Sheriff puts a bullet in Devon’s FAI Cup hopes

Date Published: {J}

Salthill Devon 1

Sheriff VC 2

Cian O’Connell

A home tie against non-League opposition is exactly the kind of FAI Cup draw every team craves, but while Salthill Devon entered Drom with all the conditions being favourable they were still caught out by a Sheriff YC outfit who caused a mild surprise in the Third Round of the FAI Cup on Friday night.

Salthill’s failure to build on a reasonably decent start was ultimately the reason Sheriff took a League of Ireland scalp as the locals were repeatedly vexed at set piece situations. Sheriff were everything you would have expected them to be: tough, honest, and energetic, and their passion ensured the latest tale of woe in Salthill’s season was scripted.

Having shown traces of improvement under Paul ‘Ski’ McGee, Salthill were completely aware that a win would nudge them into the last 16 of the competition, and the possibility of another enticing tie there could leave them close to a quarter final place. It wasn’t to be as Sheriff celebrated one of their finest ever occasions, leaving Salthill in that miserable and familiar position of reflecting on what might have been.

The early evidence suggested that this was an eminently winnable tie for Salthill, who settled quickly with James Whelan providing a solid anchor in a new midfield role. Whelan was showing a willingness to venture forward too when the opportunity arose and Salthill clipped the ball around on a typically neat surface.

Still for all Salthill’s distribution, there was a lack of urgency in the final where Ciprian Struat offered the occasional flicker of skill without ever posing serious questions of the visitors. Indeed all Salthill mustered when they were on top was a long range Gearoid O’Leidhinn effort which drifted wide, while Lee Murphy gathered a Victor Collins shot at the second attempt.

Unsurprisingly as the first half evolved and Sheriff became more competitive and crisp in the tackle McGee’s promptings from the technical area were getting clearer and more audible. McGee has repeatedly stressed the need for patience, and while the club’s First Division results have improved, this was a sobering reality check because Salthill really should be claiming victories in this kind of environment. Confidence is certainly an issue and Salthill’s failure to be clinical early on proved costly as Sheriff’s physicality emerged as a key issue either side of the interval.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.