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Inishowen through to the
semi-finals
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Inishowen League...1 AUL Dublin...1 (AET – Inishowen won 4-3 on penalties) by Liam Porter, Inishowen Independent, at Caratra Park, Culdaff THEY might have forked out €7,000 to fly to Donegal for their Oscar Traynor quarter-final with Inishowen on Saturday, but the AUL were certainly brought down to earth with a bang in Culdaff by a fantastic battling performance from an Inishowen side who were never prepared to say they were beaten. Not only did the local lads fall behind during the game, they also fell behind in the penalty shoot-out, but with true grit and determination they fought back to take a fantastic victory over a Dublin outfit who were not only favourites to win this trophy outright, but who had also not even conceded a goal in the competition until Saturday. |
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Goalkeeper Gerard Crossan
was a real Inishowen hero as he made a string of
excellent saves in the match and then saved twice in the
penalty shoot-out, but there were some other excellent
individual displays in what really was a performance
built on team-work and determination. Central defenders Martin Farren and Dermot Diver were superb throughout against a lively AUL pairing while the performances of Aidan Doherty and Anthony Doherty epitomised the never say die attitude of the local men. The visitors came into the game as red hot favourites. With one of the biggest pools of players to choose from in the country, the Dubliners were beaten in the semi-finals last year and winners the year before. And the air of professionalism they exuded in their preparations was no doubt as much about making their opponents seem insecure as it was about getting the best of their own lads. One official insisted that these junior players would be stiff as a board if they had to get off a bus and play a |
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match, this coming a day
after St. Pat’s had bussed into Ballybofey and soundly
thrashed Finn Harps. For a while in the first half it looked as if the mind games might have worked. After a frantic opening ten minutes when neither side really settled into a pattern, it was the visitors who eventually settled best into their stride. Their passing was just a little slicker than the home side who almost seemed to be giving their opponents too much respect and the visitors then carved Inishowen open with a clever move in the 19th minute. Centre forward Terence Corbally chested the ball into the path of his strike partner Gareth Murphy, but Crossan made a brilliant save to deny the striker from close range. Three minutes later he was called into action again, this time diving smartly to his left to save after a long range free into the box from William Molloy eluded all the defenders and almost creeped into the bottom corner. After that Inishowen came more and more into the game with Steve Harkin and John McFeely getting a little more time on the ball in midfield, but the best they could manage in terms of a chance was a header over the bar from the hard-working Anthony Doherty from a McFeely corner. It looked as if the sides would go in level at the break until a cross from the left from William Murphy found Joseph Flood at the back post. He headed back across the face of the goal towards Murphy whose presence was enough to put Crossan off and somehow Flood’s header looped all the way into the bottom corner. It was a cruel blow on Inishowen so close to half time, but they came out with renewed energy in the second half and really put it up to the Dubliners who before yesterday were favourites to win the competition. With Martin Farren and Dermot Diver snuffing out attack after attack the Dubliners just couldn’t find that elusive second goal and they were made to pay in the 73rd minute when AUL keeper Anthony McGuinness couldn’t hold Nigel McMonagle’s shot and Anthony Doherty chased the loose ball down before tucking it into the net from the tightest of angles. It was the first goal the Dubliners had conceded in the competition and it really knocked the stuffing out of them as Inishowen finished strongly forcing a number of corners in the latter stages. However they couldn’t find the net in the closing minutes either and despite dominating extra time in which a number of the AUL players suffered from cramp the game went to the lottery of a penalty shoot out. Even then the home side did it that hard way by missing their first and seeing the AUL score, but those two fantastic saves from Crossan rescued the situation and then Doherty who had scored the all-important equaliser stepped up to fire home and send Inishowen through to the semi-finals. Inishowen League: Gerard Crossan, Aidan Doherty, Brian Tracey, Martin Farren, Dermot Diver, John McFeeley, Anthony Doherty, Steve Harkin, Joe Doherty, Nigel McMonagle, Philip McGuinness. Subs: Gavin McCauley for Philip McGuinness (56); Terry McColgan for Joe Doherty (59); Michael Devlin for Nigel McMonagle (84); Paul Hegarty, Niall McDaid, Noel McDermott (Not Used). AUL: Anthony McGuinness, Liam Tiernan, Christopher Sheridan, Darren Murphy, Wesley Doyle, Darren O’Brien, Joseph Flood, Alan Barrett, Terence Corbally, Gareth Murphy, William Molloy. Subs: Darren Dunne for Molloy (73); Martin Somers for Joe Flood (84). For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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