Double joy for North End after cup victory
North End beat Moyne on penalties to complete double
NORTH End United had to do it the hard way to complete the league and cup double as they overcame Moyne Rangers on penalties in an enthralling Wexford Volkswagen Cup final at Ferrycarrig Park on Sunday.
It was a glorious twelfth triumph for the Sky Blues in a competition they have made their own in recent years and the perfect ten for all-conquering manager John Godkin.
The defeat was tough to take for the Enniscorthy men though, having given as good as they got for long periods, even after the influential Ryan Mahon had been shown a second yellow card on 86 minutes.
It was also a case of history repeating itself, with North End similarly coming out on top in a shoot-out the last time they met in the decider in 2013.
Having pushed the Wexford town side all the way in the league, Moyne certainly didn’t suffer from any sort of inferiority complex and twice took the lead against their much-vaunted opponents.
However, North End showed just why the Hollygrove trophy cabinet is bulging by battling back on both occasions and getting over the line in dramatic fashion.
Lee Walker had the honour of making the cup-winning save, getting down quickly to deny Conor Bruce after fellow substitute Alan Tobin had earlier seen his well-struck effort come back of the left upright.
Earlier in the afternoon the outlook had looked much brighter for Moyne, who were seeking their first Wexford Cup win, with man of the match Tomás Mahon firing them in front with their first serious attack of the game on 13 minutes, gaining possession on the right-hand side of the area and calmly slotting the ball to the corner of the net.
North End had made much of the early running, with Paul ‘Spot’ Murphy turning nimbly and testing goalkeeper Pa Doyle moments before Moyne made the break- through and the Wexford town side were quickly back on the front foot after the setback.
Midway through the first-half Shane Dempsey flicked a pass into the path of the tireless John ‘Rocky’ Fenlon but Pa Doyle was quickly off his line to gather at the feet of the industrious midfielder.
In the 29th minute North End created a great opportunity to get back on level terms, but Adam Beary blazed a good chance over the bar having been played in by Paul ‘Spot’ Murphy.
However, the recently-crowned Premier Division champions did manage to draw level in the 41st minute when Shane Dempsey won possession, burst forward with menace and arrowed the ball out of the reach of Pa Doyle.
The celebrations had barely died down when Moyne were back in front. Seán Burke played a wonderful ball to the back post from the left wing and Seán Kenny cushioned a controlled volley into the left-hand corner of the net.
North End were again playing catch-up and they came close to restoring parity in the 54th minute when Adam Beary ran on to an under-cooked back pass from goal scorer Kenny, but the striker’s shot fizzed wide of the left upright.
Moyne introduced Alan Tobin to the attack and he definitely made his mark on the game, haring down the left wing on 64 minutes but his ball across the face of goal had a fraction too much juice for the inrushing John Peare.
Three minutes later North End were celebrating a second equaliser. John Fenlon played a slide-rule pass to the feet of Adam Beary, who unselfishly squared the ball for Kyle Dempsey to stroke it into the net.
In the 85th minute Moyne caused North End hearts to flutter twice in the space of 60 seconds, with first the rock-solid Decky Downes seeing his defensive header going narrowly wide of the right post and then Richie Farrell getting his head on the resulting corner from John Peare without troubling goalkeeper Walker.
A minute later Moyne were hit with a real sucker-punch when Ryan Mahon mistimed a tackle and was shown a second yellow card, but credit to the Enniscorthy men they regrouped, defended well and continued to look a threat going forward.
Mossy Mahon was the first to try his luck in extra-time, firing a long-range effort off target, while at the other end Jason Murphy whipped a teasing cross into the box but the Rangers defence cleared the danger.
Alan Tobin threatened again moments later, running on to a pass from John Peare and dragging his left-footed shot wide of the far upright and North End goalkeeper Lee Walker was once more called into action before the sides switched ends in extra-time.
John Peare lofted in a freekick, with substitute Conor Bruce helping it on to Pa O’Shea, whose header had to be pushed around the post by the netminder.
With both sides tiring, chances continued to come. North End substitute Lee Aust curled an effort wide, before Pa Doyle was forced to pull off a fine save to deny Paul ‘Spot’ Murphy, getting down well to block his first-time effort from the edge of the area.
Alan Tobin warmed Walker’s hands again before the destination of the cup was decided by a tension-filled shoot-out.
After Paul ‘Spot’ Murphy, Paul Murphy (Kilmore), Kyle Dempsey and Adam Beary had converted from 12 yards, with Tomás Mahon and Dillon Redmond successful for Moyne, North End shot-stopper Walker performed the final act of an exciting cup final to kick-start the celebrations for the Belvedere Road side.
NORTH END UNITED: Lee Walker, Warren Broaders, Lee Smith, Dale Flynn, Declan Downes, John Fenlon, Kyle Dempsey, Shane Dempsey, Adam Beary, Paul ‘Spot’ Murphy, Gary Byrne. Subs. - Jason Murphy (capt.) for S. Dempsey (54), Lee Aust for Byrne (61), Paul Murphy for Smith (72), also Stuart Lawlor, Dylan Owens, Paul Rossiter, Andy Moore, Lee Wadding. MOYNE RANGERS: Pa Doyle, Rory O’Connor (capt.), Seán Burke, Pa O’Shea, Richie Farrell, Ryan Mahon, Seán Kenny, James Peare, Peter Marsden, Tomás Mahon, John Peare. Subs. - Alan Tobin for James Peare (56), Conor Bruce for Kenny (72), Dillon Redmond for Marsden (90), also Cian Larkin, Brian Ronan, Damian Tobin, Pa O’Rourke. REFEREE: Anthony Tobin. Assistant referees: Nicholas Boland and Seamus
Kelly. Fourth official: James Kelly.