Salesian College, Celbridge 3
Bolger 13, D: Mullen 42, Brown 80
Deele College, Raphoe 3
R: Laird 10, Bonner 28, C: Laird 40
AET, Salesians won 5/3 on penalties
by John Ryan, Liffey Champion at Athlone IT
Availing of a strong breeze, Deele College were certainly the quickest out of the blocks and within ten minutes of the kick/off they broke the deadlock, Reece Laird taking full advantage of a mix/up in the Salesians defence before lifting a subtle effort over goalkeeper Paul Geraghty:
Physically bigger, Salesians weren’t long chasing the game and within three minutes they clawed themselves back on level pegging, Bolger hooking to the net from six yards after Deele failed to deal with a in/swinging Declan Molloy corner from the left:
Unfortunately though, that was as good as it got for the Celbridge outfit during the first half, Geraghty forced to push over Laird’s sizzling effort from 20 yards before the Donegal boys’ dominance finally paid off in the 28th minute following yet another defensive lapse:
This time both Bolger and Geraghty were at fault, the former failing to attack a booming clearance from Irish international goalkeeper Ciaran Gallagher while the latter hesitated long enough to allow Shane Bonner in to lift the ball over him from 12 yards:
That second Deele goal went a long way in silencing Salesians who were handed a respite ten minutes before half/time when Tone was forced to momentarily call a halt to proceedings following a torrential downpour of hail but when play resumed three minutes later, Gallagher proved equal to Paul O’Brien’s 20 yard effort before he was handed the benefit of the doubt when he appeared to upend Tomás Boyle inside the area:
But Deele’s unrelenting attacking powers - which included midfield anchor man Ciaran Coll who recently signed for Scottish outfit Hearts - finally yielded a third goal five minutes before half/time, Laird getting the better of Andrew Walsh before Geraghty failed to hold his weak cross that allowed Cathal Laird to tap in from a matter of feet:
Down but certainly not out as Salesians immediately recognised their own pitfall, the game was back in the melting pot ahead of the second half when Dan Mullen - handed a starting berth in the absence of the influential captain Robert Creevy in the middle of the park - bundled home at the near post minutes before the interval to hand the Kildare outfit a lifeline:
The second half, with Celbridge now playing with the elements, was, for most, a one/sided affair and only the heroics of Gallagher denied this encounter ending in a land/slide for a rejuvenated Salesians side:
Jordan Mullen headed wide within minutes of the restart when he probably should have done better and with the impetus certainly with Salesians as they pushed numbers forward, one believed that the equaliser was only a matter of time:
Bolger powered another header over the top in the 67th minute as Jean Diansumba down the right and substitute Michael Brown began to stamp their mark on proceedings before Gallagher pushed away the latter’s 18 yard effort:
12 minutes from time Gallagher again denied Salesians, this time Diansumba foiled but as the Celbridge side’s management team contemplated pushing Bolger up front and leaving just three at the back, the inevitable happened when Jordan Mullen scored in the 80th minute, diverting the ball into the net after Diansumba’s back post effort cannoned back off the foot of the upright:
The requirement of extra/time failed to halt Salesians in their stride and Gallagher again proved equal to Diansumba’s effort inside five minutes: The Donegal goalkeeper, just minutes into the second period of extra/time, then somehow managed to get a hand to Brown’s 30 yard effort despite appearing stranded outside his six yard box:
Chance continued to come thick and fast for Salesians with Deele restricted to the odd fruitless counter/attack - one which saw Salesian’s Philip Connolly dismissed for a second bookable offence - but when the additional periods couldn’t come up with a winner, spot/kicks were beckoned for:
Salesians drew the first psychological blow when Diansumba converted the first spot kick and five more followed from either side before Tone intervened: Firstly, after insisting that Daniel Houlihan retake Deele’s fourth penalty which he ironically missed at the second time of asking, Tone dismissed O’Brien for dissent and within seconds Gallagher followed for a similar offence, leaving Bolger with the opportunity to convert the winner:
SALESIANS: Paul Geraghty, Andrew Walsh, Eoin Powderly, Cian Bolger, Philip Connolly, Tomás Boyle, Declan Molloy, Dan Mullen, Jean Diansumba, Paul O’Brien, Jordan Mullen: SUBS: Michael Brown for Molloy (58 mins); Kevin Molloy for Mullen (90 mins);
DEELE COLLGE: Ciaran Gallagher, Barry O’Donnell, Johnny McGinty, Daniel Dordy, Richard Devanney, Patrick Gallagher, Ciaran Coll, Christy Buggle, Cathal Laird, Shane Bonner, Reece Laird: SUBS: Daniel Houlihan for Cathal Laird (65 mins); Oisin Grant for Devanney (90 mins):
REFEREE: Paul Tone (Athlone):
END