TULLA UTD are the last Clare club standing in the FAI Junior Cup after Avenue Utd were annihilated by Coachford and Newmarket Celtic exited on penalties over the weekend.
Mike Moloney’s Tulla made the long trip to Waterford on Sunday but shortened the road home when leaving Mitchell Kennedy Park with a 3-2 win in the fourth round of the national competition.
Callum Casey put the East Clare side ahead on twenty eight minutes and they doubled their advantage on the hour mark via captain and centre half Dara Ryan.
It was a nervy finish for Tulla who conceded two goals to Hibernians FC within the space of four minutes.
Following the disappointment of their exit to Avenue Utd in the Clare Cup quarter-final where they led 1-0 but ended up losing in extra time, this was a mental test for Tulla but they dug deep and their most experienced player Daragh Corry struck for the winning goal on eighty four minutes.
Avenue Utd were sent crashing out of the competition with a 5-0 hammering to Cork side Coachford in Roslevan. It finished 2-1 in favour of Coachford when the sides met in last year’s Munster Junior Cup but this time there was no tight margins as the visitors powered into the next round.
Dylan Casey returned to the Avenue Utd side for the first time in 2026 while Conor Hehir who had also been absent of late was introduced from the bench.
Kilrush’s Jamie Griffin was lining out for the Cork side and finished with two goals to his name. Luke Casey excelled pulling the strings for the winners who were gifted an early goal on seven minutes when Avenue Utd netminder TJ Forde failed to claim the ball but later produced an excellent save but the rebound was headed by Seán O’Sullivan into the net.
Griffin’s second goal on fifty one minutes killed off any chance of a comeback but Avenue’s spirits were totally deflated when Jamie Roche headed into his own net on the hour mark. Cialan O’Sullivan produced an excellent finish for Coachford’s fifth goal to send Avenue out. The Cork side lost their crown as Munster Junior Cup champions when knocked out by Waterford’s Villa FC in the semi-finals.
Newmarket Celtic were also dumped out of the FAI Junior Cup when losing on penalties to Knocknacarra FC. Celtic would have been the favourites against the Galway side.
Scoreless after ninety minutes, the game went to extra time where Newmarket substitute Gary Leahy scored an own goal but fortunately Nathan Boanventura managed to pull a goal back in additional time, Kieran Mahony providing the assist to force penalties.
Goalkeeper Shane Cusack, Mahony and David McCarthy all scored their penalties for Celtic but Harvey Cullinan and Leahy did not and Knocknacarra prevailed 4-3 in the shootout.
All photographs by Gerard O’Neill.
