Greyhound Bar KO Cup 2nd Round, 2014

Kerry District League
Thursday May 29th 2014
Classic FC 2-0 Asdee Rovers

By Tommy Naughton

Classic FC from the Premier B advanced to the third round of the Blue ribbon cup in Kerry after a well deserved win over Premier A side Asdee Rovers. Classic dominated possession from start to finish but will need to improve in front of goal if they wish to go further. Asdee kept trying to defend in numbers and tried to hit on the counter attack but in the end it seemed as if they ran out of self belief in the final third to trouble their opponents.

Mark Tangney had the first chance of the game for the home side but his effort found the side netting from an Anthony McAuliffe cross. John Martin Horgan played a neat one two with Ryan Henry before rolling the ball wide to Peter McMahon whose dangerous cross was defended well by Kenneth Leahy.

Asdee again broke quickly on the quarter hour mark when Sean O’Keefe denied Alan O’Shea, he released the ball to Darren Russell whose cross field ball found Darragh Keane. Keane’s effort from outside the box was easily saved however by Gary Kissane.

Twenty five minutes in and a long clearance saw a Timmy Lynch header send Alan O’Shea through on goal with the keeper to beat and as he was about to shot Kenneth Tydings got a vital touch to avert the danger.Ten minutes before the break Classic caught Asdee asleep with a short corner between Lynch and McAuliffe whose cross found the unmarked Brendan Smyth inside the six yard area , but he miss controlled the ball and it was booted clear for a throw in.

The clearest chance of the first half fell to Timmy Lynch who was put through by Alan O’Shea and from the left hand side of the box he drilled a low shot towards the far corner but keeper Sean O’Keeffe got a foot to it to send it beyond the far post.

The second half was only a matter of seconds old when Darragh Keane crossed to Eamonn Leahy who was attacking the ball just yards from the front post but a superb defensive header by Kenneth Leahy kept the game scoreless. Martin Sweeny then tried his look from distance but it missed the target as it flew over the crossbar.

Asdee now seemed to be getting deeper into their own half and looking to try hit Classic on the break and with Classic getting more and more ball it seemed only a matter of time before the opener would come. On the hour mark another patient build up by Classic ended with Alan O’Shea heading wide a Wayne Murphy cross.

Timmy Lynch was next to try his luck from range but his attempted curler again missed the target. Asdee were struggling to get high up the pitch but had great runners in Eamonn Leahy and Darragh Keane who would chase down every ball. The best passing move of the game came with just over twenty minutes remaining when four players were involved in one and two touch passes between Anthony McAuliffe, Timmy Lynch, Mark Tangney ended with Alan O’Shea getting a shot on target which Sean O’Keeffe again saved.

Asdee then claimed for a penalty when Darragh Keane made a strong run into the box and went down under pressure from Kenneth Leahy but referee Derek O’Shea waved away the appeals correctly.

With 17 minutes remaining the deadlock was broken. Timmy Lynch picked out a forward run by Alan O’Shea into the penalty area, Peter McMahon executed a well timed sliding tackle but O’Shea gathered the ball quickly again and crossed to the back post where the unmarked Mark Tangney met the ball with a diving header and gave the keeper no chance for a deserved lead on the balance of play.

And minutes later the game could have been over when Josh Boyd took down Alan O’Shea and a penalty was awarded. Substitute Kieran O’Regan took the responsibility on as others shied away. His penalty was low to the keepers right but Sean O’Keefe guessed correctly and turned the ball passed the outside of the post.

Asdee were now throwing men forward but just couldn’t get that one clear chance to get an equaliser. The game was finally over as a contest in the 92nd minute when Kieran O’Regan picked out the run of Mark Tangney, Tangney’s shot was again blocked by O’Keeffe but the ball broke to Timmy Lynch who had the simplest task of rolling the ball into an empty net from three yards out.

Classic will now face Premier A league finalists Castleisland next Tuesday night in the third round.

Classic FC: Gary Kissane , Wayne Murphy, Brendan Smyth , Kenneth Leahy, Billy Clifford , Greg o Brien , Mark Tangney, Anthony McAuliffe, Martin Sweeney, Alan o Shea , Timmy Lynch . Subs ; Kieran o Regan for Sweeny ( 78 Mins)

Asdee Rovers: Sean o Keeffe, Kenneth Tydings , Cillian Beasley, Josh Boyd, Peter McMahon, John Martin Horgan, Kieran McElligott, Joe o Brien, Darren Russell , Darragh Keane, Ryan Henry. Subs ; Eamonn Leahy for Henry (40 Mins) , Scott Fenlon for Horgan (66 Mins) .

Referee: Derek O’Shea