College boys rule Connacht yet again
The Rice College squad after their FAI Schools Connacht senior 'A' cup final victory over St Joseph's of Galway.
A dominant Rice College had too much in the tank for St Joseph’s (The Bish) last Tuesday, as the Westport school added yet another provincial title to their trophy cabinet.
Rice College dominated large chunks of possession over the 90 minutes and could well have added further goals had they been more clinical.
The Bish had some seasoned campaigners in their ranks, including centre-back and captain Billy Regan who plays with the Galway United academy team.
Headford’s 4G pitch seemed to suit Westport’s style of play and the Mayo side perhaps should have found the lead goal after seven minutes when Alex Halpin set-up Jack O’Malley, but the latter spurned a gilt-edged opportunity.
Rice College were also able to adapt their style of play and a booming route-one delivery from goalkeeper Michael McDonnell forced his opposite number MacDarragh Scanlon to race off his line and inadvertently handle outside his area. Referee Anatolii Demeshkevych subsequently issued The Bish custodian with a yellow card, however, Rice failed to take advantage of the free-kick from just outside the box.
At the other end and against the run of play, St Joseph’s almost crafted a decent chance on goal but Cillian McGing was alert to the danger and made a timely intervention.
Rice College continued to apply some stern pressure, with a deep cross from Halpin finding Conor Cannon whose header flashed wide on 26 minutes.
The Bish were under the cosh for long spells and the Galway city outfit’s resistance was finally broken on 37 minutes. Conor Cannon was the playmaker and his smashing delivery found the aforementioned Halpin whose shot nestled in the bottom corner of MacDarragh Scanlon’s net.
Evan Durkan was motoring along nicely in midfield for the Westport boys and he could well have stretched his team’s lead on 42 minutes but his ambitious long-range drive was aptly dealt with by Scanlon, another Galway United academy player.
Rice continued to impress on the resumption with Killian Conway forcing Scanlon into another save before the netminder brilliantly thwarted Jack O’Malley’s attempt on goal, after the latter was expertly set-up by a combination of the roving Halpin and Conway. However, 10 minutes into the second period, Rice College eventually doubled their lead. A deep right-wing cross from Eoghan Moran found the poaching Jack O’Malley whose clinical drive fizzed past the Bish custodian.
The Galwegians went for broke during the remainder of the game and could well have pegged a goal back on 59 minutes but David Kilraine’s drive was deflected inches over McDonnell’s crossbar.
The Bish actually grew into the game as the second-half progressed and produced some sparkling football, with David Igbokwe’s lay-off finding Oisín Hoban who in turn released Jack Ryan, with the latter seeing his scuffed effort saved by the diving McDonnell.
On 74 minutes, the plucky chasers could well have set-up an intriguing finale. With the wind at their backs, an in-swinging corner from Carroll found the loosely marked Regan but his header failed to find the target.
The Bish didn’t have much to cheer about on the day but almost pinched a consolation goal on 89 minutes, however, Dara McGauran saw his effort whistle wide after being set-up by fellow substitute Joe Colleran.
“It was a fantastic game of football and we knew that it was going to be a hard-fought match as The Bish are a very strong team,” said Rice College coach Brian Flannery afterwards.
He acknowledged the benefit of so many of his players also being teammates with Westport United.
“They all play club football together and have done since they were at underage level. You can see that unity in the group and that they are very good friends both on and off the pitch. There is a great camaraderie in this squad of players.”
With his side leading 1-0 at half-time, Brian Flannery said the instruction was simply to continue to play the were they had in the first 45 minutes and to “try and find the easy pass”.
“I could not fault any performance as I thought all of our players played really well and it came down to small margins in the end. The team play so well together and understand each other and that is great to see.”
Rice College advance to the All-Ireland semi-final where they are set to face St Paul’s Community School from Waterford on Monday next.
Rice College: Michael McDonnell, Eoghan Moran, Sean Casey, Matthew Staunton, Cillian McGing, Jamie O’Malley, Alex Halpin, Evan Durkan, Jack O’Malley, Conor Cannon, Killian Conway. Subs: Darragh Reynolds (for Cannon 61, inj), Rian Durkan (for Jack O’Malley 67), Ethan McGing (for Jamie O’Malley 85).
St Joseph’s: MacDarragh Scanlon, Oisín Hoban, Tom Mulholland, Billy Regan, Christian Ryan, James Morahan, David Cleary, Jack Ryan, David Kilraine, Jacob Carroll, Eoin Gacquin. Subs: David Igbokwe (for Mulholland 56), Joe Colleran (for Cleary 67), Dara McGauran (for Kilraine 80).
REF: Anatolii Demeshkevych (Midlands Branch)
