- Brendan Graham
- Thu, Apr 12 2018
Dundalk qualified for the last eight of the EA Sports Cup as they edged out St Patrick's Athletic 8-7 on penalties in one of the most exciting games ever seen in the competition.
The teams couldn't be separated within 120 minutes after three goals from Mick Leahy – one an own goal – and one from Dane Massey in extra time saw the game finish 4-4.
Dundalk opened the scoring after just four minutes with a moment Tyson Farago will want to forget.
He dwelled far too long on the ball after a back pass from Leahy and Dundalk striker Tagbajumi nicked the ball from his feet and poked the ball into the net to give Stephen Kenny’s side the perfect start.
The first chance for St. Pats came seven minutes into the game and it fell to midfielder Graham Kelly who gave Sava his first touch of the ball and a routine save to make.
Ronan Murray was next to go close for Dundalk with a powerful free kick towards goal narrowly clearing the cross bar.
Kenny will have been very happy with how his side settled into the game, far quicker than the home side, and Tagbajumi almost had his second of the night shortly after.
A fine pass through the middle from Ronan Murray left him in behind the Pats defence but his touch gave Leahy just enough time to get the block in and send the ball out for a corner.
Gabriel Sava was given his first real test of the game close to the half hour mark, an Ian Turner free kick stinging the palms of the goalkeeper, but he never really looked troubled.
Sava was again tested towards the end of the half from a Markey shot.
The ball fell to Markey just on the edge of the box and he took a touch and turned his man before driving a powerful shot towards the bottom corner. Sava just about got fingers to it and keep his goal intact.
Dundalk deservedly doubled their lead in the last kick of the first half with Ronan Murray stroking a low shot into the corner of the goal, a shot Farago really should have done better with.
The second half began just as the first ended with Dundalk on top in midfield but Pats pulled a goal back against the run of the play with their hard work and graft paying off.
Christy Fagan scored the goal of the night, a rocket of a shot past Sava with the ball falling nicely for him after a scissor kick across the box from Ian Turner.
Two minutes later the Saints were level and it was no less than they deserved, with a renewed confidence and a real sense of purpose coming from their opener
Graham Kelly was the goalscorer, tapping the ball home from close range after a Doona cross from the right caused mayhem in the box and Kelly was quickest to react to a Fagan flick and level the game up.
Pats were a completely different side in the second half, battling for absolutely everything.
Tagbajumi had a chance to put a stop to the Pats momentum when he found himself clean through on goal.
He chose the wrong option by attempting to side foot the ball into the corner past Farago but the goalie got down very well to keep the sides level.
There were no more chances of note in the closing minutes and Liam Buckley will have been delighted with the hunger and hard work his players showed in the second half to get themselves back into the game and send the match to extra time.
The comeback was complete minutes into the start of extra time with a goal off the shoulder from defender Michael Leahy getting the biggest roar of the night from the home crowd as they took the lead for the first time on the night and gave themselves the perfect start to extra time.
So they thought, for a few minutes anyway, until Leahy scored again but at the wrong end this time to cap off a crazy few minutes for the Pats defender and amazingly level the game at three goals each.
Leahy couldn’t stop scoring and found the net at the correct end once again minutes later to score his third of the night and give Pats their fourth and the lead once more.
The Saints tried to hold out but amazingly second half substitute Dane Massey powered home a header from a cross on the right back across the box and into the roof of the net to level the game at 4-4 with seconds of the game remaining.
That was to be the last piece of action from a pulsating end to end game for a Monday night in the League Cup.
The game concluded in a penalty shootout with some fine penalties on display, and it was left to Tagbajumi to win it for Dundall after Markey put his spot-kick over.
St.Patricks Athletic: Tyson Farago, Michael Barker (Kevin Toner 85), Lee Desmond, Mick Leahy, Graham Kelly; James Doona, Darragh Markey, Jamie Lennon, Ian Turner (Dean Clarke 80), Thomas Byrne (Madden 55); Christy Fagan.
Booked: Michael Barker (35).
Dundalk: Gabriel Sava; Georgie Poynton, Brian Gartland, Stephen Folan, Dean Jarvis (Dane Massey 93); John Mountney, Stephen O'Donnell, Dylan Connolly, Ronan Murray (Kristian Adjornan 63), Sam Byrne (McGrath 65); Marco Tagbajumi
Booked: Stephen O’Donnell (27), Marco Tagbajumi (35), Brian Gartland (107).
Referee: Adriano Reale
Extratime.ie Player of the Match: Michael Leahy (St Patrick's Athletic).
