The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Killarney Celtic and Dingle Bay reach last 32 of FAI Junior Cup
Killarney Celtic 1 Mervue United (Galway) 0
KILLARNEY Celtic scaled dizzy heights at Celtic Park on Saturday booking their place in the last 32 of the FAI Junior Cup after a memorable win over Mervue United.
In a fantastic cup tie played with great passion and fire, play switched from end to end on a constant basis but with both defences rock solid very few clear cut scoring chances were created over the 90 minutes.
Urged on by a large crowd Celtic played some great football and made their opponents fight hard for every ball.
From the very outset both sides showed tremendous commitment and desire with tackling fast and furious with no player getting much time on the ball and it made for compelling viewing that provided top notch entertainment.
Celtic came off the blocks like a greyhound to the hare and had a good chance to score after four minutes when Cathal O’Shea got on to the end of a Stephen Hayes corner kick but he fluffed his shot from 8 yards.
They were only a lick of paint away from scoring minutes later when a Stephen Hayes corner kick beat everyone and came back off the upright.
Mervue went close to scoring in the 12th minute when Jason Molloy found Mike Elwood with a free kick from midfield and his headed effort went narrowly wide.
Celtic’s hearts skipped a beat shortly after this when the superb Gary Keane left a header back to his goalie short and Celtic goalie Brian Kelly done very well to smother the ball at the feet of Barry Moran.
Then Celtic bombarded the visitors defence forcing 4 consecutive corner kicks and from the last one Gary Keane ghosted in at the far post only to see his effort come off the butt of the post.
The Mervue goalie Brian O’Donoghue was called into action in the 38th minute and he done well to save Gary Keane’s low shot for the bottom corner.
Just before half time Celtic put a great move together with Stephen Hayes and Gary Keane linking up to put Cathal O’Shea clear in on goals but his low shot was superbly saved by the Mervue goalie.
The visitors had the first chance of the second half with Derek O’Brien setting up Jason Molloy but he was denied by a fine save by Brian Kelly in the Celtic goals.
Then Celtic brought on Peter McCarthy for Stephen Hayes and they began to put some very constructive attacks together.
The break through they were seeking came in the 79th minute after superb build up play.
Brendan Falvey made a great run out of defence along the left hand side and after making ground he off loaded to Matt Keane who fed Peter McCarthy out on the sideline.
He teased a couple of defenders with his silken skills to make room for a cross and when he delivered the ball into the box it was handled by a Mervue defender and referee Derek O’Shea pointed to the spot. Gary Keane rifled the spot kick with great venom into the left hand corner of the net. However, because of an encroachment by players into the box before the kick was taken the referee ordered a retake. Under extreme pressure Keane showed nerves of steel drilling the ball home in the very same corner as the first kick. After this Celtic slowed down the pace of the game showed a cautious approach at the back and never allowed Mervue any decent chance of getting an equaliser. While the Galway side tried hard they never looked like scoring and Celtic ran out very deserving winners. It was a great team performance by Celtic with Brian Kelly not putting a foot wrong between the posts, Jamie Spillane, Chris O’Leary, John McDonagh and Brendan Falvey were excellent at the back. Gary Keane ran the show at midfield with great support from his brother Matt, Stephen Hayes and Pa McGrath while Wayne Sparling and Cathal O’Shea were as busy as bees up front.
So now Celtic are into the last 32 in a competition that started out with over 600 teams and they will be looking forward to the draw and will be keeping their fingers crossed for a home draw.
It was quiet a difficult game to handle but referee Derek O’Shea and his assistants Adrian Quirke and Adrian O’Shea did an excellent job. KILLARNEY Celtic: Brian Kelly, Brendan Falvey, John McDonagh, Jamie Spillane, Chris O’Leary, Stephen Hayes (Peter McCarthy, 54 mins), Gary Keane, Matt Keane, Pa McGrath (Steven McCarthy, 81 mins), Wayne Sparling, Cathal O’Shea. MERVUE United: Brian O’Donoghue, Tommy Walsh, Gary Bailey, Keith McHugh, Mike Elwood, Ciaran Foley (Dara Ryan, 80 mins), Jason Molloy, Stephen Larkin (Alan Murphy, 76 mins), Barry Moran, Simon Walsh, Derek O Brien. REFEREE: DerekO’Shea