REPORT: Sports Direct Men’s FAI Cup 2nd Round
Kerry FC 2-1 Athlone Town AET
On Friday evening, Kerry FC embarked on their third year in the Sports Direct Men’s FAI Cup as they took on Athlone Town in Mounthawk Park.
The cup game week was a well-needed break for Kerry FC from the league, as they had lost four straight games and were in dire need of a boost to their current form.
For Athlone Town, their form has not been much better. The Midlands side have not won a game since the ninth of May and would be desperate to change their fortunes around in the FAI Cup.
Kerry were given a huge boost in their attacking threat last Saturday evening in Longford as new striker Robbie Cleary got off the mark in his debut. Cleary looked to start his first home game on Friday evening against Athlone, and it was certain he would be given a great reception by the Mounthawk Park faithful in a must-win game for the Kingdom
First Half
The first opportunity for Athlone Town came in close range for Gideon Tetteh. He got the ball in a dangerous area from Kyle O’Connor and was in a brilliant position to score, but skied his chance from an opportunity that really should have been taken.
The next chance in the game came to the visitors once again. A few intricate passes led to a well-struck pass across the six-yard box from Athlone, but Mathyas Randramamy saved it. Kerry were conceding chances but had not managed to get many of their own inside the opening twenty minutes.
Martin Scally was the next to have a shot on goal as his long-range effort outside the area was moving a lot in the air but went over the crossbar to the relief of the home support.
Daniel Okwute had Kerry FC’s first big chance of the evening on the half-hour mark when his shot/cross was very close to finding the back of the net, but it went just wide. It was much better from the Kingdom as they tried to turn the screw in the game.
In the final attack of the half, an Arran Healy shot on the edge of the area went just over the crossbar. Healy felt like it should have been a corner and got a yellow card for his protests. Kerry finished the first half well as they hoped to bring the same intensity into the second forty-five.
Second Half
At the beginning of the second half, it was much of the same story as the first half. Both sides were doing well going forward, but little to no end product on either side. That would change, however, in the fifty-fifth minute when Jason Folarin Oyenuga, who was electric for the visitors all night, cut in on the left-hand side and took a shot on goal. Oyenuga’s shot was timid and still managed to make its way passed Mathyas Randriamamy, putting the away side in the lead.
Five minutes later, Kerry FC had their biggest opportunity of the evening as Robbie Cleary was bearing down on goal. His shot was saved by Lee Axworthy Duggan, and he was still scrambling, but it was eventually cleared by Athlone Town. Everyone in Mounthawk Park was left scratching their heads as to how the ball stayed out.
Kerry FC were coming back into the game well and had another big chance of a leveller in the sixty-ninth minute. Daniel Okwute did superbly to get away from his marker on the left-hand side and gave a low, hard cross across the six-yard box, but Dylan Hand was there to keep the danger at bay in a huge moment of fear for the leaders.
Dean Williams had the chance to put the game beyond doubt for Athlone Town as a pass into the six-yard box from Gideon Tetteh found Williams, whose shot was saved superbly by Mathyas Randriamamy. As time passed on, Kerry FC needed something to turn the tide of the game and get themselves back in the tie.
Kerry FC were pushing for the equaliser with consecutive corners in quick succession, but on each occasion, they were being cleared convincingly by Athlone Town. Carl Mujaguzi came close to that all-needed equaliser in the ninety-second minute, but he headed over the crossbar off the back of a Joe Adams corner.
In the final minutes of the game, Kerry FC kept pressing and won themselves a free kick twenty-five yards from goal. Joe Adams stepped up and stuck the effort into the top right corner, bringing the game to extra time. A goal that Kerry FC really deserved in the overall grand scheme of the game, as they pushed for a winner after the ninety.
EXTRA TIME
And as fast as you could imagine, after the restart, Kerry FC were in the lead. A brilliant run from Daniel Okwute on the right wing led to a thumping pass across the six-yard box, and, unlike earlier in the game, there was someone this time to get on the end of it, and it was Kennedy Amechi who put the Kingdom in the lead for the first time on the night.
Kerry FC from then on out were by far the better side and played the remainder of extra time with pure class and saw out extra time to advance into the third round of the Sports Direct Men’s FAI Cup. An unbelievable display of grit by this Kerry FC side, who have shown their vulnerabilities at times, but on the night, they showed how much of an unbreakable spirit they continue to have. They will want to keep the momentum going as they now put their focus on next Friday evening when they take on UCD AFC in Mounthawk Park as we return to league action.
KERRY FC TEAM: 30. Mathyas Randriamamy, 15. Kevin Williams, 18. Samuel Aladesanusi, 28. Niall Brookwell, 5. Chris McQueen, 11. Daniel Okwute, 6. Carl Mujaguzi, 8. Ronan Teahan, 35. Arran Healy, 7. Sean McGrath (C), 14. Robbie Cleary.
SUBS: Darragh Foley, Cian Brosnan, Abel Alabi, Finn Barrett, Sean O’Connell, Alex Dunne, Joe Adams (GOAL ‘96), Kennedy Amechi (GOAL AET ‘91).
ATHLONE TOWN TEAM: 99. Lee Axworthy Duggan, 3. Kyle O’Connor, 5. Dylan Hand, 6. Jason Folarin Oyenuga (GOAL ‘55), 8. Martin Scally, 9. Dean Williams, 12. Cole Omorehiomwan, 15. Ben Feeney, 24. Gideon Tetteh, 26. Billy Gilmore, 29. Reece Webb.
SUBS: Andrew Stuart Trainor, Daniel McKenna, Eoin Sheeran, Kyle Robinson, Noe Baba, Oisin Duffy, Will Smith, Adam Lennon.
