A nice scalp for Corkbeg, as they beat higher division opposition in the first round of the AOH Cup in Whitegate this afternoon. Dylan O Neill, Shane Bennett & man of the match Jamie O Hanlon with the goals. A full match report is below:
Corkbeg advanced to the second round of the AOH Cup by defeating Premier A side Tower FC 3-2 after extra time on an overcast day in Whitegate. In truth, Corkbeg shouldn’t have needed extra time to win the game, spurning many opportunities during the game to win more comfortably.
Corkbeg started very well and were playing some lovely football, with Max Ahern & Kevin O Hanlon both playing well. And it was no surprise when on 15 minutes, Jamie O Hanlon set up Dylan O Neill to fire Corkbeg ahead. Corkbeg should have added to their lead during the first half, with both Josh Allen & Shane Bennett spurning good opportunities. Then, towards the end of the first half, disaster for the home side, as Tower striker Mark Cremin grabbed two goals in two minutes to give the Premier A side an unlikely half time lead.
Corkbeg continued to play well in the second half and on 55 minutes, Alan Hogan set up Shane Bennett to fire a thunderbolt to the net from just inside the box to level up the game at 2-2. But during that second period, Corkbeg could not grab a winning goal, despite having a lot of great chances. And the game headed to extra time.
Five minutes into the first period of extra time, man of the match Jamie O Hanlon (pictured) struck a post for Corkbeg. But, a few minutes later, O Hanlon grabbed the goal his performance deserved, when he fired home what proved to be the winning goal from an Alan Hogan pass. In the second period of extra time, Corkbeg had the opportunity to put clear daylight between themselves and Tower, but Shane Bennett missed from the penalty spot. Luckily for Corkbeg, it didn’t prove costly and Corkbeg advanced to the next round.