Last-eight exit is agony for Duleek

DULEEK TRIM CELTIC 2 3

LONG-TIME relegation contenders Duleek got themselves out of trouble with an excellent finish to their league campaign, but they couldn’t top it off with progress to the Tully Bookmakers Cup semis in the Tollstone on Sunday afternoon.

It wasn’t for the want of trying, though, and Pete Brennan’s team pushed their neighbours Trim Celtic all the way to extra time before suffering a heart-breaking defeat.

Nevertheless, Duleek might consider this defeat as a tremendous opportunity lost, for they played against 10 men for most of the 120 minutes after Trim’s Luke Fitzgerald was sent off.

After 45 minutes the teams couldn’t be separated as a Barry Kavanagh free kick for the hosts was cancelled out by a Colm Carney penalty for Trim, but the 10-man visitors edged ahead in the second half through Luke Mahon and looked to be going through to the last four when leading 2-1 going into the 90th minute.

However, there was to be late drama as Karl Dyas struck a dramatic equaliser to take the tie to extra time.

That was as good as it got, though, and Trim struck for the third time through Carney during the second period of that extra 30 minutes to seal their passage to the semi-finals. They will face the winners of the outstanding quarter-final tie between Bellurgan United and Newfoundwell.