
Rearcross 'A': Ger Kennedy, Mark Lenihan, Shane Reynolds, Martin McLoughlin,
John Ryan Luke, Emmet Steed, Matthew Ryan Luke, Liam O'Toole, Derek O'Toole,
Davy O'Toole, Paul Murphy
Subs: Sean Ryan for Liam O'Toole, PJ McLoughlin for Davy O'Toole, Declan O'Toole
for Mark Lenihan
Subs not used: Joey Nolan, Joey Ryan
Blackcastle 'A': Mervyn Bradish, David Ryan, Joe Shields, Ricky O'Brien,
Stephen Fennell, David Fennell, Larry Stapleton, Ian Kilroy, Killian O'Neill,
Damien McBride, Johnny Coleman
Subs: Nigel Pearson for Stephen Fennell, Damien Byrne for Johnny Coleman.
Referee: Jimmy McCarthy