Men’s Irish Junior Cup Final, Lisnagarvey V Corinthians

27 Sep. 20

 

Lisnagarvey 0, Corinthians 1 (C Adair).

Corinthian’s Max Neil provided the first bit of excitement with a shot on the hosts’ James Ritchie, as the Irish Junior Cup got underway in Lisnagarvey this afternoon. Ritchie saved well to keep prevent the visitors taking an early lead, with penalty corners for both sides in the opening quarter also failing to convert to progress on the scoreboard.

Ryan Getty rounded the Corinthians defence nicely to shoot across the goal in search of a blue jersey who might complete the task, however the ball rolled just out of reach and Corinthians succeeded in defending the goal but give away a penalty corner in the process. Irwin’s flick finds George Dagg’s instead of the goal, and the subsequent rebound leads to another penalty corner for the hosts. The following attempt is also defended and Corinthians push the threat back out of danger for a brief period.

Harry Scott and Oliver Patterson had a series of lovely passes midfield to bring them back into the Corinthians circle, resulting in another penalty corner for the hosts. Blennerhassett and MacWilliam defend well to keep Lisnagarvey from taking a lead, with the quarter ending shortly after with the sides level 0 – 0.

Mark Raphael hit the ball wide for Lisnagarvey in the second quarter, while Harry Scott also managed to penetrate the Corinthians’ circle and shoot across it but there’s no one available in blue to receive it. The opening goal came from Corinthian’s Callum Adair, a pass across the Lisnagarvey goal provided him the perfect opportunity to slip the ball in behind the keeper to give Corinthian’s the lead.

A skilful run by MacKay saw Corinthians challenge again shortly afterwards, resulting a penalty corner. Glenn Holmes flicked towards goal, but found Ritchie’s pad, with the rebound being pushed out of play. Lisnagarvey were quick to attack after this, with Jacob Hermon’s shot finding Lewis’s pad and Corinthian’s resuming possession. The umpires whistle narrowly prevented Max Wright from extending Corinthian’s lead. Lisnagarvey began applying pressure with the clock counting down to half time, with Matthew Campton creating a chance to shoot in the final second of the game, however the half-time score remained Lisnagarvey 0 – 1 Corinthians.

Lisnagarvey continued to push for an equaliser in the second half. Aughney’s shot across the Corinthian goal resulted in a penalty corner for the hosts, however Getty’s insertion provided the perfect opportunity for Corinthians to play the ball back up the pitch quickly. Aughney was back in the Corinthian’s circle again shortly afterwards, however this time his attempts are forced out by the defence. Glenn Holmes had a forceful shot defended at the opposite end of the pitch, but the score remained the same, with Lisnagarvey’s defence proving strong.

Lisnagarvey brought a frantic energy to the final quarter, however Howard and MacKay made nuisances of themselves for the attacking hosts, preventing a number of attempts into the Corinthians circle from becoming real opportunities. Both Scott and Aughney found themselves in a position to possibly create an opportunity for their team, however Scott’s pass across the circle failed to find a receiving player, while Aughney’s skill in the Corinthians circle couldn’t convert to putting Lisnagarvey on the scoreboard.

A penalty corner for Lisnagarvey saw McQueen’s shot helped wide by the Corinthian defence. The final three minutes saw Lisnagarvey take their keeper off to increase their outfield numbers. Despite securing another penalty corner in the closing minutes, it wasn’t enough to secure a goal with Corinthians taking home the Irish Junior Cup for the 2019/20 season.

Lisnagarvey: R Boreland, H Morris, M Campton, M Morris, R Getty, C Irwin, M Connor, J Hermon, S McCabe, M Aughney, P Watson, H Scott, O Patterson, M Raphael, S McQueen, P Hunter, S Chisholm, J Ritchie.

Corinthians: J Lewis, A Blennerhassett, C Adair, G Dagg, R Howard, C Mackay, G Holmes, M Neil, M Wright, A Browne, M McCabe, H Ellis, G Davis, R MacWilliam, E Mackay, D Winm, A Missen, N Young.