*Conor Whelan scored twice for Bridge Utd. Photograph: Joe Buckley
NEWMARKET Celtic and Bridge Utd have qualified for the last sixteen of the Munster Junior Cup while Fair Green Celtic have been eliminated on penalties.
Fourth round victories for Newmarket Celtic and Bridge Utd on Sunday sealed their passage to the last sixteen while Fair Green Celtic exited the competition with defeat on penalties.
Hegarty double helps Newmarket progress
Newmarket Celtic 3
Abbeyfeale United 0
Venue: McDonough Memorial Park, Newmarket-on-Fergus
Dean Hegarty’s return from a hamstring injury has boosted Alan Gough’s Newmarket Celtic charges. The Kilnamona man scored twice as they emerged as deserving winners over Limerick Desmond League side Abbeyfeale Utd.
Newmarket didn’t have to perform to their best but played to the necessary level to advance to the last sixteen.
A strong start saw the hosts take the lead with five minutes played. Hegarty opened the scoring with Eoin Hayes providing the assist to give them an early advantage.
It took them a while to find the target again, while they dominated possession, they didn’t combine this with a killer instinct.
Entering the final quarter of an hour, they struck for their second goal via left-full Cathal Cullinan. In a village combination, it was again Eoin Hayes that provided the assist.
Hegarty sealed the win when dispatching a penalty on eighty nine minutes to send the finalists of 2015 and 2023 into the pot for the last sixteen.
Newmarket Celtic: Shane Cusack; Éanna Crimmins, Harvey Cullinan, Tadhg Noonan, Cathal Cullinan; Jack Kelly, Aaron Rudd, Kevin Harnett, Dean Hegarty, Eoin Hayes, Nathan Boaventura.
Subs: Cian McDonough for Crimmins (68), Martin McCarthy for Rudd (83), Kelvin Mulqueen for Boaventura (83).
Abbeyfeale Utd: C Doody, T Lane, C Martens, O Woulfe, C Moroney, A Barry, C Mullane, C Woulfe, J Dore, S O’Sullivan, D Murphy.
Subs: E Collins for S O’Sullivan (HT), D O’Connor for Lane (HT), C McCoy for Mullane (64), J Brouder for D Murphy (72), A Foley for Moroney (81).
Bridge bounce back with big win
Bridge United 4
Grattan Utd 2
Venue: Sixmilebridge
A statement win was needed by Bridge Utd following their shock loss to Tulla Utd in the Premier Division last weekend and their less surprising defeat to Avenue Utd in the Hugh Kelly Cup final.
Exiting the Munster Junior Cup would have compounded these setbacks but instead last year’s quarter-finalists are now one step away from emulating their run.
That they went from leading 3-0 to letting Grattan pull back to 3-2 made for a nervy finish but crucially they prevailed which steadies the ship and serves as a source of momentum.
Conor Whelan gave a glimpse of what he can offer the side when scoring two goals over the course of ninety minutes and providing a badly needed attacking threat, one they have struggled to find since Ger Myles swapped Sixmilebridge for Roslevan.
Whelan opened the scoring on thirty five minutes, striker Caleb Lategan knocking the ball in his direction before he let fire. The former Tulla Utd man had broke the deadlock on eighteen minutes but was deemed to be offside.
Goal number two came from the boot of Whelan when he volleyed the ball after a Filip Mostowy was headed by Liam Flynn into his direction before firing it to the net.
Jack O’Halloran who was only introduced as a substitute made it 3-0 on sixty nine minutes, Mostowy coming up trumps with the assist.
Grattan picked up their final two of five yellow cards received over the course of the game subsequent to the third goal while they also altered their formation and within the space of four minutes bagged two goals.
Substitute Anthony Peelo and Adam Lee Reynolds were both on target to make the concluding stages of the tie more nervous than they should have been for the hosts.
To put the pin in the visitors balloon, Bridge Utd responded with their fourth and final goal. Witness Odirile and Conor Whelan were involved along with Jack O’Halloran who produced the finish to earn their 4-2 victory.
Gallery of photographs by Joe Buckley.
Bridge Utd: John Mulready; Darragh Whyte, Liam Buckley, Alan Mulready, Scott Kirkland, Adam Fitzpatrick, Kyle Kirby, Brian Corry, Filip Mostowy, Caleb Lategan, Conor Whelan.
Subs: Liam Flynn for Buckley (10), Luc Fitzpatrick for Corry (68), Jack O’Halloran for Lategan (68), Witness Odirile for Mostowy (71), Dean Neary for Kirby (71).
Grattan Utd: K Timothy, G Coughlan, D Curtin, A Byrne, A O’Callaghan, M Kent, J Murray, I Lordan, A Harte, C Bullman, A Lee-Reynolds.
Subs: A Peelo for Coughlan (HT), D Murray for Harte (55), T Whyte for Kent (77).
Penalty pain for Fair Green
Fairgreen Celtic 0
BT Harps 0
BT Harps win 4-3 on penalties
Venue: Lees Rd, Ennis
Scoreless in normal and extra time, it took penalties to determine a winner between Fair Green Celtic and BT Harps.
Ultimately, it was the side from North Tipperary who left Ennis victorious and are now preparing for a last sixteen tie.
For Fair Green, they were unlucky not to prevail in this encounter but are struggling to get goals and again this was a factor in their downfall.
They did have a glorious chance in extra time with respective full-backs combining, Seán Perrill on the left delivered the ball in as far as Dario Fernandes who had his volley kept out by Kuba Beban.
Ennis outfit Fair Green did play the entirety of extra time with a man less after Johnson Mununkum was shown a second yellow card by referee Brian Punch. Following their draw with Ennis Dons a week previous, he has now received three yellows from the one referee in the space of seven days.
BT Harps: J Beben, C Russell, L Fairbrother, J Kennedy, S Guerins, D Cody, J Johnson, C Foy, R Loughnane, D McEnroe, S Popiela.
Fair Green Celtic: Alan Reidy, Dario Fernandes, Shane Browne, Hubert Kantecki, Seán Perrill, William Bello, Lee Clohessy, Johnson Mununkum, Eoghan Fox, Dean Coughlan, Bruce Piggot.
Subs: Josh Ryan for Fox (62), Eddie Shaw for Coughlan (76).
Referee: Brian Punch
