Shoot-out success for Avenue and Connolly

AVENUE, Connolly and Ennis Town Rock recorded good wins in the Munster Junior Cup at the weekend when two of the games needed a penalty shoot-out to provide a winner.

Avenue United A 2   Newmarket Celtic A 2 (AET)
Avenue won 3-1 on penalties

AVENUE progressed to the next round of the Munster competition defeating great rivals, Newmarket Celtic in a penalty shoot-out.
The winners got off to a dream start with a goal from Mikey Mahoney after a minute. Newmarket fought back and levelled through Stephen Kelly before taking the lead, just before half-time, through Daithi O’Connell.
Ten minutes into the second half, David Russell equalised for the eventual winners.
Ten minutes from the end, John Healy produced a good save from Eoin Hayes. With time almost up, Newmarket goalie Trevor O’Donnell produced an outstanding save from Alex Ezuko.
The Newmarket goalie produced an equally excellent save at the end of extra time, this time from Barry Nugent, to keep the sides level.
In the penalty shoot-out, Newmarket’s Eoin Hayes saw his effort saved by Healy, before Barry Nugent gave the winners the lead. Kieran Devitt for Newmarket and David Russell scored, before Newmarket’s Darren Cullinan saw his effort hit the post. David Herlihy scored for Avenue, who were two clear at this stage.
Mattie Nugent missed for Avenue, as did Seamie Lawlor for Newmarket, to put Avenue safely into the next round.
Avenue United A: John Healy; Simon Cuddy, Mattie Nugent, Dylan Casey, David Russell; Gary Flynn, Con Collins, David Herlihy, David Smith; Mikey Mahoney, Barry Nugent.
Subs: Alex Ezuko for Collins and Colm Mullen for Flynn.
Newmarket Celtic A: Trevor O’Donnell; Seamus Lawlor, Mark Donlon, Enda Kelly, Darren Cullinan; Stephen Kelly, Mike Devitt, Colin Ryan, Eoin O’Brien; Daithi O’Connell, Ronan McCormack.
Subs: Kieran Devitt for O’Connell, Eoin Hayes for C Ryan and David O’Grady for McCormack.

Connolly Celtic 2   Shannon Olympic AFC A 2 (AET)
Connolly won 3-1 on penalties

SHANNON Olympic A were knocked out of the cup by a strong and physical Connolly Celtic side on Sunday morning.
Played in cold, bright conditions, but on a very difficult pitch, the game got off to a slow start, with both sides struggling to come to terms with the slippery conditions.
The game only really came to life in the second half when substitute Jan Feich found himself with some time and space in the Olympic penalty area. He finished well past McGettrick in the visitors’ goal on 66 minutes.
The away side reacted well to this setback and Richie Hanly should have equalised, just two minutes later, when he shot over from 12 yards, after great work by Eamonn Power. Hanly made up for this miss when he finished well, after being sent clear by Jason Regan, in the 72nd minute.
Connolly restored their lead in the 75th minute when John Kelly hit a free kick from 40 yards through McGettrick’s hands and into the top right corner of the net.
The away side got back on terms just three minutes later when Richie Hanly was again sent clear by Jason Regan and the Shannon man passed the ball into the top corner.
This was the final goal from open play and despite 20 minutes of extra time, the game came down to the lottery of penalties, in which Connolly prevailed, winning by a scoreline of 3-1. Connolly’s penalty scorers were Kenneth Kennedy, John Kelly and Kieran Dillon. Goalkeeper Niall Quinn saved two of Olympic’s spot kicks.
Shannon Olympic A: Gary McGettrick; David Collins, Karl Fogarty, Ian Hogan, Ciarán Keane, Eamonn O’Neill, Donncadh Kelly, Ray Quigley, Jason Regan, Richie Hanly, Deaglan McDonald.
Sub: Sean O’Connor.
Connolly Celtic: Niall Quinn; Barry Lynch, Alan Markham, Keith O’Looney, Kieran Dillon, Ken Kennedy, Bernard Field, John Kelly, Mickey Byrnes, Pat Hogan, Brendan Dillon.
Subs: Jan Feich, Shane O’Connor and Sean Courtney.

Ennis Town Rock 5   Burren United 0

ENNIS Town Rock scored a comfortable win over Burren United in their third-round tie at Lees Road on Sunday. Stephen Hickey scored a hat-trick for the winners, one from the penalty spot, while Eoin Glynn and Marty McLoughlin also found the target. They had led 3-0 at the break.
Burren created a few chances in the first half but defensive errors proved costly for the North Clare outfit.
Ennis Town Rock: Eric Murphy; Barry Woods, Ronan Judge, Jacko White, Shane Daniels, Adrian Walsh, Eoin Glynn, Daryl Eade, Ritchie Neylon, Stephen Hickey, Niall McNevin.
Subs: Marty McLoughlin, Gary Walsh and Dean Gardiner.
Burren United: Craig Flanagan; Michael Keating, Dan Carey, Eric Murrihy, Barry O’Grady; Alex Garcia, Marine Gihat, Danny Burke, John McDonagh, Martin McDonagh, Pat Nagle.
Subs: Liam Keane and James Keating.