Portlaoise AFC qualify for National cup quarter final after dramatic penalty shootout

Portlaoise AFC under 15's progressed to the Quarter Finals of the National SFAI Cup; following a nail-biting finish winning 9-8 on penalties over Moyne Villa, Galway; in the glorious spring sunshine at Portlaoise Leisure Centre on Saturday 5th March.

Portlaoise AFC 2

Moyne Villa 2

Portlaoise win 9-8 on penalties

U15 SFAI Cup

Both teams started the game cautiously with very few chances in the opening minutes. The away team took the lead after 15 mins when they reacted first to a misplaced clearance out of defence following a free kick. The remainder of the first half was evenly matched with both teams creating multiple half chances.

From the start of the second half, Portlaoise started on the front foot and looked a different team from the whistle. They managed to grab an equaliser after five minutes when Dylan Daly finished a great passage of play with a tidy finish into the bottom right corner of the goal. The equaliser proves to be a huge confidence boost to Portlaoise, and they continued to dominate possession and went close a few times with Conor O’Callaghan, Pete Culleton and Dylan McCarthy creating chances to grabbing the lead.

The sustained pressure was finally broken on the 18-minute mark with a clinical finish from Dylan McCarthy. Elijah Emmanuel picked the ball up on the left-hand side of the pitch and ran at Moyne Villa, where he played a lovely pass to Dylan Daly at the edge of the box. Dylan spotted Dylan McCarthy making a clever run into the penalty box and delivered a perfect pass where Dylan McCarthy scored from close range to give Portlaoise a decisive lead.

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With 5 minutes to go, Portlaoise were to be dealt a major setback when the Ref awarded a penalty to the visitors for a dubious handball in the penalty box. The Moyne Villa striker made no mistake with the penalty to send this cup tie into extra time. With both teams beginning to tire during extra time and defences on top, no clear chances were created, and penalties loomed.

The drama continued during the penalty shoot-out with both teams scoring their designated five penalties so sudden death would eventually decide this tie. Finally, the tie took a decisive turn when Cian O’Neill got his hand to the Moyne Villa’s 9th penalty to send the home crowd wild. It was all down to Ryan Carroll who stepped up and calmly slotted his penalty into the right corner of the net to send Portlaoise into the Quarter Finals.

Although the result didn’t go their way, Moyne Villa can hold their heads high as they contributed to a fantastic game of football which was played in a respectful and sporting manner, which is a credit to their coaches and parents.

The journey continues for this Portlaoise squad and their reward for this excellent win is an away

Quarter Final tie against Salthill Devon in three weeks’ time. On this occasion, best for Portlaoise were Cian O’Neill for saving the vital penalty, Alex Danne and Ryan Carroll for solid defensive displays and Seán Lalor, Elijah Emmanuel, Pete Culleton and Dylan McCarthy for consistent and hardworking displays.

As always, the boys did the club, their coaches and their parents proud with their positive attitude and upbeat spirit. A special word of thanks goes to the parents for their kind donation and preparation of food and refreshments for both teams following the match.

Portlaoise: Cian O’Neill, Eamonn Browne, Alex Danne, Conor O’Callaghan, Elijah Emmanuel, Seán Lalor, Pete Culleton, Daniel Kavanagh, Jamie Gorman, Aidan Byrne, Dylan McCarthy, Ryan Carroll, Peter Ciarkowski, Daniel Sukhanov, Ryan Morrin, Dylan Daly, Daniel Aranisi.