Kilmanahan 2 - Rearcross 1 (aet)
(Photos included at end of report)
Rearcross made the long trek to face TS&DL side Kilmanahan for an eagerly anticipated FAI Junior Cup clash and came away rather unluckily on the wrong end of a two goals to one scoreline. Kilmanahan opened the brightest and could have been one up within the first minute thanks to a fantastic shot by Derek Mc Grath which was brilliantly saved by Eamon O’ Toole in the Rearcross goals. The visitors crept in to the game after this however and Derek O’ Toole almost put the green and whites one up when he latched on to a long Diarmuid Sheehy throw in the seventh minute. This was followed by Robert Harrington’s looping effort two minutes later which came back off the cross bar, and a strong claim for a penalty due to a handball infringement a minute after that which was waved away by the referee much to the annoyance of the travelling Rearcross support. After soaking up a lot of pressure the home side came back with a shot of their own after a quick counter attack in the 12th minute with Craig Gairy blazing over from short range. Rearcross were well on top by this stage however and should have been a few goals to the good after Simon Kennedy’s long range effort whizzed just over the bar, followed by Kieran Devitt’s low effort coming off the base of the upright which presented James Deegan with a good opportunity which he could not convert on this occasion. Rearcross then missed two more glorious chances with Simon Kennedy heading wide from close range in the 25th minute followed by three successive attempts on goal, culminating with a fine shot by Greg Kennedy, failing to hit the net in the 31st minute. Kilmanahan to their credit finished the half strongly with Derek Mc Grath’s header in the 38th minute coming close followed by another Derek Mc Grath attempt in the 44th minute which almost ended up in the Rearcross net. Seven minutes into the second half saw the first goal of the game go to the home side when Connie Power finished well from the edge of the eighteen yard box. In what was an action packed game Derek O’ Toole almost drew Rearcross level ten minutes later when his one on one was blocked bravely by Kilmanahan goalkeeper Graham Deegan. Declan O’ Toole almost struck gold in the 65th minute with a fine shot but it was club stalwart Diarmuid Sheehy, who had a fine game at central midfield, who dragged the away side back into the tie with a left legged pile driver from outside the box with just over twenty minutes to go. The remainder of the ninety saw little attacking action although John English did clip the woodwork for the home side before Eamonn Devitt narrowly headed wide for the visitors with two minutes remaining. Rearcross came out strong in extra time and almost took the lead in the first minute through Liam Ryan (R) and then Derek O’ Toole. Eamon O’ Toole then made a save from a Shane McGrath shot in the 96th minute before Connie Power squared to Derek McGrath who drilled to the back of the net with a first time effort no more than a minute later to put Kilmanahan in front. Declan O’ Toole tried to rally the visitors with a fine right pegged shot six minutes to go but it was not to be. The game then finished in a bizarre manner as Liam Ryan bundled the ball to the net from close range with two minutes to go only for the goal to be disallowed despite strong protestations from the visitors. Rearcross, missing a number of key players, will rue missed chances and be disappointed they did not win a game that was very much in the balance but will regroup for next week’s important league fixture versus Thurles Celtic which takes place next Saturday night in Rearcross. Thanks to Kilmanahan for putting on refreshments after the game and all at Rearcross FC wish them the best in their league for the coming season.
Kilmanahan Utd: Graham Deegan, James O’Donnell, Alan McGrath, John English, Stephen Byrne, Connie Power, Philly Ruth, Craig Gairy, Sheamus Green, Derek McGrath, Andrew Hickey
Subs: Shane McGrath, James McGrath, Liam Walsh, Damien O’Donnell, Thomas Walsh
Rearcross FC: Eamon O’ Toole, Mark Hogan, Eamon Wade, Eamonn Devitt, Greg Kennedy, James Deegan, Simon Kennedy, Diarmuid Sheehy, Robert Harrington, Derek O’ Toole, Kieran Devitt
Subs: Declan O’Toole for James Deegan (53rd minute), Liam Ryan for Kieran Devitt (76th minute), Tommy Ryan Luke for Mark Hogan (84th minute)
Referee: John Teehan
Report compiled by Simon Kennedy
