Top flight sides advance with minimum of fuss in Junior Cup

The FAI Junior Cup draw wasn’t exactly kind to the minnows, and based on Sunday’s match results, the top flight teams took full advantage to hammer some of the lower division sides.

However, East United registered a first win of the season when they saw off St Patrick’s in the only all-Premier clash, while for Mervue United and Corrib Rangers it was a stroll in the park as they comfortably saw off Colga and Medtronic in one-sided encounters on a day when the Premier sides advanced in comfort.

Knocknacarra 1 NUI Galway 5

After drawing their first game of the season, newly promoted Knocknacarra have since found life difficult in the First Division.

However, single goal losses in the three following games have indicated that they are certainly competitive, and while the outcome of this FAI Junior Cup tie at Cappagh Park on Sunday might indicate differently, they certainly made the Students work for their win.

Having opened up a two goal interval advantage while facing the elements, it looked like the university side would go nap on the resumption, but while the scoreline tells one tale, the reality is that Knocknacarra certainly made more of a contest of it in the second half.

A Mikey Creane finish gave the students the perfect start on six minutes when he got the better of Lee Ralph from close range, before Tommy Bradshaw made it 2-0 with a free-kick from outside the box.

Goals aside, the visitors didn’t exactly do a lot otherwise in that opening half. The home side too lacked a cutting edge, as just David O’Malley tested Martin Mannion from a free-kick, while the goalkeeper did well to deny Keith O’Shaughnessy at the edge of the box.

The second half saw Knocknacarra show far greater urgency as the bustling Taisce Gillespie – along with Willie Condon, David O’Malley and Keith O’Shaughnessy – were making much more of an impact.

For all their possession, they seldom threatened Mannion from open play, but set-pieces always appeared to have the Students in a dither. Gillespie, Lorcan Browne, and O’Malley all threatened, before the latter struck the crossbar with an effort, with Dave Kinneen unable to finish off the rebound from close range.

The visitors showed how it should be done on 70 minutes, as a long run up by Paul Scally for a free-kick saw him lash a low effort through the defensive wall and past the unsighted Miguel Posse for a 3-0 advantage.