North End’s dream dashed
Sky Blues miss the chance to face Rovers in Tallaght
NORTH END UNITED ST. MOCHTA’S 1 2
NORTH END United were cruelly denied a date with League of Ireland giants Shamrock Rovers when they were beaten by Clonsilla outfit St. Mochta’s at Ferrycarrig Park in the Leinster Senior Cup third round on Sunday afternoon.
The Wexford side began with real purpose, with Jason Murphy firing them in front in the fifth minute, but they were really up against it when Kyle Dempsey was sent-off in first-half injury time.
Playing a man down is inhibiting at the best of times, but when you add in the heavy underfoot conditions due to the incessant rain leading up to the game, the task was an even more onerous one, particularly when you consider they were facing the Leinster Senior League Senior Division champions.
The Sky Blues did battle manfully after the break and even managed to create a few chances despite their numerical disadvantage, but in the end the concession of two relatively soft goals from David Somers and substitute Jason Marks proved to be their undoing.
On a gloomy afternoon, the outlook was decidedly bright for North End in the early stages and they went at the Dubliners with menace from the off.
The Wexford kingpins broke the deadlock with just four minutes on the clock when Shane Dempsey whipped in his fourth corner in quick succession from the left.
An attempted clearance fell to the feet of the alert Jason Murphy and on the turn he squirmed a shot beyond goalkeeper Mark Osbourne. John Godkin’s side were spraying the ball about well and playing with real swagger, and Dale Flynn came agonisingly close to doubling their advantage just three minutes later as he cut in from the left and unleashed a 25-yard daisy-cutter, which struck the butt of the left-hand post with the netminder beaten.
Moments later the Murphys, Jason and Paul, linked up well to almost get Gary Byrne away as they looked to build on their lightning start.
The visitors began to get more of a foothold in the game as the half wore on, but they rarely troubled the North End rearguard, with Gary Delaney and Decky Downes looking solid at the heart of the defence.
St. Mochta’s did ask a few more questions late on in the half, and in the 42nd minute Gavin Kearney got his head on a dangerous freekick from Philip Hughes, but his deflected effort looped over.
They went even closer from the resulting corner, with Anthony Murphy’s controlled shot taking a nick off a defender and hitting the top of the crossbar.
The North End contingent were relieved to have survived those scares and looked to be in the box seat as the game ticked into first-half injury time, but matters quickly took a turn for the worse.
Having been booked for a late challenge after half an hour, Kyle Dempsey was walking the tightrope and referee Nick Marnell brandished a second yellow for dissent just before the interval to leave North End with a sour taste in their mouths as they entered the dressing-room.
St. Mochta’s enjoyed plenty of possession after the turnaround, but North End stood up the challenge well in energy-sapping conditions and they came close to grabbing a second goal on the break on the hour mark.
Robin Dempsey superbly picked out Paul ‘Spot’ Murphy on the right wing, and he delivered a delicious first-time ball into the path of the rampaging Dale Flynn.
Goalkeeper Mark Osbourne, who was quickly off his line, appeared to take the legs of the fullback, although North End’s strong penalty claims fell on deaf ears.
In the 65th minute St. Mochta’s were back on level terms when Philip Hughes whipped in a corner from the left and David Somers nodded in from close range.
North End looked rattled for the first time and Denis Moran had a chance to fire Mochta’s in front with 20 minutes remaining when he ran on to a through ball from David Somers, but his lob over Lee Walker landed on the roof of the net.
In the 72nd minute St. Mochta’s did get their noses in front. Walker failed to hold a free in from Philip Hughes and substitute Jason Marks was quickest to react and his deflected effort dropped, almost in slow motion, into the net.
The metropolitans twice went close to putting the game to bed, with David Somers rattling the crossbar with a great strike and Walker pulling off a superb save to deny Denis Moran.
However, North End threatened to grab what seemed an unlikely equaliser when Jason Murphy nodded a Walker kick-out down to substitute Adam Beary, who had entered the fray seconds earlier, but he dragged his effort off target.
North End continued to battle bravely until the end but couldn’t create any further clearcut opportunities and after almost seven minutes of injury time the referee sounded the final whistle, to signal the end of their dream of running out on to the Tallaght Stadium turf.