Fanad corked yet again by Avondale in intermediate cup
The Avondale United hoodoo of Triaghalough struck on Sunday again as the Cork side knocked Fanad United out of the FAI Intermediate Cup at the quarter-final stage.
Ollie Horgan's team have now been beaten three times in the last six seasons by the Munster Senior League outfit. The Fanad manager will lament what was a great opportunity to get one over on his perpetrators, who had to line out for some 63 minutes the services of their red-carded skipper John Cotter.
Fanad, who had substitute Seamie Friel sent off in second half stoppage time, laid siege to their opponents' goal with the closing stages with the wind at their backs having levelled when Denis Boyle cancelled out Mark O'Sullivan's first half opener. However, just when they were pushing for a winner, they conceded what would prove to be the winning goal from Andrew Knowles with only four minutes left.
The rustiness of the home side, who are still essentially in their close season, was apparent in the opening exchanges when Avondale zipped the ball around neatly, while Fanad struggled to get any sort of cohesiveness going.
What that in mind, and after a couple of warning shots, the visitors' opener on the quarter-hour was certainly a merited one when O'Sullivan rose at the back past to send an angled header back into the far corner after a deep cross from full-back Thomas Hughes.
That, belatedly, made Fanad spring into life and Arthur Lynch was unfortunate to see a swipe at goal rebound off the post when the ball broke at his feet following Boyle's free-kick.
Initially, the shot appeared to be streaming harmlessly over the crossbar, but with the wind at its height, there was a deviation in the ball's flight path, which caused it to strike against the woodwork much to the relief of Avondale goalkeeper Brendan O'Connell.
The gale would work to Fanad's advantage in the second half, particularly so as they were only facing 10 men after Cotter was shown a straight red card by referee Stepen Toner on 27 minutes after diving in with two feet on Johnny McGinty having lost possession in the hosts' penalty area.
With the elements in their favour, Paddy McGreneghan went close to levelling six minutes after half-time, only to see his crisply-struck shot fizz just past the post from the angle of the penalty area. Paul Nash was also marginally off the target when he pulled an effort wide from 20 yards.
Their patience, though, was rewarded when Boyle had eyes for only Paul McVeigh's corner and drove home a powerful header from six yards amid the cluttered penalty area with only 14 minutes left.
At that stage, if there was to be a winner, the majority of the bets in running would have been placed on Fanad. Substitute McVeigh whipped another tantalizing ball into the box moments later and Lynch, with a queue of players at his side, missed getting the decisive knick on it.
Although Avondale had little or no possession, they continued to work diligently with Michal Mulconroy filling the gap behind lone striker O'Sullivan, with Mikey O'Shea having slotted into left midfield. From one of their infrequent raids, Mulconroy drew a foul from Paul Nash on the edge of the Fanad box.
With Mulconroy striking the kick himself, Darren Nash was beaten by the slightest of glances from the head of Knowles that changed to direction of the ball enough to beat the Fanad goalkeeper from close in.
As Fanad pushed for a second equaliser, they too were reduced to 10 men when Friel was given his marching orders for swinging an elbow on Hughes, which referee Toner did well to spot.
As Friel trundled despondently toward the changing rooms, his teammates were not far behind him as O'Connell and his defensive comrades held firm to win on the peninsula for the third time, having triumphed there in both the 2004/05 season and the year immediately afterwards. For Fanad, it was a disappointing case of the same old story in what might be considered an opportunity missed.
Fanad United: Darren Nash; Seamus Friel, Arthur Lynch, Shaun McElwaine, Johnny McGinty (Paul McVeigh 65); Christy Conaghan, Paddy McGreneghan, Paul Nash, Denis Boyle; PJ Hagan, Russell Porter (Seamie Friel 58).
Avondale United: Brendan O'Connell; Thomas Hughes, Michael Kernan, Noel Hartigan, Eoghan Loughweed; Andrew Knowles, Michal Mulconroy, John Cotter, Ken Murphy; Mikey O'Shea, Mark O'Sullivan.
Referee: Stephen Toner.
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Monday 21 May 2012
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