Blarney 0 - 2 Sporting Fingal

• Joseph Sexton
• Sat, Jun 13 2009


Munster Senior League premier division side Blarney United put up a spirited display against first division Sporting Fingal at O’Shea Park on Friday night. Having fallen behind to an early Eamon Zayed strike the hosts rallied well and matched their opponents for most of the remainder of this third-round tie. But a further lapse shortly before the interval allowed Sporting’s Conan Byrne to secure his side’s passage to the next round.

Blarney looked ponderous in the opening moments but still carved out a decent opening after three minutes when full-back John Meade broke free on the the left. His flighted cross found its way through to Ray O’Leary but Sporting’s Darren Quigley was well placed to save the header.

Sporting were angling for the killer ball at the opposite end of the field and hit the jackpot two minutes later. With the hosts high defensive line in rag order, Ross Gaynor broke free before cutting the ball back behind a panicky back-line and the unmarked Eamon Zayed cooly side-footed past James McCarthy.

The Dublin side threatened to run away with the game for much of the opening quarter-hour. Shaun Williams drew a fine save with a thirty yard free-kick before the visitors were denied a second by a marginal offside call. Conan Byrne might have done better in the 17th minute when he lifted the ball over the bar after dashing on to a through ball.

Williams again came close on 25 minutes, forcing a corner with a long-distance effort. Blarney then had their best chance of the half as Mark Clifford got on the end of a John Hogan cross. They came close again several minutes later when Hogan saw his free-kick parried clear.

Fingal continued to look menacing on the break. With Blarney attacking in a numbers, a smart break four minutes before the interval culminated in a fine finish by Byrne to make it 2-0.

Blarney boss Finbarr Hogan had some choice words for his charges at half-time and his side opened the second period in a frenzied manner, winning four corners in as many minutes.

The closest they came to reducing the deficit during this opening flurry resulted from the penultimate corner with Conor Meade retrieving a clearance. The forward found himself in plenty of space having skipped past a tackle and drove a fierce effort towards the target which Quigley did well to tip over the bar.

Blarney kept their opponents pegged back, and Hogan split Sporting’s defence with a delicately-weighted through ball on 55 minutes. Conor Meade elected to lob the ball over the onrushing Quigley and was desperately unlucky to his effort clip the top of the bar. A minute later the forward came close again, but his free kick whistled inches over the frame of the goal.

Fingal began to get to grips with their opponents midway through the half, with Williams long distance effort 65 minutes in representing their first real foray forward since the break. But Meade still looked the likeliest to score at the other end, punching a long-range effort narrowly wide as the game entered its final quarter-hour.

Zayed spurned a golden opportunity four minutes from time, with James McCarthy rushing out smartly to block at the former Drogheda striker’s feet. The danger hadn’t passed however as Williams proceeded to head narrowly over.

Substitute Robert Bayly embarked on a mazy run for the visitors in stoppage time before shooting wide from outside the area. In the dying seconds Lorcan Fitzgerald was booked for diving and Blarney tore down the field. Quigley spilled a rasping shot from defender Kenneth Coleman and was grateful to see the ball hacked clear as the final whistle sounded.

Blarney United: James McCarthy; Stephen Jennings, Kenneth Coleman, Aiden Leahy, John Meade; Ray O’Leary, Mark Clifford, David Ahern, John Hogan; Conor Meade, Gary O’Riordan Subs: John Gaffney for Jennings (53); Edwin Buckley for Clifford (66); Liam O’Connor for Ahern (84) Not used: Shane Barrett.

Sporting Fingal: Darren Quigley; Brain Gannon, Shaun Williams, Lorcan Fitzgerald, John Frost; Conan Byrne, Gareth Whelan, Shane McFaul, Ross Gaynor; Eamon Zayed, Alan Kirby Subs: Robert Bayly for Shane McFaul (72); Gary O’Neill for Ross Gaynor (83); Fiachra McArdle for Conan Byrne (89) Not used: Colm James, Robbie Horgan.

Referee: Anthony Buttimer

Extratime.ie man of the match: Eamon Zayed. The former under-21 international took his goal well, and proved a constant thorn in the side of the home defence. Whether linking play with his back to goal or embarking on penetrative runs, Zayed looked a cut above the rest on a night where some of his colleagues appeared jittery on occasion.