Knockout punch from super ‘Well
HOT on the heels of their dramatic penalty shootout victory in the FAI Junior Cup the week before, Newfoundwell made another long away trip on Sunday and repeated the feat - this time in the Leinster Junior.
The Drogheda club have now won through to the last 16 in both those competitions and this was a particularly impressive win against the 2016 Leinster Junior Cup winners on their own patch.
Newfoundwell remain unbeaten in all competitions this season, and they had to come through this tie the hard way after conceding a goal in the very first minute.
The usually reliable Ronan Brown allowed a free kick attempt squirm through his hands and over the line, with the keeper caught unawares as the ball zipped off the all-weather surface.
There was no sign of panic in the Newfoundwell ranks and they were soon back on level terms when centre-half Kevin Bull headed home decisively from another set piece.
Evergreen became increasingly frustrated by Newfoundwell’s tactics and there were no further goals in normal time or indeed extra time, although near
EVERGREEN NEWFOUNDWELL 1 1
the end of the 120 minutes substitute Adam O’Connor went close to winning it for the visitors with a left-foot shot that flew narrowly wide.
In the end it came down to penalties for the second week running and once more it came down to sudden death, with the ‘Well converting five of their six kicks thanks to Daryl McDonagh, Ross Reid, John Kermode, Adam O’Connor and Dean Carolan, with prolific striker Ian Devine the only one to miss.
As often happens, the goalkeeper also emerges as a hero in these situations, and after saving one kick the previous week Brown kept out two Evergreen penalties to ensure the ‘Well progressed to the next round.
Joint manager Paul Crowley was fulsome in his praise of the squad for coming out on top against the odds.
‘I think Evergreen put themselves on the map with their trip to the Aviva Stadium last year,’ he said.
‘They are a good club all round and have 30 schoolboy teams, and on their home patch they were definitely favourites, but not in our eyes and I wouldn’t call it a scalp.
‘We know our squad, and although we were missing a few lads we know what this group are about and the commitment has been unbelievable.
‘We were excellent and I can safely say it was our best performance this season.
‘We had a bit of information on them and we changed the system a bit, which you have to do when you get to this stage of the competition. We set up different, worked on it during the week and cancelled them out for the whole game.
‘But to work on it and to deliver it are two different things.’
Meanwhile, the draw has taken place for the last-16 stage in the FAI New Balance Junior Cup and after some long away trips Newfoundwell have been handed a home tie against Ayrfield United.
NEWFOUNDWELL: Ronan Brown, Daryl McDonagh, Kevin Bull, Stephen Murphy, Paddy O’Boyle, Ryan Connor (Ross Reid), Rob Cashman, Dean Carolan, John Kermode, Anto Burke (Adam O’Connor), Ian Devine. Subs not used: Kenny Hurley, Craig O’Connor, Adam Brady.
Results
FRIDAY JANUARY 19th Reserve Cup second round:
Bradys Cavan Prem Div: Bradys Cavan Div 4:
SATURDAY JANUARY 20th Premier Res:
B Reserve
SUNDAY JANUARY 21st
O Neills LFA Junior Cup fourth round:
O Neills LFA Junior Shield third round Bradys Cavan Div 2: Bradys Cavan Div 3: