St Vincent’s Hospital FC 4-3 Dunboyne AFC Pearse Park Astro, Crumlin
Leinster Football Association (LFA) Junior Cup
25 October 2019
Towards the end of extra-time in the 2005 Champions League Final between AC Milan and Liverpool, Reds goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek parried a close-range header only for the ball to drop to the feet of Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko. Liverpool had memorably come back from 3-0 down to draw level, inspired by Steven Gerrard. With the goal gaping, Shevchenko watched in horror as his shot was saved at point blank range by Dudek and Liverpool famously went on to win their fifth European Cup on penalties. Where Shevchenko failed, St Vincent’s right-back Colm Kirby succeeded against a strong Dunboyne team in Crumlin. A flicked header from a John Cosgrove corner was met with cheers and no shortage of relief from his teammates as St Vincent’s secured a 4-3 win that was supposed to be much more comfortable when the doctors led 3-0 at half time.
This season has seen its fair share of slow starts by St Vincent’s but they put that right against Dunboyne. After a blistering beginning, right winger Brian Kelly opened the scoring with an Arjen Robben-style cut inside onto his left and a powerful finish into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box. Kelly doubled the advantage after 15 minutes, latching onto a through ball in the right of the area and coolly slotting home. Vincent’s continued to pile on the pressure and seemingly put the game to rest after only 25 minutes. Left winger Eddie Wrynn scorched past his marker before driving into the left of the box and calmly placing the ball into the far corner of the net.
These reports never want to revert to tired clichés, but this was the quintessential ‘game of two halves’ and given how Dunboyne came out after half time, they will be ‘sick as parrots’ with how the game finished. Whether it was a stirring speech from their manager, or the half-time oranges, Dunboyne re-emerged from the dressing room a different team. With Vincent’s looking to consolidate their advantage early in the second half, Dunboyne struck first when their impressive striker guided the ball inside the post from a free header at a corner. With momentum having turned, a mere three minutes later the ball dropped to the same forward, who lashed a powerful strike into the top-left corner. The Dunboyne comeback was complete after 70 mins, when a short back-pass saw goalkeeper Louis Bourdiol caught in possession, allowing the Dunboyne number 9 the easiest of finishes to complete a hat-trick. That seemed to snap Vincent’s out of their daze and a nervy back-and-forth followed, with some scrappy football before Colm Kirby capped a fine performance by rising to spare Vincent’s blushes at the death.
Matchday Squad: Louis John Bourdiol, Colm Kirby, Barra Neary, Kieran Keane, Paul Bourke, John Cosgrove, Kevin Nally, Brian Kelly, Edward Wrynn, Rory Durand, Aidan McGrath, Paul Carroll, Paul Bourke, Mark Dwyer, Alex McDaid.
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