All the action from the Wicklow Cup quarters
THERE were sensational scenes in extra-time of the Wicklow Cup quarter-final between Carnew AFC and Wicklow Town A as the visitors to Finlay Park slammed home seven goals in 20 minutes to seal a mighty victory after the game had ended 3-3 after normal time.
Cillian Gilligan wrapped up his hat-trick in that extra-time period while super sub Brendan McCrea bagged his own hat-trick and James Behan and Conall McCrea also managed to get in on the madness as the Wexford border men demolished a fading Wicklow Town effort.
It was an important day last Sunday for the Finlay Park side as they had two of their senior teams were competing in the quarter-finals of the Wicklow Cup competition. Town started their double header at home to the Carnew men, while later on their second team would face Newtown United at the later afternoon kick-off.
With Town struggling to get enough players together before kick-off, they were forced to start the game with just 10 men on the pitch, midfielder Liam Kavanagh entered the game after five minutes to give his side a fighting chance of at least having 11 men against 11.
There was little quality in-front of goal for the first 20 minutes with both sides not clinical enough when given the opportunity to grab the opening goal of the game, but Wicklow Town did manage to get their noses in-front on the 22nd minute mark with a rebounded finish from striker Alfie Leonard who reacted first to a rebound to slot home the opening goal of the game.
Wicklow Town were getting more and more confidence and taking the game to their opponents but were dealt a huge blow on the 36th minute when Cillian Gilligan equalled the scoring from a fabulous curling free kick from 25 yards out. Carnew were awarded the free kick very cheaply and did get the goal against the run of play, but the away side were back in the game with a lot of time left to play in the half.
It was again from a free kick that Carnew got themselves another goal and went 2-1 up before halftime with a powerful long range effort from PJ O’Keeffe. O’ Keeffe took the free kick before referee Michael Kennedy blew his whistle which meant he got another chance to retake his effort and this time O’Keeffe went for goal instead of floating the ball into the box. The midfielder drilled the ball low on the ground which took a dip just at the right time and flew into the back of the net, a great strike from the playmaker to give his side the lead just before half-time.
Wicklow Town started the second half much like the first, with electric pace. It was clear that the home side did not want to limp out of the challenge of this quarter-final.
Chico Murphy grabbed an equaliser on the 56th minute just after receiving a yellow card for dissent against the referee. The midfielder then rose above everyone else in the penalty area and nodded home a free kick from John Connors.
The game took another turn towards the away side as Cillian Gilligan grabbed his second of the game on the 73rd minute after some great footwork and pace from PJ O’Keeffe.
O’Keeffe went on a darting run down the left wing beating two Town defenders before squaring the ball across goal to Gilligan who slotted home to goal that made it 3-2 to Carnew.
The drama continued right up until the 87th minute of the second half when Wicklow Town again came back from the brink and scored another equalising goal to bring the game level at 3-3. Substitute Alan Hubart was on the Carnew goal line to force the ball over the line in the last few minutes of the game to bring the quarter-final to extra-time and possibly penalty kicks.
Town seemed to just run out of steam in extra-time as Carnew then ran away with the cup
tie, scoring a sensational seven goals throughout the two halves of the extra period. Cillian Gilligan wrapped up his hat-trick early on before substitute Brendan McCrea managed to get three goals himself despite only coming on in the second half, while Behan and Conall McCrea popped up on the score sheet as well.
To say the least, Carnew were clinical in front of goal in extra-time and that made the difference in the game as they cruised to a 10-3 victory at the final whistle.
An excellent performance from the away side and especially their subs who made all the difference after coming on, whereas you had to feel for Town as they started the game with 10 men and had few subs to impact the game. But it’s Carnew who progress to the semi-finals of the Wicklow Cup after an unforgettable finish.
Wicklow Town: 1. Reece Kelly, 2. Rory Dunne, 3. Mark Darraby, 4. John Connors, 5. Shane Devlin, 6. Richard Chico Murphy, 7. Liam Kavanagh, 8. Ed Cearthy, 9. Jack Cearthy, 10. Adrian Juran, 11. Alfie Leonard. Subs: Alan Hubbart for Mark Darraby (45min).
Carnew AFC: 1. Sean Kinsella, 2. Rob Young, 3. Johnny Smith, 4. Justin House, 5. Adam Doyle, 6. PJ O’Keeffe,
7. Graham Byrne, 8. James Behan, 9. Eoin Mulholland, 10. Cillian Gilligan,
11. John Kavanagh. Subs: Will O’Neill for John Kavanagh (45min), Brendan Mc Crea for Adam Doyle (45min), Conall McCrea for Rob Young (70min).
Referee: Michael Kennedy