THE KINGS OF LEINSTER
Gorey seconds complete memorable season for club
GOREY RANGERS 1 CHANEL SSC 0
NINE-MAN Gorey Rangers held off Chanel SSC in a dramatic O’Neill’s LFA Junior Shield final at the Carlisle Grounds on Saturday to be crowned Leinster Junior Shield champions.
Rangers were looking to add silverware to their season with the Shield title but would have to find a way past their opponents Chanel SSC who had shown resilience throughout their cup campaign as they were victorious in two penalty shoot-outs in the earlier rounds of the competition.
Rangers made a great start to the game as they looked for an early goal to start the final off on a positive footing.
Midfielder Ethan Vickers was creating opportunities for his side as he opened up the Chanel defence again and again with pinpoint accurate passes and through balls into the lively Rangers attackers.
Vickers played one such wonderful through ball to winger Killian Cushe in the seventh minute.
Cushe had only the ’keeper to beat but his shot was parried up and over the crossbar by the Chanel netminder, Mark Byrne.
Rangers’ counter-attacks became a huge problem for the Chanel defence early in the firsthalf.
Chanel tried the direct approach to get themselves into the game by playing long balls up to their striker, Darren Stewart, but that form of attack became pointless as Rangers defender Kevin Kavanagh cleared everything that came towards their defence.
The chances in front of goal throughout the first-half were limited from both sides as they lacked that clinical finish to punish their opponent.
The closest chance of the firsthalf came to Chanel winger Nathan Stanley who smacked the crossbar with a powerful effort in the 21st minute.
Chanel were awarded a freekick on the edge of the area just after the 20-minute mark and, with a quick delivery from John Naughton to Stanley, the winger unleashed a powerful strike that looked to be going in but unfortunately for his side the woodwork denied him.
Killian Cushe again had a great opportunity right on the 45-minute mark as Ethan Vickers played him in one-on-one with the Chanel goalkeeper, but just as Cushe was about to pull the trigger, Chanel defender Anthony Hughes made a great challenge to prevent the goal, a strong tackle by the Chanel defender.
Both teams went in at half-time knowing that with the little chances in front of goal from either side in the first-half, it would certainly only take one goal to win the game as it seriously lacked scoring opportunities.
Rangers were under pressure early in the second-half as Chanel took the game to their opponents and threw everything at them.
Striker Darren Stewart was at the centre of every Chanel attack as he often drifted into midfield to either receive the ball to start an attack, or else get the ball and then try to pick out a killer pass to threaten the Gorey defence.
The striker found Stephen O’Leary on the right-hand side of midfield on the 61st minute with a through ball in behind the Gorey defence.
The Gorey backs stood off the winger which resulted in O’Leary beating two defenders before cutting inside and curling a low shot towards goal. His shot looked to be creeping into the corner of the net but Gorey goalkeeper Adam Dunbar got down just in time to push the ball out around the post and out of danger. It was a huge let-off for Rangers.
The final 30 minutes of the game made for an absorbing watch as both sides were counter-attacking once they regained possession.
The possession went from back to front within seconds as both teams started to go direct as they tried to pick out their target men up front.
Gorey Rangers finally opened the scoring with five minutes left after a mistake by Chanel goalkeeper Mark Byrne.
Rangers were awarded a corner in the 85th minute which was cleared by the Chanel defence, but only as far as Ethan Vickers who whipped the ball back into the danger area.
Goalkeeper Mark Byrne came off his line to clear the ball but only managed to punch it to James Lynch who quickly saw an empty net and placed it home to give his side the lead with only five minutes remaining.
After the goal was scored there was a brawl in the Chanel penalty area between both sets of players.
Referee Owen White calmed the players down before showing red cards to Chanel striker Darren Stewart and Rangers substitute Damien Truchen for violent conduct.
Stewart refused to leave the pitch for quite a while before being escorted off the field by the Chanel management.
Truchen was then shown his marching orders for getting involved with Stewart during the brawl.
White then consulted his linesmen which led to the referee showing another red card to Rangers defender Mark Flanagan.
With only nine men remaining on the field, the Gorey side had to keep out the ten men of Chanel for a final five minutes and then another five minutes of added time which was added because of the brawl after the goal was scored.
Rangers parked the bus for the remaining minutes and kept out their opponents in what could only be described as the most dramatic end to a final this season.
Rangers were worthy winners as they played the more attacking football throughout the game and possibly could have been 2-0 up at half-time had they taken their chances in front of goal.
Credit to Chanel who kept challenging even after their talisman up front was sent-off, but their dramatic cup run came to a negative end as Gorey Rangers were crowned this season’s LFA Junior Shield champions.
GOREY RANGERS: Adam Dunbar, Conor Nolan, Mark Flanagan, Ross Moore, Kevin Kavanagh, James Lynch, Killian Cushe, David Christie, Derrick Woods, Ethan Vickers, Colum Sheridan. Subs. - Dillion Dixon for Cushe (47), Damien Truchen for Sheridan (68), Phelim Gallagher for Woods (92).
CHANEL SSC: Mark Byrne, Anto Hughes, Eoin Kelly, Nick Conlon, Paul Deighan, Dean Kearney, Nathan Stanley, John Naughton, Darren Stewart, Marcus Gately, Stephen O’ Leary. Subs. - Dylan Kelly for Kearney (76), Kevin Reilly for Gately (85).
REFEREE: Owen White. Assistant referees: Jay Redmond, Cillian O’ Reilly. Fourth Official: David Jameson.