Reidy Cup – First Round
St Ita’s A 2–2 Athea United (St Ita’s win 4–2 on penalties)
St Ita’s A welcomed Athea United to Ashford for their refixed first-round Reidy Cup tie. Despite being without several players through injury and unavailability, Tom named a strong starting XI for what was always expected to be a stern test against the Division 1 leaders.
Both sides settled quickly and early exchanges produced a number of half chances, though neither goalkeeper was seriously troubled. On eight minutes, stand-in goalkeeper Seanie Curtin, deputising for the injured Sean Richards, showed excellent awareness by racing from his line to deny Martin Stack as he attempted to latch onto a ball over the top.
St Ita’s enjoyed a spell of pressure, earning several corners and free kicks, though the final delivery initially failed to find its target. The breakthrough arrived on 15 minutes when Aaron delivered a free kick to the edge of the box, where Dylan Kelly met it with a looping header that sailed over the goalkeeper and into the net.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Athea responded just two minutes later. James Ryan and Darren Murphy combined well, with Murphy finishing to level the tie.
The remainder of the half became somewhat disjointed, with much of the play confined to the middle third. St Ita’s created further chances, Dylan Kelly striking the side netting from a tight angle and seeing another effort cleared off the line. Athea, though, posed a consistent threat, particularly in the final 15 minutes of the half.
Curtin was called into action on the half-hour mark, diving at the feet of Kevin Murphy to smother the ball, before moments later pushing a skidding effort behind for a corner. From that corner, Athea came agonisingly close to taking the lead, with a back-post effort from six yards brilliantly clawed to safety by Curtin.
At the other end, Athea goalkeeper Tom Ahern showed sharp reflexes to tip a powerful Aaron strike onto the post. Athea continued to apply pressure, but once again Curtin denied them with a fine save at the base of the post following a volley from a corner.
Half-time: St Ita’s A 1–1 Athea United
The opening 15 minutes of the second half saw both defences firmly on top, with attacks being dealt with efficiently. On the hour mark, Curtin produced two outstanding saves in quick succession to keep the scores level.
Athea enjoyed the majority of possession for the remainder of normal time and earned several corners, but St Ita’s defended resolutely to force extra time.
Full-time: 1–1
Extra time began at a slower tempo, understandable after an intense 90 minutes on heavy ground. The decisive moment of the first period came in the sixth minute when a mazy run from Ciarán Dore created space for Jack, who was brought down in the box. Substitute Tony McCarthy stepped up and calmly dispatched the penalty straight down the middle to restore St Ita’s lead.
Half-time in extra time: St Ita’s A 2–1 Athea United
As expected, Athea threw everything forward in the second period of extra time in search of an equaliser. St Ita’s defended gallantly and appeared to have weathered the storm, but deep into added time a long ball into the box struck the arm of a defender, resulting in a penalty. Despite protests, the decision stood, and Shane Mulvihill converted emphatically into the top corner to force a shootout.
Extra-time full-time: 2–2
Penalties followed, with Athea elected to take the first kick. Andy Ahern’s opening effort was well saved by Curtin, giving St Ita’s the early advantage. McCarthy continued his fine game by converting confidently, while Mulvihill struck the base of the post with Athea’s second attempt.
Dylan Kelly extended St Ita’s lead by sending the goalkeeper the wrong way, before Cillian O’Connor got Athea on the scoresheet. Paul Fitzmaurice then slotted home to put St Ita’s on the brink. Sean Ryan converted Athea’s fourth to keep their hopes alive, but Damian Brouder sealed the victory with a composed finish, maintaining St Ita’s perfect record from the spot.
It was a tight, evenly contested cup tie, and while it was unfortunate that it had to be decided by penalties, St Ita’s showed great resilience and composure to progress to the next round.
St Ita’s A 2–2 Athea United (St Ita’s win 4–2 on penalties)
St Ita’s A welcomed Athea United to Ashford for their refixed first-round Reidy Cup tie. Despite being without several players through injury and unavailability, Tom named a strong starting XI for what was always expected to be a stern test against the Division 1 leaders.
Both sides settled quickly and early exchanges produced a number of half chances, though neither goalkeeper was seriously troubled. On eight minutes, stand-in goalkeeper Seanie Curtin, deputising for the injured Sean Richards, showed excellent awareness by racing from his line to deny Martin Stack as he attempted to latch onto a ball over the top.
St Ita’s enjoyed a spell of pressure, earning several corners and free kicks, though the final delivery initially failed to find its target. The breakthrough arrived on 15 minutes when Aaron delivered a free kick to the edge of the box, where Dylan Kelly met it with a looping header that sailed over the goalkeeper and into the net.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Athea responded just two minutes later. James Ryan and Darren Murphy combined well, with Murphy finishing to level the tie.
The remainder of the half became somewhat disjointed, with much of the play confined to the middle third. St Ita’s created further chances, Dylan Kelly striking the side netting from a tight angle and seeing another effort cleared off the line. Athea, though, posed a consistent threat, particularly in the final 15 minutes of the half.
Curtin was called into action on the half-hour mark, diving at the feet of Kevin Murphy to smother the ball, before moments later pushing a skidding effort behind for a corner. From that corner, Athea came agonisingly close to taking the lead, with a back-post effort from six yards brilliantly clawed to safety by Curtin.
At the other end, Athea goalkeeper Tom Ahern showed sharp reflexes to tip a powerful Aaron strike onto the post. Athea continued to apply pressure, but once again Curtin denied them with a fine save at the base of the post following a volley from a corner.
Half-time: St Ita’s A 1–1 Athea United
The opening 15 minutes of the second half saw both defences firmly on top, with attacks being dealt with efficiently. On the hour mark, Curtin produced two outstanding saves in quick succession to keep the scores level.
Athea enjoyed the majority of possession for the remainder of normal time and earned several corners, but St Ita’s defended resolutely to force extra time.
Full-time: 1–1
Extra time began at a slower tempo, understandable after an intense 90 minutes on heavy ground. The decisive moment of the first period came in the sixth minute when a mazy run from Ciarán Dore created space for Jack, who was brought down in the box. Substitute Tony McCarthy stepped up and calmly dispatched the penalty straight down the middle to restore St Ita’s lead.
Half-time in extra time: St Ita’s A 2–1 Athea United
As expected, Athea threw everything forward in the second period of extra time in search of an equaliser. St Ita’s defended gallantly and appeared to have weathered the storm, but deep into added time a long ball into the box struck the arm of a defender, resulting in a penalty. Despite protests, the decision stood, and Shane Mulvihill converted emphatically into the top corner to force a shootout.
Extra-time full-time: 2–2
Penalties followed, with Athea elected to take the first kick. Andy Ahern’s opening effort was well saved by Curtin, giving St Ita’s the early advantage. McCarthy continued his fine game by converting confidently, while Mulvihill struck the base of the post with Athea’s second attempt.
Dylan Kelly extended St Ita’s lead by sending the goalkeeper the wrong way, before Cillian O’Connor got Athea on the scoresheet. Paul Fitzmaurice then slotted home to put St Ita’s on the brink. Sean Ryan converted Athea’s fourth to keep their hopes alive, but Damian Brouder sealed the victory with a composed finish, maintaining St Ita’s perfect record from the spot.
It was a tight, evenly contested cup tie, and while it was unfortunate that it had to be decided by penalties, St Ita’s showed great resilience and composure to progress to the next round.
