Flejszar nets injury-time winner for St Pat's
St Patrick's are through to the KCLR Shield semi-finals after scoring a late winner in a 2-1 win over Bagenalstown
St Patrick’s AFC booked their place in the semi-finals of the KCLR Shield with a dramatic victory over a youthful Bagenalstown side on Saturday night, with the winning goal arriving deep in added time.
The home side started brightly and created a couple of early openings through Scott Dunne and Jan Flejszar, but they were unable to find a breakthrough. Ricardo Da Silva also tested Bagenalstown goalkeeper Sean Treacy with a couple of efforts from distance. At the other end, Ryan Walsh and the experienced Mikey Whelan both warmed the gloves of the St Pat’s keeper as Bagenalstown settled into the contest.
With six youth players in their starting line-up and a number of others making their adult debuts, Bagenalstown more than held their own against the more experienced home side. As the half progressed, the game became a tight affair, with both teams battling hard in midfield but clear-cut chances were at a premium. Dylan Doyle and Boni Milinganyo were strong at the heart of the St Pat’s defence, while Luke Fitzpatrick and Brian Mafeni were involved in much of their attacking play. The sides went to the break scoreless.
The game opened up more after the restart. Bagenalstown had a great opportunity when Walsh was sent through one-on-one, only for the St Pat’s goalkeeper to produce an excellent save. St Pat’s had a big chance of their own, but Treacy responded with a fine stop.
The breakthrough finally arrived on 58 minutes. Fitzpatrick delivered a corner into the Bagenalstown area and Milinganyo rose highest to power a header home and put St Pat’s ahead.
Bagenalstown responded well and began to put the home defence under increasing pressure. Walsh, Whelan and Craig Fogarty all went close as the visitors searched for an equaliser. Their persistence was rewarded five minutes from time when youth player Daithi Roche stepped up to a free kick on the edge of the area and expertly found the bottom corner to make it 1-1.
With momentum behind them, Bagenalstown pushed for a winner and looked capable of completing the turnaround. However, just when the tie appeared destined for a penalty shootout, St Pat’s struck three minutes into added time. Ben Cullen released Dunne in behind the Bagenalstown defence and after a clever touch took him beyond the defender, Dunne unselfishly squared the ball across goal for Flejszar to tap home a dramatic winner.
It was a cruel ending for a young Bagenalstown side who had pushed St Pat’s all the way, but the home side held their nerve at the vital moment to secure victory.
Best for St Pat’s were Martin Doyle, Boni Milinganyo and Daniel Khijinski; best for Bagenalstown were Jamie Doody, Roy O’Neill and Diathi Roche.
New Oak booked their place in the next round with an impressive 5-1 victory over Slaney Rovers at Graiguecullen on Sunday morning, although it was the visitors who made the brighter start.
Slaney travelled in good form and were rewarded after five minutes when good build-up play by Dylan Mahoney created the opening for Keelan Byrne, who finished well to give the visitors an early lead.
New Oak responded well to falling behind and began to dominate possession. Davy Doyle and Cian Cleary combined superbly on the edge of the area before the lively Cleary finished off an excellent move to bring the home side level.
The hosts continued to press, although Slaney defended well and worked hard to keep New Oak at bay. The pressure eventually told when Kealan Brennan delivered a superb ball for Charlie Nolan, who made no mistake to put New Oak 2-1 ahead before the interval.
New Oak carried that momentum into the second half, with Brennan continuing to cause Slaney problems on the wing. Once again, he picked out Nolan, who finished another well-worked move to grab his second and extend the advantage to 3-1.
Davy Doyle then got his name on the scoresheet when he converted a free kick to make it 4-1 to leave Slaney with a mountain to climb.
Despite the scoreline, Slaney continued to battle, with Dylan Mahoney, Kyle Byrne and Keith Curran working hard for the visitors. However, New Oak had the final say in the closing minutes. Cormac Murphy produced an excellent pass through the Slaney defence to release Nolan, who fired home to complete his hat-trick and round off an easy victory.
After being caught cold by Slaney’s excellent start, New Oak produced a strong response and an impressive attacking display, with Nolan’s hat-trick the highlight.
Best for New Oak were Charlie Nolan, Cian Cleary and Cormac Murphy; best for Slaney Rovers were Dylan Mahoney, Kyle Byrne and Keith Curran.
Hanover booked their place in the semi-finals with an emphatic victory over Nurney Villa on Sunday morning, with a devastating first half spell doing most of the damage.
Both sides started brightly and Nurney created two early openings in the Hanover penalty area, but on both occasions the visitors defended well to block the danger. Hanover also threatened from a couple of free kicks without seriously testing the Nurney goalkeeper.
After a relatively even opening 25 minutes, Hanover began to take control, moving the ball well as they looked for gaps in the Nurney defence. The breakthrough arrived on 26 minutes when Cian Ray released Danny Thompson, who unselfishly squared across goal for Joe Doran to tap home.
That goal opened the floodgates as Hanover produced a devastating spell before the interval. Two minutes later, Eoghan Byrne picked up possession deep before driving forward and firing a superb effort into the top corner from the edge of the area to double the advantage.
Liam Ryan then capitalised on a misplaced back pass and calmly found the bottom corner for 3-0. Byrne grabbed his second shortly afterwards, converting from close range following good work by Leon Fitzgerald before Ryan added his second five minutes before the break to send Hanover into half-time with a commanding 5-0 lead.
Hanover made a number of changes at the interval and Nurney responded well in the second half. The home side worked hard to keep the visitors at bay and prevent further concessions for much of the half.
Hanover eventually added their sixth in the final ten minutes when Ray got the goal his performance deserved. Nurney were then reduced to ten men late on before Byrne completed the scoring and his hat-trick with Hanover’s seventh, rounding off an impressive team performance.
Best for Nurney Villa were Jordan Doyle, Sonaal Rawat and Sean D’Arcy.
