Premier Shield 2nd round:
Clodiagh -v- Newtown Sunday 17th July @2pm
Results:
Rearcross 2:2 Newtown (1:3 on penalties)
Match Report:
Newtown traveled to Rearcross on a Warm Wednesday evening for this one. The Rearcross ground staff had the field well prepared for the visitors. Newtown toke to the field with a few regulars and a few new faces while the subs made sand castles on the side of the field. The game was slow to get going. Rearcross started conservative clearly lacking a few regulars while Newtown struggled to find their feet at the new level. Within 15 minutes Newtown got their rhythm and started to press hard on the Rearcross defense. Half chances fell to Barry, Tossy and Dunne but they never really tested the keeper. Newtown found Rearcross weak down the left with Barry and Hogan seeing a lot of ball. Jimmy McCarthy was the ref of the day and as usual the small sweeky little cunt favored the home side in this encounter. This was evident on the half hour when Rearcross attacked down the right, the cross was block by Willy Conway only sweeky to award Rearcross a penalty for hand ball. Fortunately for Newtown the Rearcross penalty taker hit as bad a shot as I have seen since the Quigley incident in April. Both teams played out the rest of the half cautiously. A few words were said and Newtown returned to the field with a calm that they needed. Newtown had most of the possession looking dangerous with every attack. Finally the deadlock was broken when Noel Shanahan played a perfectly waited through down the left to Dunne. He beat the first man and fired the ball across the box. The ball landed at the feet of Damien O’Brien and the newly converted striker who loves to get cut with glass slotted home from close rang. This put Newtown in the driving seat, they kept the ball and tore at Rearcross making it 2 when they broke quick to score a great goal. The ball broke to Dunne on the wing he found Damien O’ Brien who waited his pass to allow Hogan stay on side. Tossy lashed onto the through pass out pacing the defense and calmly slotting past the keeper. Unfortunately for Newtown this was as good as it got. A number of Spurned chances and The Crosses confidence came back. It wasn’t until McCarthy handed them a lifeline though that they toke their chance. Colm O’ Brien collided with a Rearcoss player in the box and the decision was immediate from sweeky. This time they toke their chance with the player making no mistake from the spot. Once again Newtown became the bottlers. This persona was almost eliminated last season until the last game of the seasons flop against Celtic. It showed its ugly face in Rearcross again in this game. Under constant pressure Newtown failed to hold on to the ball putting the defense under huge pressure. Rearcross finally got their equalizer with 5 to go. When a long ball broke in the box to an on rushing striker to head home from close range. The game finished level with penalties looming. It was a day when Pat Quigley was eaten alive by midgets and Colm O’ Brien stepped up to the first penalty. Colm calmly slotted home using the bumpy surface to fool the keeper. But once again this day goes down to a keeper. Ger Hogan stood tall and save 2 of their penalties. The first, the second went over the bar and he saved the fourth too. Damien toke the second putting it where Colm’s went. Billy Hayes who came on as a sub, to everyone’s surprise missed his with David Quinlinn finishing his in stile. The team was as follows: G. Hogan, Quinlinn, Cremin, Jones, Conway, Dunne, C. O’Brien, Shanahan, Barry, D. O’ Brien, Tossy. Subs were Moroney, Dan Hogan, Hayes, Quigley, Cleary, Maher.
Match Report Archieves
Table: