Rearcross bow out of Ann Kennedy Tournament by the narrowest of margins

Rearcross welcomed Cappamore Celtic for the Quarter Final of the Ann Kennedy Cup Tournament. For Rea it was a mixture of players from both junior sides. With 30 minutes a half, chances were few and far between. It was Cappamore who started the brighter though and they had the opening chance when their striker evaded both Greg Kennedy and Rob Harrington but as he was baring down on goal Brian Hammersley was quick off his line to collect the ball before he could a strike away. Rea were working hard throughout the field with Conor Nolan to the fore as he was getting through a mountain of work in the middle of the park, they had a couple of half chances from corners and freekicks but didn't really test the Cappamore keeper. The only goal of the game came on the stroke of halftime when a flick on from the middle saw Ryan Deere get behind in the defence and his 1st time shot from the edge of the box evaded Brian Hammersley in the Rea goal.
The 2nd half took a similar pattern to the 1st with Cappamore having the lions share of possession without being able to force any real clear cut chances. The roll on roll off subs was disrupting the flow of the game but the fresh legs from the Rea bench seemed to be working as for the final 15 minutes of the game they had their best spell. Oisin Kelly had Rea's 1st chance of the 2nd half but his strike went the wrong side of the post. Max Carroll who had been introduced as a sub was having a big influence on the game as his runs from right back nearly forced an equaliser when he picked up the ball just inside the Cappamore half and his mazy run saw him force his way into the box and his cross come shot hit the top of the crossbar and went over. Rea continued to huff and puff but couldn't force the equaliser. A good work out for both teams with Cappamore just shading it on the night.

Rearcross FC: Brian Hammersley, Robert Harrington, Greg Kennedy, Callum Wallace, Kieran Devitt, Cormac Nolan, Stephen Rochford, James Rochford, Colm Carey, Oisin Kelly, Eoghan Kavanagh, David Brennan, Colm Nolan, Max Carroll, Aidan Bryan, Patrick Ryan, William Horrigan

Cappamore Celtic: Patrick Carroll, Jamie McCarthy, Denis Leonard, Colin Ryan, Harry Maher, Paddy Quinlan, Sean Lynch, John O'Brien, Sean Hayes, Cian Tierney, Eamonn Ryan, Donal O'Mahony, Luke Scott, Jimmy Fleming, Ryan Deere, Ciaran Gleeson, Fergal Bailey, David Meehan, Cillian O'Dwyer

Referee: Ray Ryan

Report by Robert Harrington