Irwin cuts no corners as Ballyheane advance to next round
The Ballyheane squad before last Sunday's victory at Pat Quigley Park that has sent them into Round 6 of the FAI Junior Cup.
FAI Junior Cup – Round 5
Ballyheane 1
Rosemount Mulvey 0
Paul O’Malley at Pat Quigley Park, Ballyheane
Ballyheane’s journey in the FAI Junior Cup will continue into the sixth round after their dispatching of Rosemount Mulvey at Pat Quigley Park on Sunday.
Liam Irwin scored the only goal of the game in the second-half straight from a corner to see the hosts past the Dublin outfit who had made a 500km round trip.
The trek did not seem to have a negative effect on the visitors however, who looked lively in the opening half hour. Cian Fay came close after nine minutes but his header zipped wide. Samuel Meagan was full of tricks for Rosemount and he cut across Cillian Redmond and unleashed a shot that flew just wide. Andrew Byrne was next up to strike but his curling effort was well held by Luca Meldrum.
Ballyheane had not done much yet to test Rosemount Mulvey goalkeeper Dave Clarke, who was up against his former club. Clarke played Quigley Cup for Ballyheane back in the day and had also played minor GAA for Mayo and Ballintubber. He was looking well at home back in Ballyheane, getting across well to save Liam Irwin’s shot after 38 minutes.
Ballyheane’s biggest chance came just before half-time. Ben Edeh collected a ball over the top and used his strength to leave a defender on the floor. He got a shot away at a narrow angle and Clarke saved well.
Meagan came close for Rosemount in the second-half, launching a shot from distance that Meldrum saved well.
The breakthrough came on the hour mark. Liam Irwin’s corner caught everyone out and flew into the net, sending the home support into raptures.
For Ballyheane for the remaining half an hour, it was a case of what we have, we hold. Manager Ashley Stevenson was entitled to make five subs but opted to make just two, bringing on Gareth Dunne and in the late stages of the game, Joseph Mulcahy, both of whom had a big impact defensively.
Meagan came closest for Rosemount while they held Ballyheane under siege. He executed a sublime bicycle kick that left Meldrum rooted to the goal line but the ball flew wide of the post.
The final whistle came as sweet relief for Ballyheane as they progress to face Coachford AFC of Cork in the next round on the weekend of June 13/14.
Ballyheane: Luca Meldrum, Mark Bolger, Cillian Redmond, Jack Tuffy, Donal Behan, Michael Fahy, Dylan Stevenson, Sean Kilcoyne, Ben Edeh, Liam Irwin, Dan Purcell. Subs: Gareth Dunne (for Kilcoyne 68), Joseph Mulcahy (for Purcell 86).
Rosemount Mulvey: Dave Clarke, Denis Popov, Cian Simpson, Liam Murphy, Daniel Kennedy, Liam Byrne, Andrew Byrne, Conor Kennedy, Samuel Meagan, Eoin Barry, Cian Fay. Subs: Daniel Loughran (for Simpson 66), Jamie Doyle (for Kennedy 86).
