Carlingford advance to cup final after pens
Champions, Carlingford Celtic, qualified for the final of the Fitzpatrick Cup but only after a tough encounter with a very gallant and brave Glen United.
The first ten minutes were very even but the Glen upped the pace and were unlucky not to score on two occasions, firstly when Philip Martin shot wide when well placed and then Conor Boland saw his shot go narrowly wide.
Carlingford settled the ship and then pressed forward. A brilliant through ball from Declan McGuinness found Paddy Farrell in a lot of space but his fine shot just grazed the outside of the post. But Farrell was not to be denied and in the 30th minute he picked up another great pass from McGuinness and this time his shot from 20 yards nestled in the bottom corner of the net. Both teams had half chances thereafter but at half time it was 1-0 to Carlingford Celtic.
Glen started the second half on the front foot as they tried to get on level terms but the Celtic defence stood firm. Phillip Martin and Dave Lee were pulling the strings in midfield for Glen and they pushed their team forward at every opportunity. The equaliser came in the 60th minute when Ray Steele played a ball into the Celtic box. Two Carlingford defenders left the ball for each other and Conor Boland reacted the quickest and scored with a very neat finish. Five minutes later Celtic were dealt a very severe blow when winger Jason Tumelty was sent off for a second yellow card offence.
Both teams had chances but it was Glen who should have gone ahead when a fine cross from the left was headed over the bar by Conor Boland with the goal at his mercy. With four minutes remaining Glen took the lead when a neat ball into the box by Philip Martin found Conor Boland and he scored his second of the game with a fine shot. Like true champions, Carlingford stormed forward and they were rewarded in the last minute when a great ball into the box by Declan McGuinness was headed down by Colin Jordan and Richie McGee buried his shot in the back of the net.
So to penalties. Both teams missed a penalty but the highlight of the shootout was a brilliant save from Celtic goalkeeper, Ronan Hanlon, that helped his team progress to the cup final!
Best for Carlingford; Stephen Malone, Paddy Farrell, Michael J. Hanlon, Gary Connor. Best for Glen; Cathal Russell, Ray Steele, Conor Boland and Philip Martin.
The fixtures for this coming weekend in the North Louth Winter League are as follows;
Shield semi-finals; Glen v Faughart; Castletown v Ramparts.