Murphy steers 10-man ‘Well into decider
VETERAN former League of Ireland star Alan Murphy was the unlikely match-winner at DIFE on Sunday afternoon as 10-man Newfoundwell out-fought OMP to book their place in the Kilmessan Shield decider.
The semi-final tie began promisingly for the hosts as they took control of the game, and two Ian Devine crosses could have resulted in goals. However, Stephen Murphy failed to make the most of his headed opportunity and Brian Kermode opted to nod the ball across the six-yard area instead of aiming directly at the target.
Cormac Reid and Alan Murphy were bossing proceedings in midfield and another chance stemmed from a foul on Anto Burke, but Paddy O’Boyle’s free kick went just the wrong side of the upright, with the OMP keeper well beaten.
O’Boyle’s misfortune was about to be multiplied, however, as he was sent off for a straight red card offence on the half-hour. As he tried to shepherd a ball out of play a tackle came flying in from behind. O’Boyle jumped up to
NEWFOUNDWELL OMP UNITED 2 1
avoid the challenge but his feet then came down on the back of his opponent, with the referee deeming the challenge to be malicious.
The ‘Well had a full hour to play with 10 men but almost immediately broke the deadlock when a sweet passing move involving Daryl McDonagh, Alan Murphy, Kermode and Reid ended with a tidy finish from Devine.
OMP, though, levelled proceedings with just a few seconds gone in the second half. ‘Well’s joint manager Danny Gartland was still en route back to his dugout when an OMP player rose above Dean Carolan to direct a Rob Coombes free kick past keeper Ronan Brown.
However, the Premier title contenders restored their slender advantage on the hour mark when 39-year-old Alan Murphy sent a brilliant shot to the top corner from fully 25 yards out.
The ‘Well’s cause was helped when OMP’s Sean Doyle, having already been booked, pulled Anto Burke’s jersey and earned himself a second yellow for his troubles, evening up the numbers again.
Kermode and Stephen Murphy was prominent throughout for the eventual winners, and of course they were indebted to match-winner Alan Murphy’s who showed all his experience in the latter stages as he dribbled towards the opposition corner flag before winning himself a free kick to waste a few more precious seconds.
Meanwhile, Newfoundwell were last night awaiting the result of the Leinster Junior Cup quarter-final draw, while they are considering whether to launch a second appeal following the FAI’s decision to uphold a previous ruling which saw them thrown out of the FAI Junior Cup for fielding an ineligible player. NEWFOUNDWELL: Ronan Brown, Paddy O’Boyle, Stephen Murphy, Daryl McDonagh, Alan Murphy, Cormac Reid, Brian Kermode, Craig O’Connor, Dean Carolan (Kevin Bull), Anto Burke (Ryan Connor), Ian Devine.