Kennedy Amechi's extra time winner sends Kerry past Athlone Town in FAI Cup
There was a sensational finish to this FAI Cup clash as Kerry struck the equalizing goal in the 96th minute thanks to a superb Joe Adams free before Kennedy Amechi scored the winner at the beginning of extra time.
The meeting of the bottom two in the First Division proved a lifeless affair in the opening half. It was a mediocre contest that never caught fire with the ball spending more time in the air instead on the deck.
Kerry created precious little as four defeats in a row had obviously left its mark. Athlone came into the contest with just one win in their last 17 games, so it was never going to be a classic.
Both sides, low in confidence, created very few scoring chances with Athlone slightly the better team. Jason Folarin Oyenuga fired over the top in the 11th minute while at the other end Kevin Williams shot high and wide in a rare Kerry attack.
Athlone almost took the lead in 20th minute but Martin Scally had a better chance at the other end. Gideon Tetteh and Oyenuga were causing Kerry problems out wide but the game remained scoreless until half time.
The Town were still in control and looked the more likely side as the Kingdom's experiment of playing Ronan Teahan at left fullback did not appear to be a success.
The visitors finally took the lead in the 56th minute albeit a goal that should have never have been scored as Kerry keeper Mathyas Randrianmamy allowed a harmless looking shot slip from his grasp and into his own net.
It was no more than the visitors deserved but it appeared to wake Kerry from their slumber.
The hosts were almost on level terms two minutes later when a move started by Aaran Healy released Robert Cleary, who raced through but former Kerry keeper Lee Axworthy saved the initial effort and in the follow up, Daniel Okwute saw his effort cleared off the line by an Athlone defender.
The home-side finally got going and they forced a succession of corners (five in total) but Athlone Town defended them well as Randrianmamy made superb staff from Dean Williams.
Now it was all Kerry and in the 96th minute Daniel Okwute was fouled by Athlone substitute Eoin Sheeran and from the resulting 25-yard free kick, Joe Adams floated the ball high into the right hand corner to force the game to extra time.
The first half of extra time opened in explosive fashion when in the second minute, Daniel Okwute raced down the right wing and his low cross was met by the onrushing Kennedy Amechi, who finished from close range to give the lead.
Niall Brookwell and Joe Adams, along with Okwute, were superb for a revitalised Kerry outfit and Athlone never looked like breaching the Brookwell inspired defence where he was an absolute colossus.
KERRY FC: M. Randrianmamy, K. Williams, S. Aladesanusi (J Adams 66), N. Brookwell, C. McQueen, A. Healy (S O'Connell 66), C Mujaguzi, R. Teahan, S. McGrath, D. Okwute, R. Cleary (K Amechi 72).
ATHLONE TOWN: L Axworthy, R. Webb, C. Omorehiomwan, D Hand, K. O'Connor, J. Oyenuga, M. Scally ( A Lennon 101) , B. Gilmour, G Tetteh ( W Smith 86), B. Feeney ( K Robinson 93), D. Williams ( E Sheeran 88).
Referee: D Carolan (Drogheda).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
St Patrick's Athletic equal club record victory in FAI Cup demolition of UCC
St Patrick's Athletic 8 UCC 0 Chris Forrester scored a nonchalant brace as St Patrick's Athletic equalled a club record win to cruise through to the FAI Cup third round with this facile victory over Munster Senior League side UCC at Richmond Park. Having won the cup twice in the last four years, and five times in total, Stephen Kenny's side were never in danger of losing their record of never having lost to a non-league team in the competition. Doubtless with Thursday's Conference League home clash with Estonian side Nõmme Kalju in mind, manager Kenny opted for a completely different starting XI from last Thursday's rousing 2-0 win away to FC Hegelmann. That meant a full debut for 19-year-old midfielder Matthew O'Hara, captain of the club's under-20 side, who recently signed his first professional contract having been at the club since he was 13. UCC needed a play-off victory to retain their top flight status in the MSL which finished two months ago. Not only out of season, they travelled to Dublin missing up to a half a dozen first team players in what was head coach Noel Healy's final game over a 15-year association with the university club. Unsurprisingly, it was one way traffic from the off with UCC goalkeeper Kevin Fitzpatrick inspired early on with fine saves to deny Conor Carty and Aidan Keena before Saints' pressure told on 19 minutes, if not from an expected source. Zach Elbouzedi pulled the ball back for defender Axel Sjoberg whose low cross was knocked past Fitzpatrick by his unfortunate skipper Colm Murphy for an own goal. Fitzpatrick made another terrific save to thwart Elbouzedi one-on-one while Carty bounced a header off the crossbar from Brandon Kavanagh's delivery, all a mere prelude to the floodgates opening with a quick-fire treble before half-time. First, the lively Kavanagh beat Fitzpatrick at his far post with a looping header from Sjoberg's cross on 40 minutes. Two minutes later Kavanagh's shot was deflected into the path of Keena who cut inside a couple of defenders to drill to the bottom corner. Skipper Forrester then got in on the act to utterly deflate UCC when casually dribbling past three defenders inside the area to tap home. The goal deluge continued into the second half with another three scored inside six minutes of the restart. Scarcely a minute in, Al-Amin Kazeem ghosted in off the left flank to meet Sjoberg's cross and find the top corner for his first goal for the club. Two minutes later it was 6-0 when half-time substitute Jake Mulraney rifled to the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Kazeem then provided the cross for Carty to continue the scoring on 51 minutes with a well-placed header. Forrester completed the rout with his second from a crisp low drive to the net on 68 minutes following debutant substitute Billy Hayes' assist. St Patrick's Athletic: Rogers; Sjoberg, Turner, Breslin; Forrester, O'Hara (Grivosti, 63); Elbouzedi (Mulraney, h-t), Kavanagh (Hayes, h-t), Kazeem; Carty, Keena. UCC: Fitzpatrick; Duggan, Murphy, Iyalla, O'Neill (Roberts, 64); McCarthy; Walsh (Connolly, 64), Broderick (Bowdren, 80), Howard (O'Halloran, 69), Loughery; Fahy (Sulleiman, 69). Referee: Alan Patchell (Dublin). Attendance: 1,243.
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
St Patrick's Athletic hit UCC for eight in FAI Cup clash as Longford strike late to sink Castlebar
The Saints have been struggling in front of goal domestically of late, having scored just one in six games before yesterday's clash against the Cork outfit, but Stephen Kenny's men eased to an 8-0 victory at Richmond Park, where Chris Forrester was among the goalscorers with a brace. It took St Pat's, who have lifted the FAI Cup twice in the last four years, just 19 minutes to find the breakthrough through an unfortunate Colm Murphy own-goal, before three strikes in five minutes from Forrester, Aidan Keena and Brandon Kavanagh just before the break firmly put the tie to bed. Kenny's men raced out of the blocks at the restart with Jake Mulraney finding the net just two minutes after being introduced, while Al-Amin Kazeem and Conor Carty also struck past the men from the Rebel County. Forrester bagged his second minutes after the hour mark as the Inchicore side eased their way into the third round, with the draw set for Tuesday afternoon. It may have been one-way traffic at Richmond Park but it certainly wasn't in Mayo, as Longford Town needed three late goals to avoid a shock and book their place in the third round after being pushed hard by non-league Castlebar Celtic, the First Division side eventually emerging with a 6-3 win. A remarkable first-half saw the sides each score three goals, with Longford's Daragh Murtagh netting a hat-trick while Mark Cunningham, Eoghan Hughes and ex-Sligo Rovers striker Jordan Loftus finding the net for the Connacht outfit. The tie was heading for extra-time with the score remaining at 3-3 going into the final 15 minutes, but the visitors hit three late goals through a Dean George double either side of Francis Campbell's goal to ensure their name was in the hat for the next round. Wayne Groves' side have won the FAI Cup just twice in their history, in 2003 and 2004, with their last final appearance coming in 2007. The victories by St Pat's and Longford meant that every League of Ireland side progressed to the third round of the FAI Cup this weekend.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
St Patrick's Athletic prove toughest of tests for UCC as they knock in eight goals
FAI Cup second round: St Patrick's Athletic 8 UCC 0 Chris Forrester scored a nonchalant brace as St Patrick's Athletic equalled a club record win to cruise through to the FAI Cup third round with this facile victory over Munster Senior League side UCC at Richmond Park. Having won the cup twice in the last four years, and five times in total, Stephen Kenny's side were never in danger of losing their record of never having lost to a non-league team in the competition. Doubtless with Thursday's Conference League home clash with Estonian side Kalju in mind, manager Kenny opted for a completely different starting XI from last Thursday's rousing 2-0 win away to FC Hegelmann. That meant a full debut for 19-year-old midfielder Matthew O'Hara, captain of the club's under-20 side, who recently signed his first professional contract having been at the club since he was 13. READ MORE UCC needed a play-off victory to retain their top flight status in the MSL which finished two months ago. Not only out of season, they travelled to Dublin missing up to a half a dozen first-team players in what was head coach Noel Healy's final game over a 15-year association with the university club. Unsurprisingly, it was one-way traffic from the off with UCC goalkeeper Kevin Fitzpatrick inspired early on with fine saves to deny Conor Carty and Aidan Keena, before Saints pressure told on 19 minutes, if not from an expected source. Zach Elbouzedi pulled the ball back for defender Axel Sjoberg, whose low cross was knocked past Fitzpatrick by his unfortunate skipper Colm Murphy for an own goal. Fitzpatrick made another terrific save to thwart Elbouzedi one-on-one while Carty bounced a header off the crossbar from Brandon Kavanagh's delivery, all a mere prelude to the floodgates opening with a quick-fire treble before half-time. First, the lively Kavanagh beat Fitzpatrick at his far post with a looping header from Sjoberg's cross on 40 minutes. Two minutes later Kavanagh's shot was deflected into the path of Keena, who cut inside a couple of defenders to drill to the bottom corner. Skipper Forrester then got in on the act to utterly deflate UCC when casually dribbling past three defenders inside the area to tap home. The goal deluge continued into the second half with another three scored inside six minutes of the restart. Scarcely a minute in, Al-Amin Kazeem ghosted in off the left flank to meet Sjoberg's cross and find the top corner for his first goal for the club. Two minutes later it was 6-0 when half-time substitute Jake Mulraney rifled to the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Kazeem then provided the cross for Carty to continue the scoring on 51 minutes with a well-placed header. Forrester completed the rout with his second from a crisp low drive to the net on 68 minutes following debutant substitute Billy Hayes's assist. Daragh Murtagh scored a first half hat-trick as First Division Longford Town had to come from behind twice to see off Mayo League side Castlebar Celtic , 6-3, at the town's Celtic Park. Mark Cunningham and Eoghan Hughes twice put Castlebar in front with Murtagh equalising on each occasion before getting his third, all inside the opening 23 minutes. A penalty from Jordan Loftus levelled for Castlebar to complete a manic first half before a Dean George brace and a goal from substitute Francis Campbell eased Longford to victory. ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Rogers; Sjoberg, Turner, Breslin; Forrester, O'Hara (Grivosti, 63); Elbouzedi (Mulraney, h-t), Kavanagh (Hayes, h-t), Kazeem; Carty, Keena. UCC: Fitzpatrick; Duggan, Murphy, Iyalla, O'Neill (Roberts, 64); McCarthy; Walsh (Connolly, 64), Broderick (Bowdren, 80), Howard (O'Halloran, 69), Loughery; Fahy (Sulleiman, 69). Referee: Alan Patchell (Dublin). Attendance: 1,243.
