Blast from the Blast. November 2003.
Pics: 22nd November 2003
Kepple whacks in the decisive penalty as Village pip Grattan in FAI shootout!
Eyes on the ball. Grattan's Barry O'Rourke is on full alert.
FAI JUNIOR CUP
Village United 2 Grattan United 2
(Village won 4-3 on penalties after extra time)
Sub Leslie Kepple whacked in the decisive penalty, the last of the regulation ten, as Village Utd advanced to the open draw of this season’s Statoil FAI Junior Cup with a thrilling shootout win over visitors Grattan Utd.
Jinty O'Sullivan (Village) converts his shootout spotter.
The Silverheights encounter promised much – and it delivered. The homesters raced into an early two-goal lead but had a man sent off midway through the first half.
Jinty O’Sullivan was switched back to a sweeper role, and Village held out until midway through the second half. Grattan then pulled one back and soon added another to take the tie to extra time. By that time, Grattan themselves were down to ten, one of their players having picked up a second yellow with five minutes of normal time left.
Grattan's Darren Geaney (left) on the ball
Grattan endured a torrid start at Silverheights and found themselves two down after about ten minutes. It could have been worse. In the 2nd minute, Brian Sheehan chipped the ball over Adam Lynch but was just off target.
Sheehan soon got another opportunity and opened the account thanks to a pass by Eric Burns. The Village account soon swelled to two, with Conan Burns on target from an acute angle. Terry Lotty was outstanding for Village at this point, and it was he who set up the second.
Grattan's Barry O'Rourke and keeper Adam Lynch combine to halt Village attack.
The village suffered a blow in the 22nd minute when their top defender was red-carded after a tangle with Darren Geaney. But the home side still had the better of it and came ever so close to a third in the 31st minute. Then, a Jinty free broke loose in the box, and both Lotty and Sheehan had shots blocked. The ball rebounded unpredictably in the six-yard area before going behind off a Village player.
Village player Jinty O'Sullivan on the run.
And Grattan was lucky again in the 38th minute. Then Sheehan reached a long free in by Rob O'Regan, but his gentle touch, enough to beat Lynch, was inches wide.
Grattan, inspired by their two-goal comeback against Glencairn in a previous round, took the game to Village after the break. And they came close in the 54th minute. Then, after a period of pressure on the right, young John Kearney, who had played with the AUL youths in the Cross on Friday night, squared the ball to John Paul O'Sullivan, but he found keeper Jamie Donovan at his feet as he shot.
And Kearney was involved as Grattan pulled one back in the 68th minute. He found Mark O'Sullivan on the right. O'Sullivan jinked his way past the defence, and his low cross was perfect for Darren Geaney, who shot high past Donovan's left hand and into the top corner.
AUL Youth ace John Kearney takes the ball away from the grounded Village player Clive Hurley
It was a sweet strike that inspired Grattan, and they equalised in the 74th minute. This time there was a little bit of luck. An attempted Village clearance rebounded across the box. Mark O’Sullivan latched onto it, and his cool finish past the advancing Donovan made it all square.
Grattan was now going for it, but Donovan was defiant. In the 79th minute, Mark O’Sullivan and sub Damien Peelo combined and set up Geaney, but the keeper saved as he did five minutes later when Denis Cremin’s cross found Eric Shinkwin.
Grattan lost their man advantage in the 85th minute. John Paul O’Sullivan kicked the ball away and picked up his second yellow from referee Flor Mehigan.
Grattan defender Denis Cremin has his eye on the ball. His Village opponent hasn't.
Village was unlucky not to take the tie in the first period of extra time. Alan O'Brien's shot from the left came off the bar, and sub Will O’Callaghan let fly but was blocked at close quarters by the defence.
The most significant move of the second period was the introduction of Kepple by the Village management trio, a move that would pay dividends when he slotted home the final penalty of the ten-kick shootout. Fellow subs Cooney and O'Callaghan, along with the ever-dependable Jinty, had previously netted for the winners, who had been given a first-exchange boost by Donovan's save.
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