PENALTY JOY FOR ‘MOR AS THEY PIP BELLURGAN
VISITORS Muirhevnamor squeezed through to the Under-13 Cup final 5-4 on penalty kicks after this closely-fought tie at Flynn Park on Saturday.
Lying side by side at the bottom half of the table, there was nothing between the sides over the course of the game. Ironically, and cruelly, it was Dan Finnegan’s saved spot kick that divided the teams at the end of the ensuing shootout.
The full-back’s clinically taken penalty in the early part of the second half, low into the bottom corner of the net, tied up the score after Pauric Lee had turned in a cross to give Muirhevnamor the lead at a similar stage of the first half.
The Bellurgan defender manfully stepped up to take the first kick in the shootout and opted to go for the same corner, but Adam Burke guessed correctly, diving to his left and saving, with the kicker just not managing the same accuracy inside the post.
The rest of the spot-takers on both sides held their nerve and netted, but home goalkeeper William Quinn was unlucky not to save one that went underneath his body.
The visitors held sway after taking the lead, with Tiarnan Rogers going close to increasing their lead when he beat a defender on the outside and shot wide from inside the home penalty box.
Kyle McDonald had a glorious chance as he went clean through the middle of the Bellurgan defence ,only to pull his shot across the goal and wide.
Then just before the interval Michael McCreesh was only inches away from getting his head on a tantalising centre across the face of the visitors’ goal that would have surely resulted in an equaliser.
Bellurgan took the game to the visitors after the break and only a great save by Adam Burke down low to his left and brave reactions to dive on the loose ball prevented the tricky Jason Sharkey from putting Bellurgan on terms when he was slipped clear in the box.
The equaliser did arrive when a Muirhevnamor defender handled
Conan Fox’s corner kick, and Dan Finnegan slotted home the spot kick with aplomb.
Muirhevnamor retaliated and Tiarnan Rogers was put free inside the penalty box on the right but couldn’t find the target, while Fox’s long-range free just cleared the crossbar at the other end.
Chances were made at either end, but the score remained at 1-1, and so a shootout was needed to decide who took their place in the decider.
BELLURGAN: William Quinn, Dan Finnegan, Doire Toner, Dylan Clark, Michael McCreesh, Ross Hynes, Gerry Rafferty, Niall Donohoe, Jason Sharkey, Luke Ryan, Conan Fox, James Keenan, Shea Donnelly, Jake O’Connor.
MUIRHEVNAMOR: Adam Burke, Edward Klavins, Callam McCrave, Faawad Karim, Kyle McDonald, Dilans Klavins, Camryn Mostyn, Keelin McCullough, Tiarnan Rogers, Sean Murphy, Brooklyn Kenna, Dylan Tuite, Gerard Chicka, Pauric Lee, Nathan Brown, Prince Ayila, Amen Zahir.