THE DREAM IS OVER
Avonmore bow out of LFA Youths Cup in Kilkenny
FREEBOOTERS (KK) AVONMORE YOUTHS 2 0
AVONMORE YOUTHS’ LFA Youth Cup dream came to an abrupt end in Kilkenny City last weekend when the talented young squad were defeated by local side Freebooters.
The Rathdrum side were the underdogs coming in to this third round clash as Freebooters, who play their home games at Fairgreen, have a good reputation at this level and this showed early on.
In the third minute, Avonmore goalkeeper, Aidan Murray, showed strong hands as he parried away a powerful long-range strike from Success Eodogan, who proved to be a handful throughout the tie.
Two minutes later, a free kick from the wing landed on Eodogan’s foot, who volleyed it onto the top of the crossbar.
The Co. Wicklow outfit were feeling the pressure and Murray was called into action again in the 15th minute as he had to tip the ball over the bar after an effort from Devine Amaukwu who dominated the centre of the park all afternoon.
These opening chances certainly showed that Avonmore were going to be up against it in the clash. Avonmore failed to create any chances of note until the 29th minute when Oisín McGraynor had a tame shot easily saved by the opposing goalkeeper.
Four minutes later Mark Cullen let fly 20 yards away from goal but that was also gathered by the keeper.
Freebooters consistent pressure provided dividends as they broke the deadlock on 35 minutes when Success Eodogan broke down the right wing after a throwin, beating a couple of defenders, and slotted the ball into the bottom corner past the onlooking Murray.
This was a hammer-blow to Avonmore who seemed to have been getting back into the game.
A minute before the interval, Mark Cullen, who popped up in a lot of very good positions throughout the half, had a shot easily saved yet again by the net minder.
After the break, Avonmore showed the physical side of their game as they committed to a lot of hard but very fair challenges, with the referee giving yellow cards to Liam Dickenson and Eric Olohan in the first seven minutes of the half.
In the 53rd minute, a well delivered Freebooters corner met Jason Hayes’ head, who’s effort was well saved by Murray only for Jamie Reid to swallow up the rebound and put his side 2-0 up.
Throughout the second half there were many dubious decisions by the local referee that aggrieved the away crowd.
This led to two Avonmore players and one of the management teams receiving red cards in a five-minute spell. The first of these coming in the 69th minute when Liam Dickenson was shown his second yellow of the game after a crunching tackle, though the away contingent felt it was harsh as he looked to have gotten a touch on the ball.
One minute after this, Avonmore produced a half chance when a free kick from Mark Cullen was met by centre-back Ryan Kenny at the back post who just poked wide.
One of the managers, Darragh Keenan, was then shown his marching orders for protesting these decisions. Two minutes later, Ross Ward, who was flying up and down the right wing all afternoon, was dismissed for apparent dissent, though the player protested his innocence.
With Avonmore down to ninemen, the tie was pretty much settled, although a tactical change did lead to a few half chances for Oisín McGraynor and Jack Manley.
Avonmore should be proud of their hard-fought performance but the hectic five-minute spell midway through the second half really killed what was a very good game of football.
Their focus now is on the John Tobin Youth League and after their main challengers, Ashford Rovers were defeated 2-1 by Arklow United this weekend, the Rathdrum side now only require one more win from three games to wrap up the league title.
Aidan Murray, Ryan Kenny, Zach Cullen, Eric Olohan, Ross Ward, Liam Dickenson, Jack Manley, Callum Busher, Dale Fluskey, Mark Cullen, Oisín McGraynor. Subs: Aaron Tuke for Busher (39 mins), Dean Carter for Fluskey (59 mins), Declan Breslin for Olohan (72 mins). Not used: Seán Leonard, Cody Reid, Craig Wall, Daniel Hagan, Daniel Morley, Rob Vard, Kevin Kinsella.