Despite deservedly trailing by three goals with five minutes remaining, Aisling Annacotty came back to level in bizarre circumstances, got the better of the extra-time exchanges, before finally falling victim to the lottery of a penalty shoot-out.
First half
After a pretty tepid opening ten minutes, the game’s standout performer finally registered its first shot in anger. Mungret midfielder, Ger Burke, tested Evan Moloney from range off his left foot, after a lovely turn on the right flank.
Mungret went on to dominate from there, with Burke and his industrious partner, James Hall, completely bossing the centre of midfield. Seconds after that first strike of the day, Burke beat two men down Aisling’s left before crossing to his unmarked striker, Keith McNicholas. Alas, for Mungret, the veteran blazed his first-time effort over at close range. Great chance.
Mungret were employing a sweeper at the back for the second time this season, a system that had served them well in its first appearance – the recent 1-1 draw against Ballynanty Rovers. The man tasked with the role, Richie “Beckenbauer” Burke, came in quite handy when Darren Stokes played star striker, Keith Mawdsley, through after fifteen minutes. Burke’s vital saving tackle prevented the league’s top scorer from pulling the trigger.
Up the other end, Richie’s older brother continued to threaten. A strong right-footed drive from range went very close indeed to finding the net – a sign of what was to come.
Eventually, on the half hour mark, Mungret had the lead their play deserved. A lung-busting run from right-back Dan Clancy led to a one-two with a the tricky Joe Kennedy and a beautiful side-footed finish.
Burke The Elder and Hall continued to run riot in the middle, which bred frustration in the Aisling ranks. Gustavo Santos was booked for a late challenge on the excellent left-back, Ian Moore, just moments after some afters with another Mungret player. In a way, he was unfortunate, as he wasn’t the only Aisling player who could have seen yellow for the same reason. One of them was judiciously hooked at half-time.
Before that though, Mungret just about had time to double their lead. Summing up the Aisling midfield issues, centre-back Jamie Shinners was forced to come out and confront the rampant Ger Burke. Burke fed Kennedy on the left, who beat Fitzgerald again and produced a great cross – finished by a perfectly timed bullet header from McNicholas.
Second half
Aisling unsurprisingly made two changes at the break, with centre-back and ex-goalkeeper, Jimmy Fyffe – along with winger, Paddy Fitzgerald – introduced into the fray.
While they started better, with a belter of a Niall Hanley free-kick rattling the crossbar, the game then settled into what seemed like a slow crawl to the final whistle and the seemingly inevitable Mungret victory.
That perception was only reinforced when Ger Burke produced the moment of the game – the moment his game deserved – with a stunning right-footed curler from range that found the back of Moloney’s net – and this after his influence on the game had been greatly hampered by a Jamie Shinners reducer earlier in the half.
Moments later, the same man fed Kennedy on the edge of the area, who saw his goalbound effort well saved by the Aisling stopper. Only one result here, surely?
But, with ten minutes remaining, Aisling – improbably and perhaps aided by some Mungret complacency – woke up a bit. A Darren Stokes effort from the edge of the area was well shoveled away by James Roche – the only non-routine save he’d had to make up to that point.
With five on the clock, Aisling grabbed something to hold onto. Keith Mawdsley, hampered today by the presence of three opposing central defenders, won what would turn out to be an important free for his team from substitute right-back, Rob Horgan. Cian Quinn whipped it in with his left and Jimmy Fyffe rose highest to nod home – he had said he was due a goal at half-time!
And then – bedlam. In the three minutes of injury-time, Mungret gift-wrapped two goals for Aisling and tied a bow on them to boot. First, James Roche dropped the ball off a routine catch from a right-wing cross, allowing Keith Mawdsley to prod home on the line and break the O’Brien curse (the other Aisling game I covered this season was the only one he’s failed to score in!). And then, moments later, in literally the game’s dying seconds, a free kick from a central area was turned in on his own goal-line by Horgan. New Prem’ referee, Eugene Nunan, called time immediately after the restart. Twenty more minutes!
Extra-time and penalties
Completely deflated after that amazing late capitulation, Mungret were second best during the twenty minutes of extra-time really – even though they were up against ten men for the first five minutes, while Fyffe took/made an important phone call on the sideline!
Rob Horgan went some way towards atoning for his earlier error in the first half, by blocking an effort off the line after an Adam Foley corner. Moments later, Horgan also went on a rampaging run down the right flank, before delivering a cross from the byline on the overlap. Keith McNicholas forced a great diving save from Moloney with his resulting effort.
Although Aisling continued to look more likely in the second period, with Ger Burke picking up a further knock and Joe Kennedy apparently pulling a hamstring while on a counter-attacking raid, the game, inevitably, petered out towards a penalty shoot-out.
In which Mungret – much to their infinite relief, I’m sure – prevailed. Ten penalties were struck, but only the first one was missed – the “culprit”? Golden Boot frontrunner, Keith Mawdsley. And who scored the heroic winning penalty for Mungret? Rob Horgan! It’s a funny old game, alright.
Conclusion
A tough one to take for a depleted Aisling Annacotty side – three of their four midfielders this evening have yet to make a single start in the Premier League this season, and they were also without the assured full-back presences of Brian Butler and Jon Somers.
Still, despite this exit via penalties, they can have no complaints whatsoever on the day, as they were comfortably second best for the vast, vast majority of the game. Mungret put a lid on Mawdsley through the presence of an extra man at the back, in the shape of sweeper Richie Burke – something only Ballynanty’s Ryan Earls has really managed to do this season with any great success. To boot, outstanding performances from James Hall, and particularly Ger Burke, in the centre of midfield, overwhelmed the Aisling cohort in that area.
Mungret have struggled big time in the league so far this year, but will surely improve now, having hit upon a system that suits and having reintegrated young, pacey players like O’Callaghan and Kennedy into the team – players that were unavailable during the opening weeks. Although he missed a couple of presentable chances this evening, the experienced presence of Keith McNicholas up top is also invaluable – and boy did he take his goal well.
Next up, on Sunday, is the Munster Junior Cup clash between Geraldines and Pike Rovers – venue to be decided! See you then.
Scorers
Clancy 31′, McNicholas 45′, G. Burke 73′; Fyffe 85′, Mawdsley 90+2′, Horgan (og) 90+3′
Man of the Match
Ger Burke
Limerick District League 