Sporting Fingal 1-1 Sligo Rovers

• Niall Farrell
• Tue, Jul 06 2010


Both Sporting Fingal and Sligo Rovers will feel like they could have won, in a match which swung between both sides, but ultimately ended in a draw in Morton Stadium on Monday evening.

After just fifteen minutes Sligo took the lead through Eoin Doyle, although Doyle owed his goal largely to a defensive error by Lorcan Fitzgerald. John Russell crossed the ball from the right wing to the far post, where Fitzgerald chested the ball down for Doyle to finish.

Four minutes later Doyle almost turned the provider, playing Padraig Amond in on goal. Amond just missed out on a connection in front of goal.

The Bit O’Red played some champagne football, knocking the ball over and around Fingal players at will at times. Despite all of their wonderful football, Sligo couldn’t finish their hosts off with a second goal.

Rovers were made pay for their failure to score again on 32 minutes, with a Fingal goal that was somewhat against the run of play. A rare Fingal attack led to the ball bobbling loose to Conan Byrne outside the right edge of the Sligo penalty area. The midfielder struck the ball beautifully past Richard Brush in goal to level matters.

Fingal had another chance on thirty-nine minutes, but failed to capitalise on a poor fisted clearance from Brush. The first half was largely dominated by the away side, but it remained 1-1 going in to the half-time break.

Sligo emerged the side in the ascendancy, and had the bulk of possession for large swathes of the second half. Padraig Amond had a glorious chance to win the match on fifty-two minutes, after Richie Ryan played him in one-on-one on Brendan Clarke. Clarke was able to push Amond’s shot wide and out for a corner. That corner was Sligo’s tenth of the match, signifying the Bit O’Red’s domination of the match.

It was only in the final fifteen minutes that the away side’s dominance was reversed. On seventy-eight minutes Fingal, through Eamon Zayed, forced Richard Brush into another awkward clearance. Three minutes later, Fingal had their best chance since Conan Byrne’s goal. Alan Kirby cut inside and hit the ball well only to see it come back off the crossbar.

Conan Byrne then picked the ball up and shot in search of an almost certain goal, but Jim Laughlan cleared the ball off the line. On eighty-three minutes Kirby found Eamon Zayed at the near post with a cross but Zayed’s diving header went agonisingly over the crossbar.

Fingal had a final chance in stoppage time, but Eamon Zayed was snuffed out and the match ended 1-1.

Sporting Fingal: Brendan Clarke, Ger O’Brien, Shaun Williams, Colm James, Kenny Browne, Conan Byrne, Ronan Finn, Glen Crowe (Keith Quinn ’75), Alan Kirby, Shane McFaul (Eamon Zayed ’20)
Subs not used: Brian Gannon, Darren Quigley, Kevin Dawson

Sligo Rovers: Richard Brush, Alan Keane, Iarfhlaith Davoren, Jim Laughlan, Danny Ventre, Richie Ryan, John Dillon (Gary McCabe ’66), Padraig Amond (Lee McEvilly ’75), John Russell (Conor O’Grady ’85) , Joseph Ndo, Eoin Doyle
Substitutes not used: Derek Foran, Ciaran Kelly

Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin)
Attendance: 512
Extratime Man of the Match: Alan Keane