Students frustrate City side in McGuill Cup
U19 SOCCER
UCD U19…………………………..4
CORK CITY U19………………….2
Daire Walsh
IT PROVED another frustrating trip to Belfield last night for the Cork City U19s, who were knocked out of the Enda McGuill Cup at the quarter-final stage by UCD.
There was a total of five changes to the City side that lost out to the same opponents in the league last Sunday, and deputising goalkeeper Adam O’Keefe brilliantly saved a 25-yard free-kick from UCD winger Neil Farrugia during the early exchanges.
This was a let-off for the Leesiders, but after he found himself within shooting range on 13 minutes, midfielder Alec Byrne broke the deadlock by firing beyond the reach of UCD’s Conor Kearns.
Yet, this proved to be a short-lived lead for City (who defeated St Patrick’s Athletic in last year’s decider), as a Farrugia effort made its way into the bottom right-hand corner of the opposition net just two minutes later. It was an extremely open contest, and the pacy Denzil Fernandes was causing a host of problems for UCD on the right-flank.
However, City suffered a major set-back on 33 minutes, when a speculative shot from distance by UCD striker Sean McDonald slipped through the hands of O’Keefe before trickling over the line.
This meant that City were facing into a one-goal deficit at the midway point in the action. The visitors remained in contention, though, and the hard-working Byrne had a right-footed drive deflected wide of the target six minutes after the restart.
UCD substitute Conor Crowley subsequently rattled the crossbar via a neat Farrugia pass, while Aaron Drinan’s close-in strike on the hour mark was superbly turned away by Kearns. A second City goal would have set the game up for a grandstand finale, but instead it was UCD who doubled their advantage.
Kevin Coffey bagged a brace for the Dubliners last weekend, and although O’Keefe was equally to his initial attempt, full-back Mark Dignam finished off the rebound with relative ease. A fourth UCD goal from Yoyo Mahdy placed the outcome beyond doubt, but City did gain a deserved consolation through Drinan five minutes from the end.
UCD U19: Conor Kearns (Sean Prenter 77); Darragh Corcoran, Joe Manley, Luke Boore, Mark Dignam; Andy O’Reilly, Cian Ryan (Conor Crowley 53); Evan Farrell (Kevin Coffey 53), Jack Ryan (Luka Lovic 62), Neil Farrugia; Sean McDonald (Yoyo Mahdy 61).
CORK CITY U19: Adam O’Keefe; Dylan Scott (Thomas O’Donovan 66), Adam O’Sullivan, Pierce Phillips, Ronan Hurley; Brian Mulcahy, Alec Byrne; Denzil Fernandes (Jordan O’Regan 71), Ross Welch (Cian Murphy 71), Daire O’Riordan; Aaron Drinan.
Referee: Paula Brady (Dublin).