Rearcross bow out of FAI Junior Cup in Clonmel

Rearcross were on the road in the FAI Cup against Clonmel Celtic in what was a reverse of last year’s fixture. Rearcross setup defensively with James Deegan playing a lone striker role. Clonmel enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening half but were continuously frustrated by the Rearcross midfield and back 4. There were little chances to note in the opening half, Rea's best chance came with a James Deegan freekick which went the wrong side of the post. Aided by a strong breeze Clonmel got off to the perfect start in the 2nd half. Within 5 minutes they took the lead. Hesitation from the Rea defence and keeper allowed Kyle Cuddy to nip in between both and lo the ball into the net. This seemed to spur Rearcross into action and they introduced a strong bench and they were having an impact. Paul Nolan going close on 2 separate occasions. His 1st strike going just wide off the post and his 2nd effort deflected over the bar following a good ball in from Paddy Dawson. In between them chances Clonmel had a good chance to kill off the game but Eoin Sheldon made a great block on the line to ensure the game remained 1 nil. For the final 5 minutes Rea pushed hard for the equaliser. Oisin Reynolds saw his strike from outside the box well saved by the Celtic keeper. Just as time was up Paddy Dawson thought he had equalised but his deflected effort was tipped around the post by the keeper and Clonmel held on for the victory.

Thanks to Clonmel Celtic and the Local Bar Clonmel for post-match hospitality which was greatly appreciated.

Clonmel Celtic: R Lonergan, A Williams, P Ormond, E Rumble, K Hawkins, J Boland, K Delaney, K Kerton (Capt), K Cuddy, T O’Connor, K Kerton
Subs: O’Malley, S Garland, R O’Dowd, J Cagney

Rearcross ‘A’: Greg Kennedy, Stephen Rochford, Oisín Reynolds, Brian Nolan, Eoin Sheldon, Conor Nolan (Capt), Eoghan Kavanagh, James Rochford, James Deegan, Philip Deegan, Patrick Ryan
Subs: Paul Nolan, Cillian Kennedy, Patrick Dawson, Robert Harrington

Referee: John Lyons

Report by Robert Harrington

Photos courtesy of Jonathan Ryan