Hoop dreams for Gary O'Neill

It has been quite the year for Gary O'Neill who proved to be cup winner for Shamrock Rovers as the Hoops put 32 years of hurt behind them as they won their 25th FAI Cup crown. 

O'Neill began the season with a UCD side feted for a long relegation battle. Having finished his university studies, O’Neill made the transition to full time football with Shamrock Rovers in the summer. 

He was propelled into Rovers’ European campaign and scored the winner against SK Brann in Tallaght Stadium. He helped the Hoops to second place in the league and put in a man-of-the-match performance in the 2-0 FAI Cup semi-final win over Bohs. 

He described that win at the time as “probably the best night I’ve had in football in my career so far in terms of the magnitude of the game, with it being live on television and the opposition” but safe to say that at Sunday’s showdown at the Aviva Stadium the 24-year-old stepped it up again. 

He anchored the Hoops midfield in front of 33,111 spectators and scored the winning pressure penalty to secure Rovers first FAI Cup success in 32 years.

“At the start of the season when I was with UCD, I had a lot different expectations,” said O’Neill speaking with extratime.ie reporter Oisín Langan after the game. 

“My goal was probably to avoid relegation. To be sitting here in the Aviva having played 120 minutes and scoring the winning penalty, it is stuff that you can only dream of.”

It looked like Aaron McEneff’s late peno was going to win the cup final for Rovers but Dundalk’s injury time equaliser meant the Rovers had to dig deep to recover in extra-time. Eight years ago in their last cup final appearance, the Hoops missed all four penalties.

This time around there would be no repeat of that for Rovers. Alan Mannus was in goal for Rovers in 2010. This season the keeper kept 21 clean sheets in the league and saved three spot kicks.

The Hoops goalkeeper looked like he had done his homework on Dundalk's penalty takers. The Rovers number one went the correct way three out of four times.



With Daniel Cleary clipping one off the bar and Mannus saving Michael Duffy’s effort, it was left to O’Neill to slot home the winning peno – not that he knew that was quite the task when he was walking up from the centre circle towards the south end of the stadium where the Rovers supporters were gathered.

“I wasn’t aware that I was going to take the winning penalty until I went up to the penalty spot and referee Derek Tomney said to me ‘If you score this, it is over.’ I wasn’t counting them, I just knew Al was saving them. 

“At UCD I was the penalty taker but I’d never taken one like that. I embraced that pressure. Aaron McEneff was taking the fifth one and he said could he take the fourth. I said no as I fancied myself to take this one even though I didn’t know it could be the winner. I took it and luckily that is all she wrote. 

“I hadn’t experienced playing in anything like that. The whole magnitude of the day, with Shamrock Rovers being starved of silverware for so many years - to bring the trophy back to the club for those fans, it will be something that will live with me forever.”

Additional reporting by Oisin Langan

    About Macdara Ferris

    Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile