Mervue United advanced to the third round of the FAI Junior Cup on Sunday morning after a deserved win at Westside. These sides had met in the same competition last year, and although the victors never looked like repeating that four goal triumph, it was still a satisfying victory for Paugie Kilgannon’s side.
Scoring chances were few and far between in the first half as a lack of creativity and good defensive work from both sides meant both ‘keepers were rarely tested.
Rangers’ winger Ronan Quilivan had a shot from outside the box that went harmlessly wide before Ollie Rafferty struck a free kick straight at Trevor Garvey in the Mervue goal.
It wasn’t until the half-hour mark that we saw the first clear-cut chance and when it came, the away side should have taken the lead. Darren Smith beat the offside trap and his pinpoint cross from the left wing landed on the head of Noel McDonnell but he somehow missed from point blank range.
However long time servant McDonnell made up for his miss in style with the interval fast approaching. Emlyn Coyne chested a ball down into his path and he drilled a low shot past Ryan Griffin from the edge of the square.
One of the stand-out features of the second half was the lack of discipline in the home side. How referee John Doyle only booked one player for dissent is a total mystery. He was subjected to regular abuse during this period.
Corrib Rangers thought they had drawn level after ten minutes but Conor Clery’s effort was ruled out by the ref who was perfectly positioned to spot that Clery was offside. Shortly afterwards the striker had a close range effort blocked by the alert Robert Connolly.
After that it was Mervue United who had the chances to extend their lead and Sumit Chawla was at the centre of everything good they did. Midway through the half Darren Smith sent Chawla away and he easily rounded Griffin only to see Martin O’Connor clear his shot off the line.
Then a Shane Kelly header was finished to the net by Chawla but it was ruled out for offside.
The home side threw everything at the visitors in the final minutes, but marshalled by the excellent Ger McGrath, the Mervue defence stood strong.
Corrib Rangers: Ryan Griffin, Brian O’Halloran, Gary Murray, Martin O’Connor, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Ollie Rafferty, Ronan Quilivan, Mark Joyce, Conor Clery, Lawrence Forde, Daniel Small. Subs used: Neil Rabbitte for Forde, Martin O’Connell for Small.
Mervue United: Trevor Garvey, Aaron Finnerty, Shane Kelly, Robert Connolly, Ger McGrath, Noel McDonnell, Sumit Chawla, Brendan Mooney, Emlyn Coyne, Eddie Lenihan, Darren Smith. Subs used: Liam Rockhall for Lenihan, Colm Flaherty for Kyne, Dermot Dooney for Chawla.
