U-17s back from the brink

WEXFORD F.C. came back from the brink of defeat to valiantly beat Athlone Town in the SSE Airtricity League Under-17 Shield semi-final after extra-time on Saturday.

To say there was late drama would be a slight understatement, with Wexford equalising three minutes into stoppage time and getting their winner in the 118th minute of extra-time.

It was another example of outstanding resilience shown by this young squad, who most recently defeated Waterford on penalties in the quarter-final.

The Ferrycarrig boys were up against it during the game in Lisseywollen. Their afternoon was made far more difficult after just two minutes when referee Konrad Kaszycki somehow awarded the home side a penalty for handball.

Byron Martin sent Seán Maher the wrong way as Athlone got their undeserved dream start.

Athlone had the better of the first-half after this setback and, while Wexford by no means crumbled, they struggled to transfer their effort into goalscoring opportunities.

Martin was a big threat through the centre for the midlanders but Maher kept him at bay while the Model boys found their feet.

Luke Greene volleyed over the bar before the break as Oisín Duffy troubled Maher with another wellhit strike on goal.

Wexford probably spent 80% of the second-half inside Athlone territory but despite this, it still looked as if it might just be one of those days where nothing goes in for the travelling side.

Caellum Travers-Devlin had two early efforts at goal well saved while Darragh Levingston looked dangerous from set-pieces. Seán Smithers and Brody Murphy had more efforts go a begging as fulltime loomed.

Wexford added more and more people to the attack as they searched for an equaliser. A formation that started as a 4-5-1 ended in something closer to a 3-3-4, but it appeared to have worked when Travers-Devlin headed home Kevin Murphy’s knock-on three minutes into stoppage time, as the away supporters in Lisseywollen erupted.

Switching back to a far more usual shape, Wexford looked more dangerous as extra-time began. James Dowling could have put them ahead, but he was unable to steer his shot past the advancing Patrick Reilly.

Athlone found a burst of energy themselves before first-half extra-time finished. Martin had another effort crucially blocked after a scramble in the Wexford penalty area.

In the final 15-minute period Levingston had a free-kick easily saved before the ball rolled beautifully in his direction in the 118th minute.

As time seemed to slow, Levingston hammered his shot into the top right-hand corner as Wexford completed another remarkable comeback.

Wexford F.C.: Seán Maher; Shane Gibson, Kyle Scallan, Darragh Levingston (capt.), Killian Griffin; Luke Greene, Caellum Travers-Devlin, Ethan O’Neill, Brody Murphy, Robert Bulmer; Seán Smithers. Subs. - James Dowling for O’Neill (74), Brian Byrne for Bulmer (83), Seán O’Brien-Murphy for Travers-Devlin (106), also Aaron Hall.

Athlone Town: Patrick Reilly; Nasir Ishola, Ben Lynch, Maurice Walsh, James Farrell; Cillian Coonan, Adam Lennon, Oisín Duffy, Tom McLaughlin, Jack Reynolds; Byron Martin. Subs. - Mark Dillon for Farrell (69), Jordan Carr for McLaughlin (76), Dylan Gavin for Carr (118), also Seán O’Toole, Ismael Kimazo.

Referee: Konrad Kaszycki (Longford).