New-look North End beaten
Intermediate Cup winners Maynooth claim silverware
FAI INTERMEDIATE Cup champions Maynooth Town took advantage of their breaks to beat North End and take the Tom Hand Cup in Casey Park, Mayglass, on Sunday.
The Kildare club scored two goals in six minutes late in the opening quarter to get control of the game and withstood a United onslaught in the second-half to edge their way to another trophy.
With North End currently in pre-season, building their way towards the new term, this game probably came at a developmental time for John Godkin’s men. They were a little light too, naming just five of the side that started their Junior Cup win against Pike Rovers in the starting line-up.
They were able to introduce a few new signings into the mix, with former Wexford F.C. defender Craig McCabe slipping into the back four, the experienced Gary Dempsey starting in the heart of midfield, while Philip Drohan was amongst the substitutes.
The systems on show were pretty similar at kick-off but North End started brightly and the visitors were quick to drag Conor Foley a few yards deeper.
Gary Byrne had a shot blocked in the penalty area and Paul Murphy almost got a telling header on Lee Walker’s long punt forward.
One new weapon that North End are sure to develop this season will be McCabe’s long throws. Maynooth panicked under the first one, and Conor Mooney almost headed it into his own goal.
United were left in disbelief when they didn’t even get a corner out of his back-header into the side-netting.
The opening goal came in the 15th minute and it really was out of the blue. Lee Walker seemed to be under very little pressure when he accepted McCabe’s back pass, but hesitation is dangerous in those situations.
Eoin Donnellan was in like a rocket to block down Walker’s attempted clear- ance, and it richoched pretty tamely but had enough pace to dribble over the line. The goalscorer almost added another a minute later but his shot, from Foley’s pull-back, was blocked to safety.
If there was a large slice of fortune about the first, the second was all about Maynooth’s quality. Their captain, Darragh Raynor, looked up and spread wide to the right to release Foley.
His pace was too much for the North End defence to match and the attacker made no mistake with a classy finish across Walker to the corner.
When Decky Downes’ long ball over the top was misjudged in the Town defence, Gary Byrne got on the end of it but his shot was blocked.
Downes and Adam Beary rose together to meet Dempsey’s corner, with the latter forcing Demer Sterio into a sharp save in the 39th minute.
Despite the late pressure, which also saw Sterio make a good stop from Byrne, Godkin opted to make a significant change at the break. United went to three at the back and they looked a more balanced team on the back of the switch.
Within seven minutes of the re-start North End were back in the game. The experienced Dempsey whipped in a corner, and substitute Jason Murphy rose and headed home with the aid of a deflection.
There was controversy when Gary Delaney went down in the box from the next corner. The former Waterford defender was apoplectic and earned himself a booking in the aftermath, but it almost went unnoticed that Murphy made contact with the cross and headed inches wide.
Beary forced Sterio into another fine save in the 61st minute but they soon fell 3-1 down. This time Mark Colgen fed Donnellan down the right, and he cut in and shot under the diving Walker to the United net.
North End kept creating half chances, and the closest they came was when Downes’ header was hooked off the line with 15 minutes left.
However, the game was up when Walker was caught in possession on the edge of his own box by Eoin McDermott. He was subsequently sent-off for pulling the striker back and Reynor smacked the woodwork with the resulting free-kick.
Things don’t get any easier for North End after this loss, as they host Galway United at Ferrycarrig Park in the FAI Senior Cup first round on Saturday evening. That game kicks off at 6 p.m. and a good crowd is expected for the novel encounter.
North End United: Lee Walker; Craig McCabe, Gary Delaney, Decky Downes, Tony Crosbie; Kyle Dempsey, John Fenlon, Gary Dempsey, Gary Byrne; Paul Murphy (capt.), Adam Beary. Subs. - Jason Murphy for Crosbie (46), Philip Drohan for Fenlon (67), Niall Connolly for Byrne (77), James Crean for G. Dempsey (83), Brandon Sinnott for J. Murphy, inj. (83), also Alan Colgate, Ciarán Carthy.
Maynooth Town: Demer Sterio; Shane Harte, Conor Dunne, Conor Mooney, Gary Daly; Daniel Burke, Darragh Reynor (capt.), Mark Colgan, Cillian Duffy; Conor Foley; Eoin Donnellan. Subs. - Martin O’Connor for Harte (63), Gavin Kinsella for Foley (63), Cian Byrne for Duffy (68), Eoin McDermott for Donnellan (73), Yosef Belhout for Burke (90), also Dean Barrett.
Referee: Gary Fitzgerald (Waterford).