Hat-trick hero McGrath lays waste as Ballyheane crash out
Dunmore Town's Shane McGrath scored a hat trick to cause a cup shock and knock Ballyheane out of the Connacht Cup.
A gutsy Dunmore Town led by their hat-trick hero Shane McGrath recorded a memorable victory, at a damp and drizzly Pat Quigley Park on Sunday afternoon.
This game was always going to be a banana skin for the hosts and whilst some people may have installed the Mayo side as pre-match favourites, a well-organised and counter-attacking Dunmore didn’t read the script.
Ballyheane crafted the first noteworthy opportunity of the tie on eight minutes when the busy Adam Blake and Nathan Reilly Doyle combined to tee-up Dylan Stevenson, but from a difficult angle the latter saw his strike fizz off target. A minute later, a half-chance fell to Ballyheane’s Alan Hegarty, whose tame header never fully tested the resolve of Shane Geoghegan in the Dunmore goal.
Dunmore’s Shane McGrath was a lively presence up front and he showed his attacking qualities on 10 minutes, when he forced Luca Meldrum into action.
Both sides continued to busily search for the elusive breakthrough, with Reilly Doyle’s effort thwarted by Geoghegan, before Dunmore’s McGrath saw his free-kick whistle over the crossbar.
The first half was proving to be very competitive; however, the locals were given a golden opportunity to take the lead on 33 minutes after Dunmore centre-back Colin Comer handled the ball inside the 18-yard box. Sean Rabbette was given the spot-kick responsibility and the centre-back duly drilled home a tidy finish to the back of the net, much to the delight of the home supporters.
With half-time looming it appeared that Ashley Stevenson’s troops would have the luxury of a slender lead at the interval, but the game took a decisive twist on 44 minutes. A booming route-one delivery from Fiachra Manhire bypassed the home rearguard and deceived the advancing Luca Meldrum, thus allowing the poaching McGrath to fortuitously skip past the stranded custodian and guide the ball to the back of an empty net.
Dunmore were the happier at the change of ends and the Galway visitors pilfered the lead just three minutes into the new half. McGrath was in blistering form and the energetic striker pinched possession from the under-pressure Rabbette before darting towards goal, evading Meldrum, and calmly rolling the ball home.
The Town could have been out of sight on 55 minutes, when a teasing cross from Padraig Costello found the aforementioned McGrath, but this time the latter’s radar was slightly askew and his header flashed narrowly wide.
However, one minute later, the deadly McGrath completed his hat-trick. A well-orchestrated Dunmore counter-attack saw McGrath collect possession inside the box and his sumptuous close-range finish was beyond the reach of Meldrum, and the visitors now had one foot in the next round.
This feisty cup tie still had plenty of drama to unfold, and the Green and Black were awarded a second spot-kick of the afternoon on 72 minutes, when Rory Morris’ stinging drive was once again adjudged to have been handled inside the area by the unfortunate Comer, with the guest’s vehement appeals being waved away by the referee. Sean Kilcoyne was given the spot-kick duty, but his effort was brilliantly saved by Geoghegan, much to the delight of the away faithful.
Ballyheane desperately tried to rescue the situation and the gallant host’s set-up a frantic finale on 88 minutes. A perfectly weighted corner-kick from Morris fell kindly into the path of the poaching Michael Fahy and the latter’s close-range finish rustled the back of the net.
Ben Edeh could well have snatched a dramatic late equaliser for the hosts, but his effort flashed wide.
Ballyheane tried their level best during injury-time to plunder an equaliser, however, a resolute Dunmore held on to record a famous away day victory.
