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Ten-man Rashenny crash out
27.03.09
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Carrowmena...1 (Gillen 43) Rashenny ...1 (Toland 83) (Aet. Carrowmena won 3-1 on penalties) by Liam Porter, Inishowen Independent Two penalty shoot-out saves from goalkeeper Michael Noone helped Carrowmena through to the next round of the Fr. O’Gara cup against a ten-man Rashenny outfit who had battled back gamely in defence of the cup they had won last year. A strong and swirling wind made conditions for the teams extremely difficult, but the visitors had their hopes hampered even further when midfielder Sean Toland received a second yellow card on the half-hour and was sent for an early shower. In all honesty he was probably lucky to have survived that long, getting only a yellow for an altercation in the 14th minute with Carrowmena’s Jonathan McLaughlin when he might well have seen red. When he tangled again with McLaughlin in the 29th minute he was never going to escape and after that his side would be left with a mountain to climb. |
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They had already found
themselves hemmed in for long periods of the first half,
as much by the wind as by anything creative from the
home side, but it was all more or less Carrowmena in the
first half even if they didn’t really trouble Kieran
Friel in the visiting goal too much. In Jonathan McLaughlin Carrowmena did at least have by far and away the best player on show on the day, while the lively Matthew Henry was always a threat when the home side managed to get the ball to him. He was the first player to get away a shot in anger, but his 5th minute shot aided by the wind was in more danger of troubling the spectators in the cars on the hill behind the goal than it was the visiting keeper. Three minutes later James Gillen fired in a low free-kick that really just needed a touch to direct it goalward while McLaughlin and Henry combined in the 19th minute only for the alert Paul McGonigle to snuff out the danger. The first strike that called Friel into action followed Toland’s dismissal, but Gillen’s long range strike well dealt with by the Rashenny keeper. Three minutes later Matthew Henry came much closer with a rasping drive from the edge of the box, |
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but once again Friel was
equal to the danger and tipped the shot over in style. However the home side finally did break the deadlock just two minutes before the break, albeit in fortuitous fashion. A long range free-kick from the left from James Gillen eluded everyone in the packed penalty box and flew into the top corner to the disbelief of the visitors. Had they held until half-time and with the wind at the backs in the second half, they might have fancied their chances. But now, they’d have to do it the hard way. And they started brightly with a header from Paul McGonigle flashing just past the post in the 50th minute. Carrowmena responded with an excellent mazy run from Matthew Henry, but his tame shot at the end posed no danger for Friel. Michael Toland who came more and more into the game in the second half as the visitors upped their game despite their numerical disadvantage, fired in a fierce long distance drive just past the hour mark that had Noone scrambling to save. However despite their pressure the visitors too were struggling to create clear cut chances and it looked as if they might not be rewarded for their hard work. Then, with just seven minutes left on the clock Toland stepped up to rattle in a magnificent free-kick to the top corner from almost the same spot as the first half goal. The sides were level and the holders were still in with a chance of defending their trophy. In fairness to Carrowmena they did respond to the goal and might have snatched a win at the death. They fluffed a header from close range when they should have hit the target and substitute Damien McGonigle was left to curse a heavy touch that saw the ball run to keeper Friel just when it looked as if he was clean through. In extra time too they had the best chances. McLaughlin rattled the crossbar with a header while two minutes from the end John Paul Doherty got in a terrific block to deny James Gillen a second and surely a winning goal. After that it was all down to the lottery of the penalty shoot-out. Both teams started well with Toland and Gillen finding the target. But then Michael Grant skied his effort as Paul Duffy rolled his into the corner and then John Doherty saw his shot saved by Noone as McClenaghan also rolled his home. Carrowmena: Michael Noone, Andrew McLaughlin, Ruairi Dougal, James Gillen, Paul Duffy, James Henry, Jonathan McLaughlin, Patrick McClenaghan, Matthew Henry, Brian Orr. Subs: Damien McConigle for Orr (75 mins) Rashenny: Kieran Friel, Anthony Dohety, James McGonigle, John Doherty, Paul McGonigle, Sean Toland, Brian Devlin, Michael Toland, Michael Grant, Michael Doherty, John McLaughlin. Subs: Sean Paul Doherty for J McGonigle (65 mins) For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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